ARCHAEOLOGIA
OR
MISCELLANEOUS TRACTS
RELATING TO
ANTIQUITY
ARCHAEOLOGIA
OR
MISCELLANEOUS TRACTS
RELATING TO
ANTIUITY
PUBLISHED BY THE
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OE LONDON
VOLUME LXVI
PRINTED AT OXFORD
BY FREDERICK HALL FOR
THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES
AND SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S APARTMENTS IN BURLINGTON HOUSE, LONDON
MCMXV
DA
V .
ARCHAEOLOGIA
OR
MISCELLANEOUS TRACTS
RELATING TO
ANTIQUITY
PUBLISHED BY THE
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON
SECOND SERIES: VOLUME XVI
PRINTED AT OXFORD
BY FREDERICK HA1.L FOR
THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES
AND SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S APARTMENTS IN BURLINGTON HOUSE, LONDON
MCMXV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
I. The Complete Building Accounts of the City Churches (Parochial} designed by
Sir Christopher Wren. By LAWRENCE WEAVER, Esq., F.S.A. . . 1-60
II. Some Remarks on the Churches of the Domesday Survey. By WILLIAM PAGE,
Esq., F.S.A. ........ 61-102
1 1 1 . The Abbey of Saint- Denis and its Ancient Treasures. By SIR W. MARTIN CONWAV,
F.S.A. . . . 103-158
IV. Rock-cutting and Tomb-architecture in Cyprus during the Graeco-Roman Occu-
pation. By GEO. JEFFERY, Esq., F.S.A., Local Secretary for Cyprus . 159-178
V. Notes on the 'Prison of Saint Catharine' at Salami's in Cyprus. By PROFESSOR
JOHN L. MY RES, M.A., F.S.A. . . . I/9-I94
VI. Researches at Rickmansworth: Report on Excavations made in 1914 on behalf
of the British Museum. By REGINALD A. SMITH, Esq., F.S.A., ivith Geological
Report by HENRY DEWEV, Esq., F.G.S. . . . 195-224
VII. Recent Roman Discoveries in London. By FRANK LAMBERT, Esq., M.A. 225-274
VIII. The Last Testament and Inventory of John de Veer, thirteenth Earl of Oxford.
By SIR WILLIAM H. ST. JOHN HOPE, Knt., Litt.D., D.C.L. 275-348
IX. On a Bronze Object of the Late-Celtic Period recently added to the British Museum.
By SIR CHARLES HERCULES READ, LL.D., F.B.A., Vice-President 349~o5 2
X. On the Topography of the Cistercian Abbey of Tower Hill. By A. W. CLAPHAM,
Esq., F.S.A. 353-364
XI. On the Contracts for the Tomb of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of
Richmond and Derby, mother of King Henry VII, and Foundress of the Colleges
of Christ and St. John in Cambridge ; -with some illustrative documents.
Communicated by ROBERT FORSYTH SCOTT, Esq., M.A., Master of St. Johns
College ...... 365-37 6
XII. Recent Discoveries in the Abbey Church of St. Austin at Canterbury. By SIR
WILLIAM ST. JOHN HOPE, Litt.D., D.C.L. . . 377-400
XIII. Mary de Sane to Paulo, Foundress of Pembroke College, Cambridge. By
HILARY JENKINSON, Esq., B.A., F.S.A. . . 401-446
XIV. The Heraldry in the Cloisters of the Cathedral Chunk of Christ at Canterbury.
By RALPH GRIFFIN, Esq., F.S.A. . . 447~5 6 8
XV. Late-Celtic Dagger, Fibula, and Jet Cameo. By SIR ARTHUR EVANS, Knt.,
D.Litt., F.R.S., President ...... 569-572
INDKX . . 573-6H
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE PAGE
The Complete Building Accounts of the City Churches :
I. Emblematical design by Hulsbergh, with names and cost of Wren's
buildings '.. . . . . . . facing 8
The Abbey of Saint-Denis and its ancient Treasures :
II. The Mass of St. Giles ...... facing 103
III. The Treasure of Saint-Denis : Contents of Armoires I and II facing 104
IV. The Treasure of Saint-Denis : Contents of Armoires III and IV facing 106
V. i. The sword ' Joyeuse'. 2. The ' Throne of Dagobert ' . facing 118
Fig. i. Sardonyx vase, called 'La coupe des Ptolemees ' . . 119
VI. The Bowl of Chosroes ...... facing i 20
VII. i. The Scriptorium of Saint-Denis. 2. Foot of cross : called the cross
of St. Bertin (St. Omer Museum) . . . facing 122
VIII. i. Serpentine plate, inlaid with goldfish and mounted in gold.
2. Fibula of gold and stones : found at Nagy Mihaly, Hungary
facing 1 24
IX. i. Gondola attributed to St. Eloy. 2. Navette in shape of an eagle,
with gold mountings ...... facing 126
X. The ' Escrin de Charlemagne ' . . . . . facing 1 28
Fig. 2. Intaglio of Julia, daughter of Titus: from the 'Escrin de
Charlemagne ' . . . . . . . 129
XI. The golden frontal of Charles the Bald . . . . facing 134
XII. i. Cameo of Augustus, mounted in silver-gilt with jewels. 2. Golden
spur: 1 2th century. 3. Lapis lazuli plaque, inlaid with gold.
4. Clasp: called the clasp of St. Louis. 5. Ivory chessman . facing 136
XIII. i. Suger's ewer, sardonyx and silver-gilt. 2. Crystal ewer . facing 138
XIV. Golden cover of Gospels from St.-Denis j . facing 140
VOL. LXVI. b
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE PAGE
The Abbey of Saint-Denis and its ancient Treasures (continued} :
XV. i. Silver-gilt statuette of Our Lady and Child. 2. Queen Eleanor's
vase, rock crystal and silver-gilt . . facing 142
XVI. i. The chalice of Abbot Suger. 2. Agate phial. 3. Chalice: called
' the Chalice of St. Denis ' . ... facing 144
XVII. i. Hand of Justice. 2. Porphyry vase, with 12th-century mounting.
3. Sceptre of Charles V ..... facing 146
XVIII. i. Back of copper enamelled chasse. 2. Sardonyx vase : mounted in
silver-gilt, with jewels and ornaments . . . facing 150
XIX. i and 2. Covers of reliquaries, embossed silver-gilt . . facing 154
XX. The reliquary called ' of St. Louis ' .... facing 156
Rock-cutting and Tomb-architecture in Cyprus :
Fig. i. Entrance to Khrysokava Quarry . . . .161
Fig. 2. Plan of corner of the quarry at Khrysokava . . 161
Fig. 3. A modern quarry, Cyprus . . . . .161
Fig. 4. ' Kokim ' type of tombs, Cyprus .... 164
Fig. 5. Tomb at Tamassos : plan, section, etc. . . 166
Fig. 6. Paphos : Tomb no. i. Plan at general floor-level . . 167
Fig. 7. Paphos: Tomb no. i. Detail of rock-cut colonnade 167
Fig. 8. Paphos: Tomb no. 2. Plan and section f . 168
Fig. 9. Larnaca : tomb of Mycenaean type . .169
Fig. 10. Phaneromene, Larnaca: plan, etc. 17
Fig. n. Larnaca: tomb of Graeco- Roman type I7 1
Fig. 12. St. Catharine, Salamis : sections I7 2
Fig. 13. Prison of St. Catharine, Salamis: plan, with conjectural
restoration of outer chamber ... 1 73
Fig. 14. Prison of St. Catharine, Salamis : detail of entrance . 174
Fig. 15. Rock-hewn chapel of Acheiropoietos : elevation, plan, and
section . l ^
The ' Prison of St. Catharine' at Salamis in Cyprus :
XXI. Fig. i. East side before removal of loose stones, etc. Fig. 2. South
end before the plinth stones were excavated . . facing 1 79
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
PLATE PAGE
The ' Prison of St. Catharine ' at Salamis in Cyprus (continued} :
Text-fig, i. Plan and elevation of entrance .... 183
XXII. Fig. i. North end, showing the modern breach which serves as an
entrance and remains of outer masonry and plinth. Fig. 2. South-
west corner, showing the remains of the outer masonry and the out-
fallen block of the ' great cornice' below the plinth courses . facing 192
Researches at Rickmansworth, Herts. :
Fig. i. Sketch-map showing excavation sites at Mill End and Long
Valley Wood, Croxley Green, with lines of sections . . .196
Fig. 2. Flint implement from Mill End: front, side, and back views . 197
Fig. 3. Diagrammatic section of Long Valley Wood pit, showing site
of excavation and original surface level . . . .198
Fig. 4. Worked flint found close to chalk floor, Long Valley Wood :
front, side, and back views . . . . . .198
Fig. 5. H and-axe from Croxleyhall Wood pit: front, side, and back views 199
Fig. 6. Hand-axe from Croxleyhall Wood pit : front, side, and back
views ......... 200
Fig. 7. Thick ovate implement, Croxleyhall Wood pit : front, side,
and back views . . . . . . .201
Fig. 8. Cordate implement, Croxleyhall Wood pit : front, side, and
back views . . . . . . .201
Fig. 9. Flake-implement from gravel at Croxley: style of Le Moustier 203
Fig. 10. Diagrammatic section of gravel face, Long Valley Wood pit,
Croxley . . . . . . . .218
Fig. ii. Section across the valley through Long Valley Wood . 220
Fig. 12. Section across the valley through Mill End pit . . 220
Recent Roman discoveries in London :
Fig. i. Site of Leadenhall Market: Roman walls and foundations
hatched . . . . . . . .226
Fig. 2. Site of Leadenhall Market : General view of remains.
Fig. 3. Sections of wall . . . . . .227
Fig. 4. Leadenhall Market : Brick pier . . . .229
Fig. 5. Leadenhall Market: Roman walls .... 230
Figs. 6 and 7. Leadenhall Market : Roman walls . . 231
Figs. 8 and 9. Leadenhall Market : Roman walls . 232
b 2
Xll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
XXIII
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
i. General Post Office site : Part of east side,
side
Recent Roman Discoveries in London (continued] :
Figs. 10 and 1 1. Leadenhall Market : Roman walls .
Fig. 12. Leadenhall Market: Roman brick wall
2. Part of south
3* . . facing
Fig. 13. General Post Office site : Plan of pits
General Post Office site (from G.P.O. north), after excavation of
pits . . . . . . . facing
Fig. 14. General Post Office site : Coarse Roman pottery
Fig. 1 5. General Post Office site : Coarse Roman pottery
Fig. 1 6. General Post Office site : Coarse pottery
Fig. 1 7. General Post Office site : Mortaria rim-sections
Fig. 18. General Post Office site : Stamps on mortaria
Fig. 19. General Post Office site : Stamps on handles of amphorae
Fig. 20. General Post Office site: Numeral incised on rim of amphora
Pig. 21. General Post Office site: Letters incised on handle of
amphora ........
Fig. 22. General Post Office site : Stamped fragment and reconstructed
vase .........
i. General Post Office site : Fragments of pipe-clay statuette and shrine,
restored. 2. King William Street site : Red glazed vessel. 3. King
William Street site : Terra-cotta fragment of stand . . facing
Fig. 23. King William Street site : Plan of pits
King William Street site : ' Samian ' pottery . . . facing
Fig. 24. King William Street site: Fragment of 'Samian' form 30
with stamp of Masclus ......
Figs. 25-8. Sketch-maps of London within the walls: Fig. 25. Distri-
bution of Claudian and earlier coins. Fig. 26. Distribution of
'Samian' form 29. ;Fig. 27. Distribution of form 37, La Graufe-
senque. Fig. 28. Distribution of potters' stamps, La Graufesenque .
Fig. 29. Distribution of form 37, Lezoux ....
John de Veer, thirteenth Earl of Oxford :
Fig. i. Seal of John cle Veer, Earl of Oxford, 1464
Fig. 2. Seal of John de Veer, Earl of Oxford, made after his mother's
death .
PAGE
2 37
243
244
247
"249
251
254
254
255
255
255
257
262
265
266
267
271
273
304
305
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii
PLATE PAGE
John de Veer, thirteenth Earl of Oxford (continued] :
Fig. 3. Seal of John de Veer, Earl of Oxford, made probably in 1485. 305
Fig. 4. List of the badges of John de Veer, Earl of Oxford . . 306
Fig. 5. Cranket and boar-pig badge of the Veers, from the south
door of Lavenham church, Suffolk . . . . - 307
XXVII. A bronze object of the Late-Celtic Period . . . facing 349
Topography of the Cistercian Abbey of Tower Hill':
Fig. i. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces : plan of the site . . . 355
Fig. 2. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces : plan of the farmery and gardens
in the sixteenth century ...... 357
Fig. 3. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces : plan of the site in the early
seventeenth century ....... 359
Fig. 4. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces : reconstructed ground-plan . 361
5- (') Seal of Abbot Paschal.' (2) Common seal of the Abbey . 363
Tomb and grate of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond
and Derby, in Westminster Abbey Church :
XXVIII. Tomb of the Lady Margaret Beaufort . . . facing 365
Signature of Torrigiano, from the contract for the tomb . . 368
XXIX. Grate and tomb of the Lady Margaret Beaufort . . facing 373
The Abbey Church of St. Austin at Canterbury :
Fig. i. Remains of Abbot Wulfric's building, looking west . 378
Fig. 2. Pier- foundations of Abbot Wulfric's building, looking east . 379
Fig. 3. East face and piers of Abbot Wulfric's building, looking west . 380
Fig. 4. Part of the north side of Abbot Wulfric's building . 381
Fig. 5. Part of an earlier apse overlaid by Abbot Wulfric's building . 386
Fig. 6. Remains of the north porticus of King Ethelbert's church,
with the tombs of Archbishops Laurence, Mellitus, and Justus
Fig. 7. Restored plan, with probable arrangement of porticus and
tombs ....... 393
Fig. 8. Remains of the tomb of Archbishop Laurence, with Adrian's
grave on the left .... 39 6
Fig. 9. Section of the tomb of Archbishop Laurence . 397
Fig. 10. Section of the tomb of Archbishop Justus 39$
XXX. Plan of recent discoveries of early works at St. Austin's . facing 400
XIV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.
Seals of Aymer tie Valence, Earl of Pembroke; Mary de St. Pol,
Countess of Pembroke ; and of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
Figs, i and 2. Seal of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.
Figs. 3 and 4. Secret seals of Aymer de Valence (the smaller
shows at the side of his own arms charges from those of his
first wife). Fig. 5. Seal of the Countess of Pembroke (arms of
Valence and of Chatillon of St. Pol). Fig. 6. Secret seal of the
Countess (the roundels show the arms of England, France, and
Dreux). Figs. 7 and 8. Seal and secret seal of Pembroke College
facing
Heraldry in the Cloisters of the Cathedral Church of Christ at
Canterbury :
Compartment 19 of the Cloisters .
Shield no. 119: ascribed to King Ethelbert .
Shield no. 43 .
Shield no. 55 : ascribed to Sansaver of Tramhatch .
Shield no. 162: ascribed to Apuldurfield
Shield no. 282 .
Shield no. 295 : ascribed to Birlingham
Shield no. 354: ascribed to Hosterley .
Shield no. 363 : ascribed to Staresacre .
Shield no. 494 : the Prince of Wales badge
Boss no. 643 : ascribed to John of Gaunt
Shields nos. 273, 223, 272, 139, 636, 643, 325, 501, 643, 643 following
Shields nos. 610, 220, 676, 211, 613, 762, 558, 473, 51, A 34
Shields nos. 219, 19, A 13, 142, 209, 392, 667, 136, 416, 33,
196, 616, 553, i, 14 .
Shields nos. 543, 224, 299, 379, 181, 42, 322, 191, 414 .
Shields nos. 382, 628, 23, 569, 699, 288, 156, 52, 318, 31, 8, 429
Shields nos. 415, 313, 83, 332, 337, 9, 528, 602, 255, 197, 48,
365, 324
Shields nos. 323, 692, 29, 388, 592, 589, A 33, 68, 309, 133,
265, 21
Shields nos. 135, 212, 53, 192, 193, 370, 584, 625, 737, 439,
194, 700, 268, 520 ...
PAGE
425
449
462
470
472
488
504
505
512
513
527
559
568
568
568
568
568
568
568
568
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv
PLATE PAGE
Heraldry in the Cloisters of the Cathedral Church of Christ at
Canterbury (continued] :
XL. Shields nos. 134, 453, 593, 601, 4H. 45 2 . 39 1, 3 2 9- 4 12 , 7 8 7-
398, 640, 103, 259, 776 following 568
XLI. Shields nos. 65, 235, 236, 718, 277, 170, 536, 112, 544, in,
58, T 4 8 568^
Late-Celtic Dagger, Fibulae, and Jet Cameo :
Fig. i. Dagger from Hertford Warren, Suffolk . . . 570
Fig. 2. Bronze fibula from Beckley, Oxon. . 571
Fig. 3. Bronze fibula from the Danes Graves, Yorks. . . . 571
Fig. 4. Bronze fibula with paste decoration from the Danes Graves . 571
Fig. 5. Jet cameo, found at Strood, near Rochester, Kent . . 572
1. The Complete Building Accounts of tlie City Churches (Parochial) designed by
Sir Christopher Wren. By LAWRENCE WEAVER, Esq., F.S.A.
Read loth December, 1914.
BOUND up with other additional matter in the heirloom copy of Wren's
Pa rental in, on which I read a short paper on the iyth June, 1909 ', is an engrav-
ing by Hulsbergh. It is an emblematical design of a pyramid dotted with
medallions, on each of which is written the name of a Wren building and a refer-
ence number. At the sides are two tables giving the costs of each building, set
out to the uttermost farthing. No doubt many students of Wren have wondered,
as I did, where Hulsbergh got these detailed figures, and by good fortune I have
found their source in Bodley's Library, Oxford.
The extraordinarily full details of the building of Wren's fifty-one City
churches, to which I shall now direct the Society's attention, have never, as far as
I can find, been used by the student. They are contained in three fat manuscript
volumes, and bear the press-marks :
MSS. Rawlinson B 387. The Bills of the Parochial Churches.
B 388. Leger of the Parochial Churches.
B 389. Tabernacle Leger and General Account.
In the front of the second volume, no. 388, is pasted an original letter as follows:
To Dr. Rawlinson at London House, Aldersgate Street.
These
Sir,
I have spoke with Messrs. Brown & Harding about the MSS. of Sir Chris 1 Wren
and they do agree to give you the Refusall of them for Seven Guineas which is the Lowest
price & I assure you they will not be Sold so little to any Body Else please to Send an
answer because they are to be Sent to Somebody Else to Look at.
I am Sir,
Yours etc.,
Wm. Bathoe.
Monday April Qth.
(N.B. The year is not given.)
1 Proceedings, xxii, 524.
VOL. LXVI u
2 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
Next is inserted a memorandum in the handwriting of Christopher Wren,
jun. :
Memorandum. These Three Volumes containing the Bills of the Parochial Churches:
Leger of the same : Tabernacles Leger: and General Accompts, were deliver'd to me by
Mr. Will Dickinson, sometime before his Decease, as what only were of moment, They
having been all long since, Regularly Audited and Pass'd in the Excheq r .
After the death of Mr. Dickinson in Feb: 1724.5 several Parchment Rolls of Abstracts,
rough Accts and Books, relating to St. Pauls and the Sd Churches (which together with
ye 3 Volumes above mention'd had by my father's direction to Mr. Dickinson, upon his
Leaving his Lodgings at Whitehall, been deposited under his keeping, in a room he
had in the Cloystcrs at Westmr as He was Surveyr Gen: of the Repairs There) were sent
by his Widdow to the Chapter House of St. Pauls, being carried thither and Placed in ye
Inner room by Mr. Lucas, Clark of the Works at St. Pauls, and Mr. Fran. Bird Carver.
On the 7th of July 1725. I took occasion, in company with Mr. Hawksmoor, to call
at ye sd Chapter House, and see what they were; and imagining They should not be
imbezzlcd and lost, gave orders to ye sd. Mr. Lucas to Place Them among the other
Records of St. Pauls, with a Label annext, referring to what they were, and from
whence taken: wch He promis'd to take care off accordingly. Present Mr. Hawksmoor
and Mr. Bird.
C.W.
It would appear that Brown and Harding, who were booksellers, had acquired,
honestly or otherwise, from the custodian of the records at St. Paul's, these three
volumes, and that Rawlinson did not too closely inquire as to where they came
from. I envy him his seven guinea bargain.
There are next bound in, a 'Plan and Proposals' (on one sheet) by Val Knight,
'of a New Model for Rebuilding the City of London' dated 2 Sept. 1666, and
printed some time later which does not bear on my subject. Also Hulsbergh's
' Pyramid' drawing already mentioned, which was 'printed for Sam Harding, Dan
Browne and Wm. Bathoe '. Also a printed sheet, ' Dimensions of St. Peter's,
Rome, and St. Pauls ', of no particular interest.
Before dealing with the Leger of the Parochial Churches, which needs to be
considered with the volume of bills, we may consider the third volume, no. 389,
Tabernacle Leger and General Account. The word ' tabernacle ' is a little
puzzling until we remember its use to describe the temporary churches which
were put up to provide a place for Divine worship during the building of the new
churches. The contemptuous label ' tin tabernacle ' has an archaeological flavour
of which most of its users are unaware. The accounts show details of twenty-
seven tabernacles. I give St. Alban's Wood Street in detail as a sample :
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREX 3
, 5. d.
Bricklayer ........ 27 2 9
Plumber ... ... 85 i 6
Carpenter ........ 88 6 8
13 14 6
Smith . ...... 2 n o
Glazier . . . ...... 14 i 7
230 1 8 o
Amongst others may be mentioned :
s. d.
All Hallows the Great tabernacle, which cost . 129 18 10
St. Mary Aldermary ,, . 194 5 8
St. Mary Abchurch ,, ,, ,, . 265 16 4
Pancras Soper Lane ,, ,, 50 o o
The last is a lump sum, without prices for the various trades. These shanties,
for they cannot have been more, were evidently built with timber walls on a brick
base. St. Alban's is unusual in having ^85 spent on plumber work, and was
possibly roofefl in part with sheet lead.
The fittings were severely simple. The joiner's work at St. Mary Aldermary
represented :
s. d.
Pulpit and type ....... 500
Communion Table . . . . . . i o o
Reading desk and Clarke's desk . . . . 2 10 o
The word 'type' puzzled me, but Sir James Murray has kindly told me that
it means a canopy over a pulpit, and. that it has been used from 1532 in its primary
meaning of cupola.
The so-called General Account bound in the same volume has some fasci-
nating items mingled with others very dull. They begin with the date Aug. 31,
1671. They represent disbursements made by Wren which either could not be,
or for some unknown reason were not, charged up to the account of individual
churches. Some were simply architect's office expenses :
To Sir Christopher Wren his disbursements to Samuel Wells for drawing
paper, paper bookes, pcncills parchment etc. as appears by bill from
June 1670 to May 1671 the summe of ....... /7 16 6
Moor to him, his disbursements to Samuel Wells for an iron Chest and
fitting drawers and conveniences for the Office Roome .... 16 4 o
Down to September 1679 the expenditure on drawing paper, etc., amounted
to \cx) os. yd. say 12 a year, a modest allowance which suggests that there
was not a vast number of detail drawings made for the fifty-one churches. We
B*
4 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
find that he used Imperial Dutch, Royal, Dutch Median, and other qualities of
paper. Similar entries go on after 1679, but they show nothing- different. Other
office requisites were :
To Andrew Phillips being his disbursements for a Booke on Vitruvius for
the use of ye office . /3 o o
To Andrew Phillips for a Statute Booke for the use of the office at . . 2 12 o
Another item shows that Wren had to keep his eye on the legal position, which
was complicated by the various State andvoluntary sources of the money available
for building :
To Sir Christopher Wren for Gold by him paid out as followeth,
To Heneage Finch for Council! and his opinion ab' borrowing upon the
credit of the Cole-money and allowance of use /5 7 6
To Judge Phillips for Councill and drawing up wrighting about the same 7 TO o
To him again for Councill several times and drawing up an additional
account about the Cole money .... 5 7 6
To his clerke . . % 15 o
To the Comptroller of the City Mr. Lane for drawing up some wrighting
upon the same . . . . .... 3 4 6
22 4 6
This was an earnest of the way the heart of the architect to-day is surfeited
and overcharged with legal difficulties which hinder him in the exercise of his art.
Doubtless, however, Sir Christopher's urbane modesty got him through many
difficulties without recourse to Heneage Finch.
The accounts throw interesting light on the professional men employed by
Wren.
Leonard Gammon was a surveyor who measured the church of St.Benet Fink
and eight others, for which he received 10, being twenty days at 105., and for
his assistance in casting up the measure, and for journeys and expenses, another
$. He was employed regularly, and other similar items appear. He was clerk
of the works at the Tower.
William Walgrave got^2 IDS. for taking the ground-plots of twelve churches.
Henry Hunt did thirteen ground-plots of churches yet unbuilt at 105. each,
a higher rate than Walgrave commanded. Thomas Lane was a draughtsman
regularly employed :
for copying ye designes of severall churches . 10
John Scarborow cannot have been a more exalted person than a junior clerk :
he got j6 for his allowance for ink, paper, and coach hire for four years, and
a pound a year for penny-post letters.
Edward Woodroffe seems to have been employed on the parochial churches
DESIGNED HY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 5
as assistant surveyor, in addition to holding 1 that post at St. Paul's Cathedral.
After his death, Walter Lapp, Esq., his executor, drew fifty pounds
in part of sallcry due to him by allowance of the Lords Commissioners.
Itwould appear that commission payments to Wren covered his ordinarystafF,
and that he only got his out-of-pocket expenses and a few charges for extra survey
work. We know from another manuscript account that he received five per cent,
on the cost of the City churches, in addition to his salary of ^200 for St. Paul's,
and other fees for the royal palaces, etc. The City churches therefore put over
^13,000 into Wren's pocket, a small enough sum for so superb an amount of work.
The last item but one shows ^"67 135. yX
To SirChr. Wren Knt. and to his assistants and clerkes their expenses in coach hire
wateridgc and severall other contingent charges by them disbursed and craved
for the service of the whole time of the acct.
Dates are scarce in the accounts, but the entries seem to finish about Michael-
mas, 1691. The ' clean-up ' of expenses therefore represented little more than ^3
a year on the whole period.
The most important assistant I have left to the last Wren's domestic clerk,
Nicholas Hawksmoor, who entered his service in 1679. His name does not appear
until September, 1687, when he got 9 for
his allowance for finding ink paper bookes wafers pens and other necessary for I of
a year.
Amongst the last items are these :
To Nicho. Hawkesmoor for transcribing and engrossing all the bookes that containes
all ye bills and workmanship of ye Parochiall Church to bring them to one gen 1
acct for the Exchequer in the summe of .10.
Presumably this work is to be identified with the first volume of the three
now considered (i.e. B 387).
To Nich. Hawkesmoor for his extraordinary paincs in extracting the states of the
aces of the Paroch: Churches and fairly engrossing the same etc. ... in all seaven,
at /5 each, ^35.
Perhaps these refer to the second volume (i.e. B 388), or they may represent
accounts which have not survived.
To Nich. Hawkesmoor for transcribing the Bookc of the Churches and Tabernacles
for the Gt. and Gen" ace' for the exchequer ^9.10. o.
This may well be the third volume (i.e. B 389), or, if the accounts referred to
remained with the Exchequer, then the Bodleian volumes are perhaps the
originals from which Hawksmoor made his copies. They are well worth the
money, being miracles of clearness and neat penmanship.
6 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
A few other items in the General Account must he mentioned as showing
the extremely business-like way in which all Wren's work was conducted. The
first item for checking the building accounts is Michaelmas, 1674, when John
Phillips, Esq., auditor for the accounts of the churches, got ' 20 guinea pieces for
his paines' (i.e. 21), and his clerk got a gratuity of Ji 105. Phillips's name
appears for later years, but at Michaelmas, 1691, Reginald Marriott received
31 ijs. for the period of the four preceding years, being a halfpenny in the pound
for ji5,3O2 i&r. i<Y., an item which will interest the student of audit history.
This ^31 175. was 'the whole charge for the said 4 years accts '.
The last entry is one of .200 to Marriott
for rc-cxamining all the warrants ... for re-building the fifty one parochiall churches.
. . . and casting all the prices and seeing all their receipts and making one intirc
ace 1 .
The business of getting payments made with anything like punctuality was
no doubt a serious one, and in 1670 the Clerks of the Chamber received 60 for
their gratuities for three years, and thereafter 20 a year regularly. The first
entry of all, Sept. 6, 1671, shows Wren in a pleasant light:
Paid to Thomas Hudson, Labourer, by order of the Surveyor, the summe of one
pound, he being a poor man and brooke his leg at the worke at Bow.
In the following May, Hudson got another pound by order of Wren and of
Woodroffe, the assistant surveyor already mentioned. An entry of 55. for John
Simpson suggests that he was a tiresome person :
allowed as charity by Mr. Survey our and is in full of all demands for work done at
any church or Tabernacle.
Presumably Wren did not think too highly of the work.
There are several payments in recompense of damage done to adjoining
owners, such as :
To John Fisher allowed in recompense for damage done to a shed of his in taking
down the Tower of St. Martin's Ludgate, .2.0.0.
About 1680 the temporary tabernacles were doubtless falling into disrepair,
and we find such payments asj8 185. $d. to Henry Toogood and Grove, plasterers,
for work at All Hallows Lombard Street Tabernacle.
The only important items of payments to craftsmen are 2 IDS. to Edward
Pearce, carver, for modelling and carving an eagle in wood for the spire of
St. Swithin's ; and 5 155. to Thomas Heisenbuttell, for a model for the spire or
tower of Christ Church.
I now come to the more serious parts of the accounts the Bills and Leger
of the Parochial Churches. I can dismiss the portly ledger volume with the state-
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 7
ment that it is a simple book of account showing the various payments made in
respect of the tradesmen's bills. At the end of each account is an abstract of the
totals paid to each man. These have been reduced to tabular form and are printed
in Appendix II.
The bills are contained in volume 6387, and consist of 384 leaves (paged recto
only). At the front is an index of the names of the churches concerned (except
St. Dunstan's, which the indexer overlooked). This index is printed in Appendix I,
and forthe sake of convenience the total sums paid for each churchare incorporated
with it. Of these bills complete transcripts of the entries relating to St. Mary-
le-Bow and Bow Tower and to St. Stephen's Walbrook are printed in Appendices
III and IV, and in a second column the prices as they would be in 1915 are added in
italics (see pages 23 to 60). These sample accounts are representative of the great
majority. They are like a modern bill of quantities, and are priced in great detail,
though not with that meticulous and, as some think, unnecessary detail in which
quantity surveyors delight nowadays. In the mason's bills, for example, Portland
stone ashlar is taken at 2s. \od. or 2s. 8d. a foot ; Portland coping, 6 in. x 14 in., at
35. lod. a foot ; rubble in buttresses, 505. a rod ; ' additional work over and above
ashlar in Rustic Coigns ' at 6d. a foot ; and so on. The plasterers' bills are in
comparison more fully detailed, with particulars of cornices, laurel wreaths, scrolls
and mouldings, all priced by the piece or the foot. The bills speak for them-
selves, but some general observations may be made as to their significance.
For the first time we have the names of every master tradesman employed
by Wren in all the trades. This destroys all manner of vain fancies as to the
employment of Dutch joiners and Italian plasterers on the construction of the City
churches. I say construction, meaning to exclude thereby decoration and equip-
ment, because it is clear that the Lords Commissioners who paid for the buildings
left the parishioners to do the latter work in the main. For example, the bills
cover no more than ^84 15. yd. paid to carvers, though much ordinary carving,
such as capitals of columns, etc., is included in the mason's bills. Richard Clecre
was employed at St. Olave's 'about the gallery', and got 19 js. $d. for lace, folding
leaves, eggs, beads, and festoons. We do not find any great artist like Grinling
Gibbons. Besides Clecre there were only Emmett and Maine, all of them crafts-
men well known for work on other buildings by Wren. Even such structural
items of decoration as the lead vases on the spire of St. Edmund's Lombard Street
(fatuously taken down by the late Canon Benham, to the great disfigurement of
the spire) do not appear in the bills. For bills of the decorative works, recourse
must be made to the parochial accounts, many of which exist.
The relationships between various trades are interesting. We get the germ
of the present English system of a single general contractor in some cases where
a loose partnership paid out sums due to other trades and were repaid. This is
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
seen at St. Vedast Foster Lane, where Thompson the mason, Willcox a carpenter,
' partners with Christopher Russell, bricklayer ', took an ' agreement by the great '
-or, as we should say, a lump sum contract at ; 1250, and paid the plumber and
plasterer, glazier and smith. Certain items were, however, excluded and appear
separately in the bills.
There seem also to have been temporary partnerships for the carrying out
of specific works. Amongst the plasterers, Henry Doogood and John Grove, who
were employed largely at St. Paul's, did most of the City churches, some jointly
and some separately. John Sherwood did four alone, one with Edward Martin
and two with Daniel Morris.
Joiners only did ' right wainscot work ', i.e. only the best and most elaborate
work. Carpenters often made wainscot doors. No doubt pews and such items,
not covered by these bills, were the especial province of the joiner. Bricklayers
had no monopoly of bricklaying, much of which was done by masons.
Appendix 1 1 gives all the tradesmen employed, under their trades. The total
number is not great. For example, only thirteen joiners and only ten plasterers
received contracts. All the coppersmith work was done by Robert Bird, except
one job, St. Swithin's, by Henry Bird, and one, St. Stephen's Coleman Street, by
George Bowyer. Slating was employed on only one church, St. Mary Abchurch,
except for trivial items at two others. The great sum paid to plumbers, ^"3 1,465
(or nearly an eighth of the total cost, which was ^"263,786), emphasizes Wren's
faithfulness to lead as a roofing material.
In the case of St. Mary Woolnoth, Sir Robert Vyner placed the contracts
and paid the tradesmen, receiving a lump sum of ,3,202 ijs. 2ii. from the Lords
Commissioners in repayment on Wren's certificate. Other items amounting to
2 55 &s\ 7^- were disbursed by the churchwardens and allowed by their lordships.
A similar arrangement obtained at St. Sepulchre's, where the total cost was paid
over to Dr. William Bell, minister. In both these cases Wren's work was only
repair of the old fabric.
In the case of St. Mary at Hill, the churchwardens were repaid ^223 155.,
and at St. Christopher's ,476 12s. $d., but no details appear in the bills. The
peculiar importance attached to the tower of St. Mary-le-Bow is indicated by its
being the subject of accounts altogether separate from those of the body of the
church.
The 'pyramid' engraving by Hulsbergh bound up with the bills has an in-
terest of its own. He numbers the first fifty churches, but they include St. Paul's
Cathedral, and also three parish churches outside the City, St. James's West-
minster, St. Andrew's Holborn, and St. Clement Danes, which are not included
in these accounts. Hulsbergh does not give the costs of St. Dunstan's, St.
Christopher's, and St. Sepulchre's, though their names fill little medallions, pre-
HAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE I
SYNOPSIS A.DiriClORU M PUBL1COBUM l* CHR1 S TOPHORI WREN HQVITIS AVR . arcJiUciti
,^ I S T
Of the eaacl Sums of Money laid out for RebuildingeachChurch.wiihBefereiiCTS to their Names It Number! in die Bounds..
ftfa Ctfy of LONDON;
EMBLEMATICAL DESIGN BY HULSBERGH, WITH NAMES AND COST
OF WREN'S BUILDINGS
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 9
sumably because they were only repair works. He ignores St. Mary Woolnoth
altogether, though it appears in the accounts. It was soon afterwards rebuilt by
Hawksmoor. For some reason St. Mary Aldcrmary, which was repaired by Wren
in the same way as St. Mary Woolnoth, does not appear in the accounts. In
other respects the total cost of each church as given by Hulsbergh is taken exactly
from the accounts.
The original purpose of this engraving presents some problems. It appears
in one of our own scrap-books, but in an early state without the schedules of
costs. In the Library of the Royal Institute of British Architects is a volume
containing this engraving (but with the schedules), and it is the first of a series
numbered i to 15. The R.I.B.A. catalogue describes it as ' Designs for Public
Buildings, 15 plates to illustrate Parentalia 1749', but the authority for this title
does not appear. There is no title-page, and the binding is not contemporary.
Most of the plates were ' printed for Sam Harding in St. Martin's Lane, Dan
Browne near Temple Bar and Wm. Bathoe in Church Lane ', all of them con-
spirators in the sale of the account-books to Rawlinson. Three are dated 1723,
1724, and 1726. Wren died in 1723. His son Christopher collected the material
for Parentalia, but apparently found coin-collecting more amusing, for it fell to
his son Stephen to publish the book in 1750 after Christopher's death. Perhaps
the booksellers originally meant to publish Parentalia with these fifteen big plates,
but got tired of waiting for the author, and so issued them without letterpress
a year before the Parentalia. Unhappily the most important (from my point of
view) of the Hulsbergh engravings, the pyramid diagram of Wren's works, is un-
dated. We can do no more than guess that Hulsbergh had access to the figures in
the ledger, because these figures seem to have been published nowhere but on his
engraving. I recognize that it is possible these accounts are not novel, and even
that copies may exist buried in some library. I cannot, however, find that they
have ever been quoted, and at least it is true that most students of London and of
Wren's work have been wholly unaware of their existence. Our Fcllowthe Rev. L.
Gilbertson has kindly pointed out to me that some years ago he found in the
St. Paul's Library some fragmentary accounts of the City churches, and he had
them bound up for their better preservation. Unfortunately the Zeppelin scare
has driven the Cathedral MSS. down into the Crypt, where they arc inaccessible
to the student for the present, and I have been unable to collate them with the
Bodleian MSS. From Mr. Gilbertson's remembrance of them, it seems likely
that they are only fragmentary copies of some of the complete accounts now
under consideration.
These manuscript accounts give material for a score of papers on various
aspects of Wren's work, and the building customs of his day. I am, however,
content to indicate the character and range of the material found, and to hope
VOL. LXVI C
10 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
that others will make better use of it than I have done. I suggest, for example,
that the following lines might be followed :
1. By a careful comparison of the dates of the various tradesmen's bills with
the executed work they represent, a reasoned study of the development
of Wren's treatment of detail could be more effectively worked out than
has hitherto been possible, e.g. the relationship between St. Paul's and
St. Stephen's Walbrook.
2. A study of the relative merits of the various tradesmen, masons, joiners, etc.
is possible now that every scrap of work can be labelled with its author's
name.
3. A study of Wren's use of materials and also the extent to which he re-used
old materials and the overplus from St. Paul's.
4.' The relative values of various branches of builder's work, now and in Wren's
time ; this could be estimated very exactly if a quantity surveyor were
to price the old quantities at to-day's values.
Many other fields of inquiry will no doubt suggest themselves to the student
of building.
I do not think I have exaggerated the value of these accounts. The main
conclusion to be drawn from them is that Sir Christopher Wren largely developed
on practical lines the then existing system of accounts in building work, and that
his methods have remained unchanged, except for elaborations not always help-
ful, until to-day. I know of no earlier or contemporary accounts prepared with
the same clearness and fullness, except, of course, those of St. Paul's Cathedral
and other Wren buildings. They show that in business organization Wren ex-
hibited the same greatness and grasp which are so marked in him whether as
mathematician, as constructor, or as artist. They form another element, indeed,
in that amazing fabric of achievement, which enlarges our wonder as we become
the better acquainted with his life and work.
One more point, not without its humours. Bishop Rawlinson, to whose
collecting zeal we doubtless owe the survival of the accounts, made it a condition
of his endowments that those who benefited from them should not be natives of
Scotland, Ireland, or the Plantations, nor b6 doctors in any faculty: of these
crimes I am guiltless. They were also to be unmarried, and on no account to be
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries. As they say in melodrama, ' that touches
me nearly '. The shade of Bishop Rawlinson must be suffering some discomfort
at the interest taken by our Society in his possessions.
1 This inquiry is followed up in the supplementary paper printed after this.
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN n
A Comparison of Building Prices.
1671-1687 and 1915.
Being a foot-note to 'The Complete Building Accounts of the City Churches'.
Read 2oth May, 1915.
WHEN I read my paper on the Accounts of Wren's City churches, I suggested
that the material then presented might be made the basis of further inquiry, such
as ' the relative values of various branches of builder's work, now and in Wren's
time ', and that ' this could be estimated very exactly if a quantity surveyor were
to price the old quantities at to-day's values '.
At the discussion which followed, widely divergent views were expressed as
to the ratio of increase which would be established by such an inquiry.
Some suggested that to arrive at present money values it would be necessary
to multiply the Wren figures by 2, others claimed that 3, 4, or 5 would be more
correct.
Mr. William H. H. Lunn, partner in the eminent firm of Messrs. Widnell &
Trollope, was present here on the loth December, and very promptly and kindly
promised to make a full inquiry into this important point. He made full but
unpriced copies of the complete bills relating both to St. Stephen's Walbrook and
to St. Mary-le-Bow, and then proceeded in the light of his very large experience
to price these bills as a contractor would price them to-day. For this purpose
Mr. Lunn assumed that, if the work were done at the present time, it would be
done in accordance with modern methods of building ; that, for instance, fir would
be used in many cases instead of oak, and fibrous plastering would be used instead
of heavy solid plastering. At the period when these churches were re-built oak
was about one-third of its present price and consequently little fir was used. The
ornamental plaster-work so freely used by Wren was of the class of work we should
now designate ' plaster carving ' ; that is to say, the undercut enrichments were
carved from the solid plaster, as casting undercut enrichments in gelatine moulds
was unknown at that time.
Pricing the measurements of the work on the above basis Mr. Lunn found that
thecostofrebuildingSt. Stephen's Walbrook to-day would be^" 15,400, as compared
with ; 7,652, the actual cost in Wren's time, and the rebuilding of St. Mary-le-
Bow would be ^"38,500, as compared with the actual cost of 15,473. It will thus
be seen that the cost of rebuilding the former church would be about twice the
amount that it actually cost in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and that
of the latter church about two and a half times that amount, the difference being
C 2
12 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
accounted for by the larger proportion of stonework in St. Mary-le-Bow compared
with the whole of the work. If, then, we take two and a quarter as an average
ratio of increase, the total cost of the fifty-one City churches would be to-day no
more than about seven hundred thousand pounds. The following are some of
the differences between the value of work at the end of the seventeenth century
and its value at the present time :
1671-1^87 ipi?
s. d. / 5. d.
Digging and carting, per yard . . . o i 10 . 050
Brickwork, per rod 5 10 o 17 o o
Bricks, per M. o 14 o . i 16 o
Rubble walling, per yard . . . . 046 . o 12 o
Portland stone, per foot cube . . . . 040 . o 10 6
Plain tiling on roofs, per square . . . i 10 o . 2 10 o
Wainscot doors, per foot 026 . 060
Lead and labour, per cwt. . . .. 0176 . iioo
Plain plastering on walls, per yard . .007.012
Painting 3 oils, per yard o i o o o 10
It will be noticed that painting is the only item actually less in cost to-day
than at the end of the seventeenth century.
The contractors were paid is. 6d. per day for labourers and 2s. 6d. to 35. 6</.
per day for mechanics. As the workmen probably worked for ten hours per day,
this would compare with contractors' rates of Js. 6d. per day for labourers and
i KV. &/. per day for mechanics at the present time (London prices).
It is to be noticed that when these churches were rebuilt pressure was
brought to bear to carry out the work expeditiously, as work was occasionally
done at night, links being charged at 3^. each ' to light the men in the nights ' and
candles at 4^. per Ib.
Evidently great economy was observed in the rebuilding, as some of the old
stone was re-used and some of the materials of the church of St. Pancras Soper
Lane, which parish was united to St. Mary-le-Bow after the Great Fire, were used
in rebuilding St. Mary-le-Bow. We find an item in the accounts for ' Pulling
down walls of St. Pancras Church and carrying the stones to Bow Church' for
which the sum of ^4 145. 2d. was paid.
The price of ironwork did not differ much from that of to-day ; there was no
rolling the metal into plates, bars, and rods, but the cost of the extra labour in
working the metal is about equal to the higher rates of wages nowadays.
The method of measurement employed in the old accounts is not dissimilar
to that in use by modern surveyors. Of course there is vastly less detail, and a lack
of that nice discrimination of labours which we now have, enabling us in these
days to obtain several competitive estimates very close to each other. Mitres,
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 13
etc. were unknown, and the description of doors, frames, gallery fronts, etc. had
to be obtained from the work on the site when executed. On the other hand, the
difference in cost between the different depths of excavation and the extra cost
of raising materials for portions of exceptional height was fully accounted for, as
was also special scaffolding where required.
There is a further and intermediate comparison on which I will touch lightly,
namely, the relation of these two sets of figures with the prices prevailing in 1852
when the Houses of Parliament were building.
Mr. Lunn's firm was engaged on the measurement and valuation of that
great work, and he has given me a few figures which I set out alongside the
others :
1671-1687 l$$2 iplf
s. d. s. d. s. d.
Brickwork per rod 5100.8176.1700
Bricks per M. o 14 o . i n o . i 16 o
(These two items show that building labour
has increased in cost at a vastly greater rate
than materials. As brick-making labour has
doubtless increased in much the same way, we
get an illuminating idea of the saving in the
total of building costs which has been achieved
by the help of machinery and of improved
manufacture generally.)
Painting 3 oils, per yard 010.006.0010
Labourers' wages per day (taken on a ten-hour day) 016.033. 076
Mechanics' wages per day ,, ,, 2/6103/6 .056. o 11 8
These figures of 1852 are of more importance to the social economist than
to the antiquary, but seemed worthy of brief record.
The 1915 figures for St. Stephen's Walbrook and St. Mary-le-Bow arc
printed side by side with the 1671-87 figures, in Appendices III and IV.
I feel a certain shame in making this communication, as the work is
Mr. Lunn's and not mine, and most of what I have read to you is copied directly
from his notes. We owe him a debt of gratitude for a labour which was in truth
very laborious, and I am sure that the Society will accord him hearty thanks for
making so valuable and practical a contribution to the economic history of the
building trade. For myself, I can only repeat in public the thanks I have already
expressed to him.
APPENDIX I
INDEX TO MS. KAWL. B. 387 IN THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD
(to whicli arc added the total costs of each church).
St. Olaves Jewry
St. Michaells Woodstreet .
St. Stephens Walbrooke .
St. Mary Aldermanbury
St. Nicholas Cole-abby
St. George Buttolph Lane .
St. Bartholmew Exchange .
St. Stephen Colemanstreet
St. Michaells Bassishaw
St. Michaells Queenhithe .
St. Anne and Agnes .
St. Mary At-hill
St. Christophers
St. Vedast als: Fosters
St. Sepulchers ....
St. Mary Woolnoth .
St. Mildred Poultrey .
St. Bennetts Finck
(St. Mary L'. Bow
( Bow Tower ....
St. Michaells Cornhill
St. Magnus ....
St. Edmund the King
St. Lawrence Jewry .
St. Brides
St. Dyonis Backchurch
Christ Church ....
St. James Garlickhithe
St. Fetters Cornhill .
St. Bennetts Pauls-Wharfe
St. Martins Ludgate .
St. Alhallowes y e Create .
St. Swithins ....
St. Alhallowes Breadstreet
St. Austins. ....
St. Antholins ....
St. Mildred Breadstreet
St. Bennets Grace : Church
St. Mary Abb: Church
St. Mary Magclellens Oldfishstreet
St. Mathews Frydaystreet .
1'AGE
> s - d-
I
5580 4 10
9
2554 12 11
'7
7652 13 8
27
5237 3 6
35
5042 6 i i
43
4509 4 10
. 49
5077 i i
56
4020 i 6 6
. 62
2822 17 i
. 68
4354 3 8
. 78
2448 o 10
. 84
3980 12 3
. 87
2098 12 7
9i
'853 15 6
93
4993 4 o
95
3457 15 9
. 96
4654 9 74
. 104
4129 16 10
. I 10
8071 18 i
121
7388 8 7*
Ul
4686 10 4
137
9579 19 10
. 149
5207 i i o
'57
11870 i 9
. 167
11430 5 ii
174
5737 10 8
. 182
11778 9 6
196, 331
5357 '2 10
. 2O2
5647 8 2
2IO
3328 18 10
. 2l6
5378 9 7
226
5641 9 9
234
4687 4 6
. 240
3348 7 2
. 246
3'45 3 '0
254
5685 5 10*
. 263
3705 13 6i
275
4583 9 S*
. 283
4922 2 4*
295
4291 12 Of\
305
2301 8 2
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCH KS
St. Clemments Eastcheap .
St. Albans Woodstreet
St. Margetts Pattens ats Root!
St. Michaells Crooked Lane
St. Margetts Loathbury
St. Mary Sommersett
St. Alhallowes Lombardstreet
St. Andrews Wardrobe
St. Michaells Royall .
TACK
X.
d.
.
313
4365
3
4!
323
3165
8
.
333
4986
18
8
.
343
454'
5
1 1
.
352
5340
8
i
,
360
6579
18
1
,
373
8058
15
6
.
387
7060
16
i i
399
7455
7
9
Total =
263786
10
4l
APPENDIX II
TABULAR STATEMENT OF THE TRADESMEN AND SUMS PAID TO THEM, AND
THE LIMITS OF DATE IN RESPECT OF EACH CHURCH, TAKEN FROM THE
LEGER OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCHES', MS. B 388
NOTE. In order to simplify this table and to compress it within reasonable space, the figure set against
each tradesman's name represents the amount paid to the nearest : for example, 227 2J. #/. is
noted as 227, and 3365 ibs. id. is noted as 3366. These simplified figures serve to show the amount
and importance of the work done by each tradesman at each church. The total for each church is
given exactly.
Tradesmen
St. Olave's Jewry v St. Michael's Wood St.
Dec. i6 7 o-Dec. 1679 St - Dunstans in the Last March ,570 Oct. 1687
Masons
John Shorthose 3366
Thomas Wise 1019
Bricklayers
Edward Ballance 7
S^s-S
Richard Cobbett 17
Carpenters
Matthew Bankes 494
1 5
Samuel Lime 466
John Longland 32
5j-2 5
-.S!. .
John Longland 10
Robert Day 153
3^ U ^
John II aj' ward 59
Joiners
Vallentine Housman 34
g-8<2
Gcrrad Lcnns 1 1
Thomas Whiting 100
5 I 0-5
Carvers
Richard Cleere 19
rsS^-S
Smiths
Richard Howes 213
.. s>O
^^"^ ^:
John Whcatley 130
^*5r* i:
to >. M
Samuell Colbourn 14
Copper Smiths
...
~ ? <!' c
Robert Bird 16
Plasterers
John Grove, Sen. 154
Sll^l 1
, < e 2
Sherwood and Morrice 81
John Grove, Jun. 7
o^tk
Plumbers
Thomas Aldworth 687
t a
S S 5
Nathaniell Cham 503
Samuel Tanner 3
~ > B
a "6 O
John Talhot 179
John Talbott 18
n C S t^>
^j p, . ir\
Painters
Robert Streeter 5
~ ^ '*-'
5 "S ".
Robert Streeter ^
'^" "^ tf
Edsvard Bird H
( il.ixiers
Widow Tipton 54
V. w e ^>
^S <0<
William Browne 25
Carters and Labourers
^S! so
...
Sundry
John Tillison, Clerke
5 b
9 !l S 1
John Tillotson, Clerke
of St. Paul's 8
"^S I- 2
of St. Paul's 14
Portland stone in part
^ r-^ v,, )
^
payment 227
Total Cost of Church
5580 4 10
1075 18 2
2554 12 it
i6
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
Tradesmen
St. Stephen's Walbrook
Aug. i672-May 1687
St. Marv Aldermanlmry
March" 1 670 Feb. 1686
. Nicholas Cole Abbey
Nov. 1671 June 1681
Masons Edward Strong and Chris- Joshua Marshall 3190
Thomas Wise
1'4>
topher Kempster 4424 Samuel Fulkes
'4
Bricklayers Thomas Horn i
Carpenters John Longlancl 1353 Matthew Bankes
615
Henry Blowes
645
Robert Day
9
Mathew Bancks
6
John Longland
2
Joiners Roger Davis 30 William Cleer
3 1
William Cleer
17
Carvers
...
*
Smiths Stephen Leaver 169 Grace Smith
106
George Drew
206
Thomas Hodgkins
"47
Stephen Leaver
28
Copper Smiths Robert Bird 12 Robert Bird
1 1
Robert Bird
5
Plasterers Henry Doogood and John Grove
'75
Jno Sherwood and
Jno Grove 495
Edw. Martin
103
John Sherwood
16
Plumbers Thomas Aldworth 1093 John Talbot
6 95
Charles Atherton
802
Matthew Roberts 4 William Cocker
1 20
Wm. Savage and
John Slaughter
8
Math. Roberts
'7
Painters William Davis 15 Robert Streeter
22
Margarett Peirce
22
Thomas Laine i
Edward Bird 5
Glaziers Robert Pindar 50 Daniell Davis
55
Robert Bowler
34
George Peowry i
Carters and Labourers ... John Dubois,
...
Churchwarden
29
Sundry ... John Tillison, Clerke
. . .
of St. Paul's, for
freestone rubble
8
Total Cost of Church 7652 13 8 5237 3 6
5042 6 1 1
St. Michael's Queenhithe St. Anne and St. Agnes
Jan. 1676 -Aug. 1687 March i6 7 6-May 1687
St. Mary Hill
July i67o-Sept. 1676
Masons
Thomas Floory 1 796
Robert Walters
243
Joshua Marshall
1928
Samuell Fulkes 613 William Hammond
130
Bricklayers
Thomas Warren 101 , John Fitch
984
...
John Bridges 23
Carpenters
Mathew Bancks 753
John Hay ward
'57
Thomas Lock
559
Joiners
Ralph Cadman
16
William Cleer
26
Carvers
...
Smiths
Stephen Leaver 184
Stephen Leaver
180
George Drew
130
Samuell Colbourn 56
Copper Smiths
Robert Bird 49 Robert Bird
9
...
Plasterers
Henry Doogood and
John Sherwood
274
John Grove
218
John Grove in
,
Plumbers
Mathew Roberts 515
Thomas Dobbins
262
John George
810
Sarah Freeman 2
Painters
Thomas Laine 8
Robert Streeter
28
Widdow Pearce
29
Edward Bird 32
Glaziers
Samuell Oliver 43
George Peowrie
31
John Aliffe
55
Mathew Germaine 5
Carters and Labourers
John Hoy and John
Bartholomew Scott
22
...
Simpson 25
John Hoy
10
Edward Hide and
John Jay, slater
2
John Pledge 9
Sundry
Mr. Samuel Freeman,
Richard Morse and
Minister
100
Henry Loads, Church
Wardens
224
Total Cost of Church
43^4 3 8
2448 o 10
3980 12 3
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
St. George Botolph
July i67i-March 1679
St. Bartholomew Exchange St. Stephen's Coleman Street
April i674-Nov. 1686 Sept. 1674- Sept. 1681
St. Michael Bassishaw
July i6r6-July 1682
Nicholas Young 3059
Thomas Horn 40
Robert Day 415
Thomas Gammon 8
John Thompson 3223
Robert Browne 68
Mathew Bancks 480
Joshua Marshall 2160 John Fitch
James Floory
Joseph Lenns 26
Abraham Williams 28
Robert Horton 588
1665
474
William Cleer
25
William Cleer 29
William Cleer 39
...
John Peachman
John Grove and
Henry Doogood
163
Robert Bates 324
Henry Doogood and
John Grove 220
Richard Howes 248 Thomas Hodgkins
Richard Howes
George Bowyer 6
Robert Horton and John Sherwood
Burton 136
178
2
398
William Bonnick
Thomas Dobbins
497 Mathew Roberts 146
70 Jeffrey Flexney 502
Thomas Balland 626 Thomas Dobbins
56
Robert Streeter
5 Margarett Pearce 13
Isaac Fuller and Mary Grimes
Tho. Marter 29
9
John Odell
3 2
John Brewin 70
Joseph Panton 54
George Peowrye
4 1
John Tillison
43
...
Humphrey Griffith,
Church Warden 82
...
4509 4 10
5077 i i
4020 16 6
2822 17
i
St. Christopher's
Jan. i670-May 1675
St. Foster's
July i67O-Oct. 1673
St. Sepulchre's St. Mary Woolnoth
Aug. 1670 Sept. 1677 Feb - i670-July 1677
John Thompson
742
John Thompson,
mason, and Wilcox,
carpenter 1272
**
Mathew Bancks
338
Jonathan Wilcox 28
(carpenter solus)
...
William Emmett
Matthew Holland
24
80
.
...
...
John Grove
49
...
*
...
Joseph Franklin
345 i
...
...
Robert Streeter
22 Widdow Thornhill 3
...
...
Robert Todd
22
...
...
. ..
R. Kellington and
Jno Elliott, Church
Wardens
2098 i 2 7
477
Jno Eaton and
Tho. Godson,
Church Wardens 550
1853 15 6
Account of sums re-
ceived by Dr.
William Bell,
Minister
4993 4
Account of sums re
ceived by Sir
Robert Viner
Thomas Whiting,
Church Warden
^3457 '5
3202
255
9
VOL.
IS
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
St. MiMiv.l I'nulti-y
Tradesmen Sept l67O . Se pt. 1679
St Benet Fink
March i67O-Oct. 1681
St. Mary le Bow
July i67O-March 1680
Masons Jasper Latham ' 2910
Thomas Cartwright 1838
Thomas Cartwright 3 j88
(' Jasper Latham received Portland stone to the value of .324 55. 3^. in part of payment. Besides
.2909 us. 6d. (Public Cash) there was paid out to S r Chr: Wren's owne Cash 200 )
Bricklayers Morrice Emmett 10
Nicholas Wood 589
Anthony Tanner 1207
Carpenters
Thomas Lock 306
Henry Blowes 584
Mathevv Bancks 1110
Robert Day 62
Robert Day 10
Joiners
William Cleer 13
William Cleer 24
William Cleer 335
Carvers
*
Thomas Whiting 112
Smiths
Edmund Smith 368
James Dovey 202
John Baxter 266
William Wells 16
Copper Smiths
Robert Bird 3
Plasterers
Henry Doogood and
John Grove 136
John Grove 298
John Grove 121
John Grove, Junr. 41
Plumbers
Nathaniell Cham 341
Jeffrey Flexney 685
Thomas Aldworth 780
Charles Atherton 63
Painters Robert Streeter 8
Robert Streeter 24
Robert Streeter 10
Glaziers James Thompson 43
John Brace 52
John Oliver 6r
George Peowrie i
Carters and Labourers
. . .
John Simpson 156
James Trahern 35
William Cooke 4
Sundry Henry Stead, Church
...
Martha Hammond 60
Warden 200
(for storage cellars)
(paid to Jasper
41^7 10 jo
Christopher Taylor 100
Latham before
i \J 1
Less 7 14 o Discount
this accompt)
Total Cost of Church 4654 9 7|
4129 16 10
8071 18 i
Tradesmen
St. Lawrence Jewry
Jan. 1670 May 1686
St. Bride's
Feb. 1670- Nov. 1684
St. Uionis Backchurch
March i67O-Aug. 1686
Masons
Edward Pearce 75^6
Joshua Marshall 8964
John Thompson 3528
Samuell Fulkes 9
George Turley 2
Bricklayers
Thomas Newman 12
...
...
Carpenters
John Longland 1780
John Longland 909
William Taylour 540
William Atwell 26
Richard Reading 99
John Longland 25
Joiners
William Cleer 36
William Cleer' 43
William Cleer 58
Carvers
Smiths
Thomas Smith 349
George Drew 282
Stephen Heath 187
Bissell and Taylor 75
Stephen Leaver 15
Henry Brookes 68
Stephen Leaver 19
George Drew 14
Copper Smiths
Robert Bird 14
Robert Bird 18
Plasterers
Thomas Mead 356
John Grove 200
John Grove 157
Henry Doogood and
John Grove 15
Plumbers
Charles Atherton 1526
Charles Atherton 889
William Bonnick 678
John Cale 20
John Lingard 78
John George 149
Painters
Thomas Laine 19
Edward Bird 7
Robert Streeter 19
Margarett Pearce 23
Robert Streeter 19
Edward Bird 12
Glaziers
George Peowrie 6
Hannah Brace 73
John Holden 37
William Browne 68
Francis Moore 4
Abraham Harris 3
Carters and Labourers
...
...
Sundry
...
...
William Clemment 12
(Anchor Smith)
John Tillison 12
Total Cost of Church
11870 i 9
11430 5 ii
5737 I0 8
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
Tower of St. Mary le
Bow
St. Michael's Cornhill
St. Magnus
St. Edmund the
King
Sept. i67i-Aug. 1683
Feb. i67o-Oct. 1677
July i67i-Oct. 1687
Aug. i67<>-Jan.
1679
Tho. Cartwright and
Nicholas Young
2090
John Thompson
6313
Abraham Story
2884
Jno. Thompson
6172
Robert Walters
4
Edward Pearce
4
Thomas Horn
i?
Anthony Tanner
171
.. .
Morrice Emmett
495
Mathew Bancks
355
Thomas Gammon
426
Mathew Banckes
924
George Choby and
Robert Day
6
Thomas Lock
22
Henry Wilkins
576
William Grey
i
William Cleere
38
William Cleer
3 2
Thomas Whiting
45
William Cleer
10
Stephen Leaver
165
George Drew
140
...
Henry Brookes
399
Edmund Smith
39
John Baxter
43
Robert Bird
61
* *
*
Henry Doogood and
John Grove
J 35
Jno. Grove and
Danll. Morrice and
John Grove
130
Henry Doogood
389
Jno. Sherwood
85
Matthew Roberts
2 3
Jeffrey Flexney
618
Thomas Dobbins
1005
Petter Brent
614
Thomas Aldworth
297
Charles Atherton
2 5
William Smith
20
Thomas Freeman
14
Thomas Laine
34
Robert Streeter
16
Widdow Pearce
22
Robert Streeter
H
Edward Bird
5
Samuell Oliver
22
John Odell
55
James Goodchild
7
John Brace
97
Thomas Knight
47
...
Henry Russell
12
...
John Simpson
5 2
John Hoy
2
*
Thomas raise
9
Walter detriment
39
Walter Clemment
216
Jno. Green,
...
(Anchor Smith)
(Anchor Smith)
Wm. Sheldon, and
Joseph Moxon
10
Natl. Attwell,
Dr. Merston and
Church Wardens
390
Church Wardens
753
7388 8 7 ^
,
4686 10 4
9579 X 9 10
5207 1 1
Christ Church
St. lames Garlickhithe
St. Peter's Cornhill
St. Bennet's Paul's
Wharf
March i677-Aug. 1691
Sept. i674-May 1687
Oct. 1677- Oct. 1687
Dec. i677~Aug.
1685
John Shorthose and
Christopher Kempster 2823
Joshua Marshall
74 1
Edward Strong
1859
John Crooke
6648
Abraham Story
1632
Thomas Humphreys
ii
Edward Elder
3
Thomas Warren
258
Thomas Warren
587
...
John How
34
John Longland
1982
Israeli Knowles
878
Thomas Woodstock 1068
Israeli Knowles
655
Matthew Williams
69
William Cleer
45
William Cleere
19
William Cleer
18
Richard Howes
624
Henry Brookes
244
Edward Freeman
93
Stephen Leaver
148
Richard Hows
i '5
Samuell Colbourn
6
Thomas Hodgkins
15
Bryan Stephen, executor
to Stephen Leaver 7
...
...
Robert Bird
46
Robert Bird
17
I li-nry Doogood
597
John Grove and
Henry Doogood and
Henry Doogood and
Henry Doogood
252
John Grove
330
Jno. Grove
127
Mathew Roberts
1608
Sarah Freeman
775
Thomas Dobbins
586
Mathew Roberts
421
Thomas Browne
29
Thomas Aldworth
7
Edward Bird
20
John Kear
12
Thomas Martyr
20
Thomas Laine
22
Edward Bird
7
Mathew GermaJne
116
George Peowrye
6 3
John Odell
35
George Peowrye
35
John Slyford
22
11778 9 6
5357 12
Bartholomew Scott
Wm. Stepney and
Robt. Rowland,
Church Wardens
5647 8
37
3328 18 10
20
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
Tradesmen
St. Martin's Ludgate
March 1677 April 1687
A II hallow the Great
April i&77-June 1687
St. Swithin's
Aug. 1677 Oct. 1687
Masons
Nicholas Young 3128
William Hammond
337
Joshua Marshall
2309
Samuell Fulkes
117
Bricklayers
Allan Garway
82
Thomas Horn
55
...
Thomas Horn
118
Carpenters
Henry Blowes
587
Robert Day
795
John Longland
749
Robert Day
97
Mathew Bancks
280
Joiners
William Draper
26
Thomas Powell
4
William Cleer
20
William Cleer
20
Carvers
William Emmett
6
...
Smiths
Samuell Colbourn
87
William Smith
7 2 5
Edmund Smith
208
Stephen Leaver
no
Henry Brookes
3 1 ?
Stephen Leaver
I
Samuell Colbourn
6
Copper Smiths
Robert Bird
n
Robert Bird
48
Plasterers
Henry Doogood and
Henry Doogood and
Henry Doogood
235
Jno. Grove
241
Jno. Grove
23
John Sherwood
144
Plumbers
John Talbot
182
Edward Phillips
3
John George
93<>
Petter Read
35
Painters
Edward Bird
7
Edward Bird
2
Dorcas Veare
n
Edward Bird and
William Thompson
I
William Thompson
n
Thomas Laine
8
Thomas Laine
1 3
Edward Bird
i
Glaziers
Richard Bowler
3
Richard Charnley
60
Richard Bowler
41
Richard Pindar
2 7
Carters and Labourers
John Slyford
28
Bartholomew Scott
in
...
Sundry
...
...
Total Cost of Church
5378 9 7
!
5641 9 9
4687 4 6
Tradesmen
St. Bennet's Gracechurch
Aug. i68i-Aug. 1687
St. Mary Abchurch
Aug. i68i-Nov. 1687
St. Magdalen, Old Fish
Feb. i683-Oct. 1687
St.
Masons
Bricklayers
Thomas Wise 2658
Christopher Kempster
John Bridges
1695
259
Edward Strong
2776
John Evans
144
Carpenters
John Longland
740
Thomas Woodstock
1130
Israeli Knowles
507
Joiners
William Cleere
H
William Grey
26
Richard Kedge
14
Carvers
Jonathan Maine
6
Smiths
Thomas Smith
63
Thomas Hodgkins
124
Thomas Hodgkins
248
Samuell Colbourn
!3 J
Henry Brookes
232
Bryan Stephens
3
Bryan Stephens
i
Copper Smiths
Robert Bird
28
Robert Bird
58
Robert Bird
1 1
Plasterers
Henry Doogood and
Henry Doogood and
Henry Doogood
'44
Jno. Grove
128
Jno. Grove
144
Plumbers
John George
4 T 7
Thomas Dobbins
934
John Wilkins
5-8
Mathew Roberts
329
Sarah Freeman
2
Matthew Roberts
2
Painters
Edward Bird
3
William Thompson
16
Edward Bird
21
Edward Bird
16
Glaziers
Samuel Rainger
42
Henry Bray
49
John Claridge
4
Carters and Labourers
Sundry
Total Cost of Church
4583
5*
Bartholomew Scott 38
William Newton (slater) 55
4922 2 4$
Bartholomew Scott
4291 12
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
21
Allhallows Bread Street St. Austin's
Oct. i677-June 1687 Aug. i68o-May
St. Antholin's
1687 Feb. i678-Aug. 1691
St. Mildred Bread Street
Jan. i68i-Aug. 1687
Samuel Fulkes
1888 Edward Strong
2190 Thomas Cartwright 3524
Edward Strong
872
John Longland
586
Israeli Knowles
Edward Elder
Thomas Horn
444 John Longland
William Atwell
67
13
726
3
Thomas Horn
Israeli Knowles
Thomas Woodstock
825
696
6
William Cleer
*9
William Draper
30
William Cleere
35
William Cleere
23
Richard Howes
Jonathan Maine
165 Thomas Hodgkins
4
116
Stephen Leaver
Samuell Colbourn
146
33
Stephen Leaver
Samuell Colbourn
118
53
Henry Doogood and
Jno. Grove
Henry Doogood
136 John Combes
5
98
Robert Bird
Henry Doogood
52
2 5 J
Robert Bird
Henry Doogood and
Jno. Grove
38
271
Mathew Roberts
519 Mathew Roberts
207 Mathew Roberts
702
Mathew Roberts
738
Thomas Laine
Edward Bird
4
2
Edward Bird
Thomas Laine
4
Thomas Laine
Edward Bird
3
29
Edward Bird
29
[Richard] Joyner
3348 7 2
30
John Brewer
Thomas Young
(Slater)
^ 45 3
39
4
10
William Woodroofe
Francis Moore
William Atwell,
Church Warden
5685 5 10}
38
3
33
Elizabeth Peowrie
Francis Moore
Bartholomew Scott
375 J 3 6J
28
6
2
St. Matthew's Friday
Nov. i68i-April 168-
Edward Pearce
Thomas Horn
St.
1
St. Clement's East
March i683~Oct.
Cheap St. Alban's Wood Street
1687 Oct. i682-April 1687
St. Margaret Pattens
Feb. i68 4 -July 1689
710
474
Edward Strong
2661 Samuell Fulkes
1946
Samuell Fulkes
John Evans
3204
5'
John Longland
William Cleer
41?
9
Israeli Knowles
William Gray
520 Mathew Banckes
23 William Cleer
409
21
Thomas Woodstock
William Clccr
Thomas Poultney
613
27
3
Stephen Leaver with
his executor Bryan
Stephens
Samuell Colbourn
57
70
Humphrey Clay
326
Thomas Hodgkins
I2 4
Edmund Smith
Humphrey Clay
228
18
Henry Doogood and
Jno. Grove
Mathew Roberts
Edward Bird
Jno. Grove and Jno. Grove and
98 Henry Doogood 152 Henry Doogood
432 Thomas Dobbins 588 Peter Read
Mathew Roberts 9
10 William Thompson 17 Edward Bird
1 95
43i
12
Jno. Grove and
Henry Doogood
James Dobbins and
Step. Smart
William Thompson
198
524
'4
Elizabeth Peowrie
26
James Thompson
Bartholomew Scott
53 Matthew Jarmaine
(? Germainc)
17
25
Samuell Rainger
Bartholomew Scott
56
5i
2301 8 2
^43 6 5 3
4*
3165 o 8
4986 18 8
22
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
T- St. Michael's Crooked Lane St. Margaret's Lothbury
Tradl en Sept. i68 4 -Dec. 1694 May 1686 May 1693
St. Mary Somerset
May i686-Dec. 1694
Masons William Hammond 2533 Samuell Fulkes 3335 Christopher Kempster 4141
Bricklayers John Evans 75 ... John Evans 391
Carpenters Robert Day 32 John Longland 792
James Grove 67:
Mathew Banckes 405
James Grove 39
Thomas Denning 18
Joiners
William Cleer 54 William Cleer 52 Charles Hopson i
William Cleer 6i
Carvers
i
iii
Smiths Henry Brookes 348 Richard Howes 298 Thomas Hodgkins 41-
Eliz. Clay, executor to
Humphrey Clay 4
Copper Smiths
*
Plasterers Henry Doogood and Henry Doogood 137 Henry Doogood 141
Jno. Grove 118
Plumbers Edward Phillips 724 Mathew Roberts 625 Mathew Roberts 54-
Painters William Thompson 10 Nicholas Sheppard 9 Edward Bird i:
Glaziers James Thompson 46 Francis Moore 51 Mathew Jarmaine 51
Carters and Labourers Bartholomew Scott 135 Bartholomew Scott 42 Bartholomew Scott IK
James Hurst 2:
Sundry
*
Total Cost of Church &454 1 5 i l ^534 8 i
6579 18 ij
Tradesmen
Allhallows Lombard Street
May 1686 Dec. 1694
St. Andrew's Wardrobe
Sept. i685-Aug. 1695
St. Michael's Royall
Oct. i686-Dec. 1694
Masons
John Thompson 4399
Nicholas Young 2278
Edward Strong 47^
Bricklayers
Charles King 10
Thomas Horn 922
. . .
John Evans 184
Carpenters
Thomas Woodstock 1214
John Longland J 73
Thomas Denning 99$
Israeli Knowles 63
Joiners
Widow Cleer 63
Roger Davis 264
William Cleer 42
Widow Cleer 24
Carvers
John Miller 14
Jonathan Maine 25
...
Smiths
Humphrey Clay 636
Samuell Colbourn 304
Ann Brookes 38
Thomas Colbourn 51
Humphrey Clay 50^
Copper Smiths
...
Plasterers
Henry Doogood 229
Henry Doogood 398
Henry Doogood 248
Plumbers
Edward Beard 1068
Mathew Roberts 854
Thomas Dobbins 675
Painters
Glaziers
Carters and Labourers
Sundry
Total Cost of Church
APPENDIX III
THE COMPLETE BILLS FOR ST. MARY-LE-BOW AND BOW TOWER
The Roman figures in the first money columns are copied from the original accounts. The italic
figures in the second columns are the estimated prices the work would cost in 1915. See supplementary
paper, pp. 11-13.
Estimated cost of
I he work in 1915.
To James Traherne for mony by him laid out for labou rs Imployed @ s. d.
in clearing and moueing the Rubbish which came from the upper part
of the Tower Sept: 16: 1671.
Edward Turner
Charles Lewis
Henry Henley
Anthony Willy
Henry Laine
Oliver Chambers
George Fidoe
William Vigers
Laid out for baskets and a Rope
By an account given in Saterday the 9: of Sep'
To James Traherne for Overseeing them
ffor the Carridge of 34 load of Rubbish at
5 dayes at xviij' 1
Sat
Sat
Sat
Sat
2 at
3at
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
IO IO
I IO
7 6)
7 6
7 6
7 6
7 6
7 6
3 o
4 6J
8 o
o
o
_I 19
17 o
To Anthony Tanner Bricklay r for worke done by him from
founda: to the Top of the Watertable. Oct: 21. 1671.
ffor the foundation on the South, East and North Side
76 Rod 4-: i6 f at under w ch measure is comprised al }'
allteracons of y c foundations at xlviij*
ffor 2 Rod. 33' of Brickworke in peeceing the Old Vault
to the new peer and about making y' halfe peer on the
East side, and the g' Peer in y c Vault and under y e
Pilaster by the East window at v^ x" 1 1 1 3
Allowed for banding y c Rubble of the South founda: 22 5'"
of bricks at xiiij" 15 15
ffor digging and breaking through y c Arch of y" Old Vault
for y c g l Peer o 8
ffor digging y n halfe peer on the East at 05
o
o
7/6
say
13 2 6
S o
42 o o
600
6 16 o
184 6 8 no/- f3? 13 3
3-to/-
47
I
I
,?
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
ffor dicing y 1 ' founda: of y c Peer in y" Cellar Cont 37 y' u
at vj d
ffor opening y e founcla: to y e South between y' Church and
Court of Arches 4 f deep Cont: 26 y ds at vj' 1
By him laid out for Severall labourers for Carrying of
rubbish out of the Vault and Bow lane into Cheapside
o 18 6
o 13
2 5
o
216 411
To James Traherne for mony by him laid out for labourers in
clereing the Vaults and Carrying away y c Rubbish from Munday the iS' h
to Saterday 23 Sep r 1671
Charles Lewis, Henry Henley,
Henry Laine, Oliver Chambers,
Will: Vigers in all being 6 dayes
Edward William's,
Anthony Willis,
Geo: Fidoe and
each 48 at xviij d
ffrom Munday 25. to Saterday 30. of Sept r M r Clark for
Carridge of 40 loads of Rubbish at xiiij' 1
Geo: Ableson 1 2 loades of Rubbish at
ffor Sli of Candles at iiij d ot> per li
Elwis Griggs 1 06 loades of Rubbish at xiiij
To James Traherne for his attendance 2 weekes
ffor 8 labourers 48 clayes from y 25 to y c 30: of September
To Anthony Tanner Bricklay r for worke clone by him at the height
of 8 fo l above the water table on the west South and East Sides of the
Church and East Side of the Court of Arches. Sept. 23 1671
3
I 2
2
6
8
O
14
o
O
6
i
3
3
o
o
8
3
12
17
I I
4
For 53 Rod J: 23 f of new Brickworke per v x s
ffor i Roct 2' i8 f of rubble wall in a Peere in y p fountaine
at y 1 ' West end xlviij s
296 2
_J 15
299 17
o
To Mathew Bankes Carpent r for worke done by him about Planking
and Shearing the foundation and the Steeple, and in pulling down the
uper floor of the Steeple, and Centering to y e bowes of y e Steeple, and
laying up the Old Timber in a Vault under the Chur: and making
a hircl in Cheapside Nou r 10: (71)
ffor 68* dayes worke at iij 9 and 58^ dayes worke at ij" vj d
and 14 dayes at xviij' 1 and 6 dayes at iij' iiij d and 8
clayes at iij s vj d and 16 dayes at ij* viij d and 4 dayes at v'
ffor nailes 100 w th hinges and a lock at
ffor 206 whole deals & 6 Slitt at 9
ffor y c use and Cutting to wast of Shoares
ffor 361' of 3 Inch Oaken planke at vj d
ffor Carting of Shoares and deales and Planks and Timber
Cont: 28 load at ij* vj d
ffor 97 f of Solid firr timber being Cutt into Seuerall
Scantlings at xvj d
24 3 2
2 15 8
990
360
906
3 10 o
694
(
J/-
f/'
7/6
I 4 o/-
9 f o
6 10 o
900
18 o o
800
280
4
21 4
400
18 o o
10
p? 16 o
9 6
i? /<V o
360
3<5 - o
included
10 18
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
25
ffor the use and breaking of a Tackle Rope
ffor a warrant to make a hurd in Cheapside
i o o
034
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for worke done by him at Repairing
the Old Tower and Butteresses of Bow, according to the particulars and
Measures following (Viz).
For 8oo f of new Ashler in the Great Buttress on j e North
west Corner at ij 3 viij' 1
ffor 4<34 f of Old Ashler new Sett att at viij d
ffor 1 1. Rod. of Rubble in the Same Buttress att I 3
ffor 1230' of new Ashler in the new Buttress to y'' South
West Corner at ij s viij' 1
ffor 358' of block Stone for band at ij s viij' 1
ffor 2 Rod f. of Rubble wall in the Same Buttress at ij^ x s
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for 1 1 50' of new ashler
between y" Buttresses on y c west Side of y e Steeple at ij s viij' 1
ffor f. of a Rod. of Rubble within at ) c west Side of y c
Steeple at
ffor iO5 f of new Ashler at y c East Corner of y c Steeple
at ij s viij' 1
Allowed for y c Extraordinary Scaffolding at
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for pulling dow part of
y 1 ' Old Chur: and Cleering away Rubbish accord: to contract
ffor pulling down part of y r Old Tower from y c Bell-loft
downward and digging y c foundation of y n New Tower
by Contract at
ffor 8 1 Rod |: 65' of Rubble worke in y e foundation of y c
New Tower to the Pavement of y r Street at
ffor Setting 749' of rough Block Stone in 2 Courses
Cramped in y n found (the Stone being delivered at iij' 1 )
To Martha Hammond wid. in part of Rent continuing
from Lady Day 1671. for her Cellars under Bow, used for
a Store house to keepTimber and Materialls for y' Building
accord: to agreem' made by M r Traherne Church-warden,
and M r Woodroofe 10 o o
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for worke done by him at Bow Chur:
being Measur'd up to the top of y r Transumes of 3 wind, on the East
of y c body of y e Chur:, Item to the top of y c Transumes of 2 window's
on the South Side, and to y c like height of one window on ye South
west Corner and the Mullions of all the Said wind: Item y c 4 Pillasters
and Imposts on y e South Side to y c under Side of y e Imposts, and
VOL. LXVI E
59
17
t Re|
ticula
>airing
rs and
106
'3
'3
9
4
4
10/6
i/6
27
10
o
'4/-
164
47
6
o
'4
17
o
8
6
10/6
10/6
366
4
10
153
6
8
10/6
i
17
6
140,'-
'4
o
o
10/6
5
'74
4
2
60
o
O
1 60
o
'95
1 1
O
HO/'
9
7
3
6d.
424
iS
I
330
420 o o
30 6 o
7700
64$ /f o
187 ip o
19 r o
60$ 1 5- o
j* y o
y o o
180 o o
foo o o
f70 8 f
18 14 6
1000
26 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
4 Pillasters against y' wall, Item 2 halfe pillars ... on each Side of y* t s. d.
west done, and 2 halfe Pillars on each Side the Middle East window,
and one halfe Pillar on y r North East Corner all to y' Same hight w lh
the former (viz) I2 f 7 high from y e upside of y e bases, Item the whole
South and west dores, Item y c Outside worke watertable, and all the
Eight Rustic Coines to y c hight of ig { 6 in from y c upside of y e
watertable, Item y e Ashler and Watertable under y e Vestry window.
For 1 443' of Portland Ashler at ij' x d 204 8 6 10/6 7^7 u 6
ffor 31 5i f Sup" Measure of Portland at xviij d 236 6 6
ffor 1776' of block at ij 8 vj d 222 o o 10/6 952 8 o
ffor working and Setting 46' of Old Ashler under y
Watertable at iiij' 1 ob o 17 3 :?/- 4/20
ffor Allowance for Additionall worke over & above Ashler
in the Rustick Coines being 344' at vj d 8120
672 4 3
To Char: Taylor of the Parrish of S' Mary le: Bow
London the Summe of one hundred pounds being so
much allow'd to him in consider: of Some ground to
Inlarge y e S' 1 Chur. accord, to an Order of y e L ds Comisso rs
dated lune y' 28: 70 & of an Order Oct r 27: 70 100 o o too o o
To Martha Hafnon. Wid: more in full for one years
Rent clue at our Lady day 1672. for her Cellars under
Bow used for a Store house to keep timber and Materialls
for the Building according to Agreem' Made by M r Trahernc
Chur: warden and M r Woodroofe, the Summe of 10 o o 10 o o
To John Baxter Smith for worke delivered into Bow Steeple
Janav r February and March 167^-.
ffor 48: 3: 23 of Cramps at xxxij s per Cent 78 6 7 28/- 68 10 9
ffor 14: hookes w th 2: o q : o 1 ': at iiij' 1 3148 j//- 3/40
82 i 3
*To deduct for 12: i q : of Old Iron ctct to y r Said Baxter
at xv- 939
Remains 72 17 6
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for y^ Residue of the whole worke
of the walls and Pillars inside and Outside Excepting y Arches and
watertable of y r North west Coine home to y 1 Steeple, and excepting
the win: in the Court of Arches &c.
ffor 15 5 f 5'" of Portland Ashler at ijs x' ! 22 o 2 10/6 Si n n
ffor 658 f of freestone Ashler at ijs vj d 82 5 o //- 164 10 o
ffor 348 1 ' workman* 11 of Portland Stone xviij' 1 261 i 6
ffor 282' of workman* 11 of freestone Sup" at xiiij' 1 16 9 o
ffor 269%' 3 in of Block at ij s vj d 337 5 7 to/6 1416 n 8
* NOTE. This and future deductions are carried, in accordance with modern practice, to a separate bill at the end.
BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 27
Allowed for 155' of Rustick Coines more then plaine @ s. d.
Ashler at vj d 3176
ffor carving 10 Corinthan. Capitalls \. round at viij^ each 80 o o 2$ 270 o o
ffor Carving 7 Cherubins heads at xv s each 55 fo/- 17 10 o
ffor Carving 8o f of Impost molding at iij s 12 o o ///- 60 o o
820 3 9
To Anthony Tanner Bricklay r for worke Measd from 8 f [sic] aboue
y e watertable, to the up Side of y c Cornice on y e East west and South
Sides, likewise the North wall from y u founda: to y e under Side of y e
Plate &c.
ffor 63 Rod 51' of Brickworke reduced to brick -| at v^ x* 347 7 o 34/- 1074 3 9
ffor 7 Rod. wanting 1 4 f of Rubble worke at xlviij s 16 13 o i^o/- 48 12 lo
364 o o
To John Baxter Smith for io c : 2<J: 27" of window barrs
in the Church at xxviij 3 per c. 15 o 9 28/- iy o 9
To John Simpson for digging and Carrying away earth in the
foundations of the Church of Bow &c. July 31 1673
ffor 425 y ds 2O f in depth on the South Side of Bow at ij s vj d 53 2 6 7/6 t?o 7 6
ffor diging and carrying away 525 y ds Lesser depth at ij 9 52 10 o 6/- 157 10 o
ffor 1 6 y' ls of diging and filling at y e South west corner at ix d o 12 o 1/6 140
ffor 52 y ds of diging and carrying away at y c east end at xxij d 4 15 4\
ffor 60 y ds at y e South east corner at xxij d 5 IO l< >- (ft
ffor 50 y ds of diging and carrying away at y e South west //-
corner at xxij 1 ' 411 8 )
ffor 13 y ds of diging at y u North end at vj d 066 //- 13 o
ffor 193 y d3 of diging and filling at y e west corner at xij' 1 9130 1/6 14 9 6
To John Simpson for taking downe y e pinicles Bowes,
Batlem 13 and top of y e Old Steeple of S' Mary Le Bow.
Chur: to the bottom of y c G' windowes at 20 o o So o o
ffor pulling downe y e walls of Pancaras Church and
carrying the Stones to Bow Church at 4 H 2 18 16 8
24 14 2
To Martha Hammon Widow, the Sume of twenty-
pounds in full of all demands whatsocuer for her. Cellars
under Bow Church used for a Store house to keep Timber
& Materialls for y e Building: the Said Cellars being Set.
into Custoty [sic] the 25"' of March last past I Say Reed
this 9 th of Aug' 1673. 20 o o 20 o o
To Thomas Cartwright Mason, this MeasurnV being y i: Cornice on
y c Soijth Side, and y c cornice on y' ! Frontispeece west, the Streight
Cornice East, 2 Small Returnes of cornice to y e facia East & west, the
Copeing on y c East Gavell. 2 Small Ovall wind, 4 round wind: y c coines
E a
28 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
up to y c Cornice East and. west watertable, and Ashler from > c Steeple / * d.
to y c Chur: Measd. Sept r 5: 1673.
ffor 21 4 f 6 in of Portland Stone Ashler at ij 1 x d 30 30 7 9 10/6 112 12 3
ffbr 1757' 4 in of Portland Stone workman sp Sup" Measur
xviij d 131 1 6 o
ffor 1733' 3 in of Block at ij' vj d 216 13 i 10/6 909 19 2
ffor ii2 f of Coines to be allowed more then Portland
Ashler at vj d 2160
381 12 10
To Mathew Bankes Carpent r for 59 Sq 6 f of rofing
together w th the Ovall Cieling and ribbs thereof at x \ s 588 12 6 400 o o
ffor 145' of Guttering i8 in broad run: planck'd w lh 2 in Oake
plauck at xviij 1 ' 10 17 6 1/3 9 i 3
ffor 6 Wind": in y c Roofe 9' 3'" high 6 f 3'" wide w th Archl:
& Compass cornice at iiij^: xv s 28 10 o ifo/- 4^00
ffor 4-jSq. i8 f of quartering & boarding in y c Cheekes of
y c windows at xxiiij 5 5 12 o j.f/- 10 10 8
ffor 5 S<j. * of braqetting for y c Straight Moulding on y e
North & South Sides of y e Chur: ouer y c heads of y u
wind at iiij' 1 934 6d. 13 if o
ffor 6 Sq. iy f of bragetting belt: mouldings in y c cieling
& Sides of y c windowes at iiij d 10 5 8 6<i. if 8 6
ffor igi f of bragetting for y* G' cornice 4 f girt 2 f broad on
y c top at iij" 28 13 o j/- 28 /j o
ffor bragetting for the cornice at the East and west ends
being ?6 f long 3 f girt at i 16 o / 16 o
ftor 8 Sq. \. i o f of Centering in y r Brickworke for all dores
& wind in y c chu?: xviij" 7 '4 8 2f/ 10 if o
ffor 17 Sq. 40' of bragetting in y c compass Cieling in y c
North and South Isles att xxv 5 21 15 o ^o/- 34 16 o
ffor Oaken Timber laid into y l walls 400' long 4"' Sq. 288 f
long. 7 in 3 in Sq 6 18 o 2/3 9 74 6
7'9 17 8
To Thomas Aldworth Plum r for lead 3d: in from Ap" 1 1 : 73 to Dec r 73.
ffor 42'' '"" 6 C i 'i 26 U of Sheet lead at xvij' x s per Tunn 740 13 5 jo/- cwt. 1269 14 6
ffor o: 2: 3: 25! of Socldar at ix' 1 12 10 i- 2 yd. 12 9 9
ffor 20' : 2' 1 : o: of lead to y c Masons at xv g vj d 1 5 1 7 9 25 /- 2f 12 6
ffor Socldar and worke in making 4 Cisterns at 600 800
ffor Sodar and worke for 8 pipes each io f long at xviij'
per length 740 800
ffor Spikes and Nailes at 300 / o o
ffor worke mending the lead where it was Stole at 200 f o o
787 5 3*
To be dedu: for Cuttings 38: 2" 1 : 24" at xvij 5 vj' 1 and
Soder w" 1 1": at ix d 34 5 9
Remaines 752 19 6
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRIST
To John Baxter Smith for worke done from Jan ry 72: to Dec r 1673.
fibr cramps bolts and Straps w" 24: 2 q 27" at xxxij'
ffor window barrs w lt 35: o: 27. at xxviij"
ffbr 12 Staples and Spikes
ffor a bolt 2 Staples and padlock at
ffor 20 keyes 1 2 Spikes & a padlock at
91 16 7
To Anthony Tanner Bricklay r for 28 Rod of brickworke
reduced to brick &{ dedu: being taken out at v^ x 8 154 o o
To Mathew Bankes Carpenf for worke done about making the
Winding Staires in the Old Steeple
ffor y c Staires up to y e top of y c first floore ass [stc] by
Agr' nt made Aug c 2: 70. 45 o o
ffor y e Staires from y e first floore up to the BelWoft as by
Agreem 1 made Octo r 13: 1670. 37 o o
fMHK VVKHIN
29
>ec r 1673. @
*. rf.
39 ii 8 32/-
49 6 9 28/-
068
026
JP " *
49 6 o
f o
10
02 9 o
10
82 o o
To John Grove. Plaister r for 552 y d * of Lathing and
Plaistering at xiiij d
ffor 501 y' ls \ of Rendering att vij' 1
ffor 421 y d3 of whiting y e Stoneworke at ij d
ffor whiting y e Capitalls att
ffor y c ' 2 ribbs at y e ends i 19' long 3 f 6 in girt w"' flowres &
moulding enrichet at v s per foot riming
ffor y e 2 Ribbs in the Middle iig f long 5 f 8 in girt \v lh
flowers & mouldings enrich't at vj s vj d per foot riming
ffor y c 2 beames over the wind: betwen y 1 ' Ribbs each 58'
long 4 f io in girt enricht w lh foliage at iiij s vj d
ffor 62O f Batt: moulding enrichet 15'" girt at xviij' 1
ffor 74' Impost moulding enricht over y e East & west
window girt 2 f 4'" at xx d
ffor y c boclyes of 4 Pedestalls cont: 24' in length 3 f 6 in girt at
ffor base moulding 22 f long 2 f 4'" girt at xviij' 1 riming
ffor plaine Architrave Moulding ab' y c east and west window
cont 96' in length 2 f girt at xv d
ffor y c 2 wreathes ab' 2 round windows 3i f long w th the
festoones and knots and Compartments at
ffor y v G' moclilion Cornice igi f long 4' i in girt at V s vj d
ffor y" Lesser cornice w" 1 one enrichm' 36' long 2' i'" girt at iij s
ffor 2 Urnes each 3' 6'" high at
ffor 1500 y ds of whiting at ij d
Allowed for y c high Scaffolding att
To William Clecre Joyn r for 2 paire of Large outside
dores with Compass heads 2 in * thick Mitcred at per paire x^
26 2 O
46 10 O
298
3-j.o/- 476 o o
13? o o
III
32
4
10 J/4
<*4
X
14
I 2
6 1/2
29
?
I
3
IO
O ^ ft
3
10
f
i
IO
O
i
10
29
15
O 7/-
4'
13
o
39
n
4 /0/~
T9
to
/_'
62
6
3
4
3/9
13
17
,'
i
IO
i/6
1
16
i
13
o
2/6
>
l)~
6
o
o
1/6
7
4
4
IO
o
1 47 /-
'4
'4
52
IO
6
4/6
4~
1 9
6
5
8
o
3/~
r
8
5
o
4
<v
12
10
o
2(i.
12
10
i
IO
o
20
20
40 o o
30 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To Matthew Bankes Carpenf for 387' of Bragetting in > s. d.
y e Impost moulding & in the Pedastalls and bases and
plinths at y* east and west ends of the Church at iiij j 690 6d. y i$ 6
ffor 9 Sq. 6i f of outside parti: boarded with whole deal &
Baten'd at xxx s 14 8 o ?o/- 24 o 6
ffor 4 Sq. of roofe boarded w th Slit deal to keep y c walls dry at 500 2jy- ? o o
ffor 7 Sq. 38' of Centering y e Vaults at xx s 770 jo/- n i y
ffor 4 Urnes 3' high 2 f wide at i o o 200
ffor a peece of Oake 6 & 9'" Sq. used ab' y c Staires going
downe into the Vault at 060 / o o
34 I0
To Robert Streeter Serj' Painter for 327 yards i' of
Iron barrs 3 in girt at j d ob 2 o 10 i\ti. 2 o 10
ffor 1 74 y d " 2 f of barrs 4 id ~ girt at ij d q i 1 2 8 2et. 191
ffor 387 y ds of barrs 6 in girt at iij d 4 16 9 2\d. 408
ffor 33 y ds of Stone colour in Oyle in ye Lanthornes
windows and 2 dores at xij d 1130 //- / 13 o
ffor 7 Casments and frames each at ix d 053 //- 70
10 ^T 6
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for 54' of plane Purbeck
Step going into y' Vaults at ijs iiij' 1 660 7/6 20 ? o
ffor 69' 4 iM of Portland Step wrought w" 1 a bottle & fillet
laid at y* South entrance allowing for y' Returnes of y t:
ends at iij s vj' 1 12 28 to/- 34 ;? 4
ffor 1 7 f of Portland Step wrought with a bottle & fillet
20'" broad laid at y e South and west dores at iiij s vj d 3 16 6 12/- 1040
ffor 49 f io in of compass Step wrought with a bottle & fillet
laid at the west entrance at iiij s 919 o 12/- 29 18 o
ffor i 5 f -2 of purbeck paving at y c South harth pace viij d o 10 4 1/6 i 3 3
ffor 50' - 2 of Portland Ashler at y c South entrance at ij s x' 1 7 3 i ]
(for 93' of Portland Ashler in making up y c dore going 77 6 9
into y c Vaults at y' east end at ij 8 vj d 11126]
ffor 83' of Portland copeing on the South walls 6 iu thick
14"' broad iij s x' 1 15 18 2 6/2 2$ n 10
ffor 33' of Portland Slabb behind this copeing being 2 f 6'"
broad 6 in thick at iij s vj d runing 5 15 6 8/p 14 8 p
ffor 57' of Portland Copeing wrought w th a running mould-
ing laid on the east and west wings being 20'" broad
6 in thick at v s 14 5 o 8/9 24 18 9
ffor 57' of port: Slabb behind y' copeing 20'" broad 6'"
thick at ij' vj d rung 726 f/to 16 12 6
ffor I2 f of Copeing 14.'" broad 6 in thick at iij s x d runing 260 6/2 3 14 o
ffor 63' of copeing in y c North wall 13'" broad 4'" thick
at ij 8 vj d 7176 3/10 12 i 6
ffor 9<D f of Portland Ashler under y c parapett on y e South
wall at ij s x d 12150 10/6 47 f o
117 9 9
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 31
To Martha Mammon. Wid in part of 20^ upon the @ s. d.
petition to the Lords Comissioners and their further
Allowance, the Summe of 10 o o 10 o o
To Martha Harhon. Wid the Sume of 10^ being the
Remainder in full of her further allowance for her intrest
in the Cellars of bow according to Order bearing date the
29 th of Aprill 1675. 10 o o 10 o o
To Robert Day Carpent r for making i Trunk i t f 3'"
long at ij s vj d i 8 i / 8 i
ffor one Trunk i2 f 6 in long at ijs vj d 1113 / // 3
ffor 2 Trunks in y Corners 1 2 f long each at iij s vj d per fo 1
io in Sq 440 440
ffor 4 Capitall mouldings on y e edge of each trunk at vj s each 140 140
ffor Masons worke to cutt away y e Stone from y 1 ' watertable
downwrd 046 18 o
ffor whole and \ Staples \v" 33!" at iiij d 0112 $</. 8 f
ffor painting y c 4 Trunks in lead Colour in Oyle at 090 9 o
9 12 o
To William Cleere Joyn r for i: pare of dores 4 f 2'" wide
8 f high going into the Vestry at ij s vj d 434 800
To Anthony Tanner Bricklay r for wo r ke [sic] at Bow Jan: 27: 1675
ffor 25 Rod I5 f of Brickworke in the Peere walls, Arches,
& Staires of y e Vaults, In the Court of Arches, and
Vestry walls. In 4 butt: Scrowles each Side y e Pedam 1
In the parapet walls or battlem ts North & South Sides
of y c Chun And in y c Staires west and South Side of
y c Chur: Reduced to brick & I at v' x s 137 1 6 o ^o/- 41? /<V g
ffor 22y d9 9 f of diging y c Peer in the Vault at o 11 o f/- f u X
ffor makeing an Area for y c Vault by y e Vestry Chimneys at 300 poo
ffor 14 Sq |. of plaine Tyleing over y p Court of Arches &
vestry at 21150 F/~ rf F
ffor making a Chimney in y c Vestry at 500 ifoo
168 2 o
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for worke done in Paving the Church
of Bow Measd. June 25. 1675.
ffor 1670' of Purbeck Paving rub'd at xij d 83 10 o 2/- 167 o o
ffor i6 f of rough Purbeck Paving laid at y 1 ' west dore at vij d 094 1/6 140
ffor 444' of Purbeck & Black Marble rub'd at xviij' 1 33 6 o 2/6 r; 10 o
ffor 1 2O f of black & white marble paving laid within y
Raile at ij s iiij' 1 1400 $/6 21 o o
ffor 9' of Portland Step wrought w lh Astragali at iij s 170 6/- 2 14 o
ffor 3 i f 8 in of Black Marble Step at viij" 12 13 4 17/6 27 14 2
ffor 9 f of Purbeck Step at ij" iiij d i i o f/- 2 y o
146 6 8
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To John Baxter Smith for 9 Casm" w" 6 C : 3 q : 1 2" at viij' 1
ffor 8 hinges w" o: 3: 22 at vj d
ffor 4 large bolts at x' each
ffor 40 Revitts at ij d each
ffor 2 large locks & Screwes at xxv* each
ffor 1 6 brasses and a ring for a round window w" i c : o q : 4" at vj' 1
ffor 1 24 window barrs w" 8 r : cfl: i 1 ' at iij d
ffor 20 barrs 3 railes & heads w" 2: i q : 26" vj' 1
ffor 13 barrs & 2 Staples o: 3: 17 at iiij' 1
ffor 2 dogs w" 1 7- at iiij d
ffor 82 plates 32 bolts keyes & rings 2: i: 24 at iiij d
ffor altering y e raile and putting in 4 barrs more i q : 23"
at vj d
ffor a barr put into y r Tower wall w" 12" at iij d
ffor 4 Staples, 2 rings & Scutchins for y c dores
ffor 6 Casm 1 " w" 3: 3 q : i 7" at viij d
ffor 4 hookes & 4 hinges 8 revits 32 nailes w" 34" at iiij' 1
To William Cooke Carter and Cleering y r Vestry and
carrying out 64 y ds of Course [.V] Rubbish at
ffor Carrying away y r Same by Cart
ffor carrying out 5 load of rubbish left by altering y r brick-
worke in the Vestry at
ffor Carrying away the Same by Cart
To John Grove Junio r Plaister r for Sloping y r Glass in
2 great wind 12 lights 6 little wind: 36 lights 8 round wind
ffor plaistering 2 Gatt: w" 1 heart lath & floated 127 y ds .
at xiiij 1 '
ffor 127 y rts f. of whiting at ij' 1
ffor 32 y' )s | of rendering the battens and p' of y r Sides of
y n wind: of y r East and west ends & South and West
dore at vij d
ffor whiteing the Same 32 y ds |. at ij d
In the Vestry
ffor 107' of plaine cornice 20'" girt at xvj' 1
ffor 94 r of moulding 8 in girt at ix d
ffor 43' of belt: moulding at iij' 1
ffor 2 large Spandrill flowers
ffor 6 f of Cornice broaken downe ore y e Middle wind
ffor 27 y d whiting the Cornice at ij d
ffor 8 1 y d " plaine Ceiling & \ at xvj d
ffor whiting the Same at ij d
ffor 209 y d> 2 f rendering at vj d
ffor whiting the Same at ij d
25 1 2 o
213 o
200
068
2 IO O
2 l8 O
ii 4 3;
619 o
j 8
-3.r 12
2 '3
I '
4 12
i 5
o 3
O 10
14 II
O I I
77 15 8
3 13 6
5 16 o
7 8 10
i i 3
o 19 o
055
728
3 10 6
o 10 9
o 10 o
080
046
5 8 8
13 7
5 4 7
1 14 10
40 1 8 7
o 18
o
6d.
2 IO
4/'
1
4
6tf.
o 4
2
4/-
1/9
loei.
2ri.
1/2J.
6 S
21 16 II
I
14 ii 4
ii 4
I 12
12 16
2 6
I
200
'I 3 T
' ' 3
2 10
f 9
10 14 o
3 iS 4
14 4
300
100
4 6
7 2
13
12 4
8
7
I
I 14 10
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 33
To Mathew Bankes Carp r for worke done ab' the Gatt. of Bow m s. d.
ffor 12 Sq: \: y f degrees in the Gatt: at xxv* 16 o 6 2f/- 16 o 6
ffor 12 Sq: i6 f naked flooring w' h double brestsurhers at 3^ 36 9 7 40 /- 24 6 5
ffor IO Sq: f : i8 f boarding at xvj s 8 14 10 *$/ 13 13 j
ffor Beam i f Sq: 48' long at ij s per fo 1 4 16 o j/- 740
Tor partitions quartered in y c Gatt: at y e North and South
dores i Sq | 2O f at xviijs i 10 3 2f/- 226
ifor f-. of Sq. 3 f Truss \v' h a beam at y c North dore at 300 r o o
Tor 3 Sq: |: i f parapet on y c fore Side of y 1 " Gait, at xl* 708 $o/- 5- 5^ 4
Ffor 40 Steps 3 f \ goeing at iij s vj' 1 per step 7 o o ) , ' ,
Ffor 35 Steps 2 f io in goeing at iij s per Step 5 5 o j
ffor 1 8 Small Steps of firr o 1 8 o j/tf 3 3 o
ffor 6i f of raile & Batt r posts 6 in Batt r 3* Sq: at iiij 9 vj d 13 14 6 $/6 10 13 6
104 9 4
To Mathew Bankes Carpenf worke done at y e Vestry of Bow.
ffor flooring 9 Sq: |: n f atxl 9 19 14 o fo/- 24 13 o
ffor 14 Sq 4 f at xlv s 31 11 8 j-//- _j ( V 12 2
ffor 50' Small cornice boarded at xij d 2100 //- 2 10 o
ffor 68 f 2 of guttering at ix d 2 11 4 yd. 2 n ?
ffor 24 light windowes 8&5at 1160 400
ffor a dorecase of Oake 9 & 5 and Scant S' n and 6 in 126 600
ffor 36' of lentelling Scant 6 & 7 at ix' 1 170 6/- 10 16 o
ffor a Mantle tree and Tassells 6 f & \ at 070 / / o
ffor f. of a Sq. of partitioning ore y e Chimney o 12 o 2j/- /<V y
Tor Centering y e East windowes 1 2 r diameter 2 f over o 10 o /.V o
Tor bragetting round y e Sides of y e Cieling ii 3 f at iiij' 1 i 17 8 ^d. i 17 -V
for bragetting y c Midle part 45' at iiij' 1 0150 4^. 770
for a Small bragett at y e end 1 5 f at iiij' 1 050 qd. / o
for a 4 light window at o 18 S i 17 6
ffor a dorecase of Oake 89' & 4 f 8 in Scant 6 in & 5 in f *- at 126 T " 5
ffor lintelling Scantling i o in 6 in at being 7 f * at ix' 1 050 2/j 16 n
Tor Allowence for a dorecase returned at 050 f o
67 10 4
To Mathew Bankes Carpent r for flooring and boarding in the Vestry
it Bow Church.
ffor 7 Sq J. of flooring & boarding at xl" 15 10 o ;o/- iy 7 (>
To John Oliver Glaiz r for 163 i f of Extraordinary worke
done at bow Church at ix d 61 30 1/6 122 6 6
To Anthony Tanner Bricklay r for worke done in y e
Vestry at Bow Church in putting in 3 windowes and
working up a dorcase, Setting in 2 dorecases, working up
y e Sides & arches of y e Same w th brick worke, Splaying
away y e East wind: and pulling downe y 1 ' Old foundation
ffor of Rod 34' finding workman' 15 i 16 o 40
ffor 1000. of new Bricks at o 14 o fo/- 2 10 o
VOL. LXVI F
34 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
ffor diging downe y c Old foundation, cutting away >' m .?. d.
Splayes for the east \\indowes and for y e 3 windowes &
working and working [.wV] up the Peer at 2 10 o to o o
500
To William Cleere Joyn r for 69' | of wainsc* in 2 p r of
dores at ij s vj d 8 13 9 6/- 20 i? o
ffor 4 p r of large Side hinges with Squares o 10 o lo/- 200
ffor 4 Ballcony Bolts o 10 o 2/6 10 o
ffor a Box lock at 080 8f- ,V o
ffor a latch lock \v th brass knobs on both Sides at 060 12 '6 12 6
10 7 9
To Thomas Whyting Joyn r for 124 ) ds 6'" of fronts
at v s vj' 1 34 49 j/6 34 4 9
ffor 40 y' ls 3 of Plaine Insides of y e Gait: at iij s 610 $/- 6 i o
40 5 9
To Thomas Whyting. Joyn r for worke done ab l the Gait: pews at
Bow Church.
ffor 375 y ds of wains' at iij" 56 5 o _j/- $6 $ o
ffor 49O f of benching & bearers at iiij' 1 834 4^. X 3 4
ffor 3<D4 f deske at vj' 1 7120 //- i? 4 o
To Thomas Aldworth Plun r for lead del: from My 74: to Ap" 77
Errour. [in margin]
ffor i6 c : o: 15'' of lead dd for Cramps xv s vj' 1 12 10 i ]_ / 7 ,,
ffor i: o: o: Since (M at xv s vj' 1 0156)
Memdum this Bill belongs to y c Tower 13 5 7
To John Baxter Smith, for worke (Jet: Since Decem r 16: 1675.
ffor )' holdfasts of a Chimney Tunnell in y' Vestry house
w" 3'': 5 11 at iij' 1 ob q 17 94 2d. 14 10
ffor 4 Casmts hookes and Staples w" V: o q : 6 11 vij' 1 3 8 10 .? .V 10
ffor 24 window barrs w" 2: 1:7. at iij' 1 349 3 4 9
ffor nayles 026 2 6
ffor 3 barrs & a Compass barr w" i' 1 6" at iiij' 1 0114 "4
8 15 2
To Tho: Cartwright Mason for i8 f 6 in of facia io in high
wrought w lh a bedmoulding on y e under Side over y c Vestry
iij' vj' 1 349 to/6 9 '4 3
ffor 9 f io in of Splayes on y e top of y Vestry Chimney at
ij' vj' 1 rung 147 10 '6 f 3 3
494
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 35
To Tho: Cartwright Mason y* Sume of forty Pounds i s. d.
being y c Residue of one hundred pound due to y e S d
Tho: Cartwright ffor pulling down part of the Old Cluir:,
Cleering away Rubbish, pyleing up regularly all that was
Usefull and leaving y c Ground within at y c proper levell
and fitt for paving according to Contract bearing date
the 7 th of July 1670. 40 o o 150 o o
To Tho: Cartwright Mason y c Sume of Three hundred &
forty poundes being money Assign'd over from y e
Church-wardens of S' Mary le Bow disburst by y c S d
Parish upon y e Old Church and Tower by Order of y e
L ds Corhson dated July io th 1676 and Assigned to y e
Said Tho: Cartwright by Order of a Vestry of y e Sd:
Church dated Septem r 14: 1676. 340 o o 1020 o o
To: William Cleere. Joyn r the Sume of Three hundred
pounds being mony Assigned over from y e Church-
wardens of S 1 Mary le-Bow. formerly disburst by y e S' 1
Parish upon y c Old Chur: & Tower, by Order of y e L di
Comson" dated July io th 1676 and Assigned to y c Said
W m Cleere by Order of a Vestry of y e S d Parish dated
Sep tr 14. 1676 300 o o 900 o o
To Tho: Aldworth Plum r for lead delivered for the Vestrey of Bow
Church in December and ffeb r 1677.
ffor Sheet lead w" 29: 2: 29 at xvij s vj' 1 25 19 10 jo/- 44 12 9
ffor Sodder w" o: i: 2f at ix d t 3 o <)</. i 3 o
27 2 10
)educted for i q 2" of lead at xvij s vj d 6 s : 2'' at Remaines 26 1 6 8
To Math: Bancks Carpent r for worke at y e Old Steeple Sep r 1671.
Tor 2 men | a day each mending the dores of the Vaults at o 2 6 // o
ffor 70 double Tenns o i o / o
ffor taking downe the third floore i man 2 dayes 080 120
ffor 7 men 2 dayes each at 220 7 14 o
ffor the use of a Cabell rope borrow'd o 10 o 10 o
ffor the use of my owne Cabell and other ropes 0126 12 6
ffor removing the Timber out of the rubbish 0176 3 10 o
ffor making good the dores of the Vaults 020 H o
ffor taking downe y c Shores from the Steeple 090 i 16 o
ffor 8 men 2 dayes each at ij" vj d 200 .V 16 o
ffor drawing 4 Shores to S' Panics 2 14 o
ffor the use and Cutting 5 peeces of dram Timber for Shores 3 15 o 3 i? o
ffor the use and Cutting 9 large barllings 170 /
ffor removing the great Timber out of the Steeple 076 i 10 o
ffor drawing and Carting 13 peeces of Oake from Paules to
Bow i 6 o 100
ffor 5 men 2 dayes each inloading and unloading y c Timber 150 3 if o
F a
36
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
ffor removing old Stuff out of y c Vault
ffor the use and waste of 4 peeces of firr Timber
ffor 14 men Seting up the Shores
ffor planks to Sett up the Shores against
ffor Nayles
ffor 6 Links to light y e Men in y c Nights
ffor Carridge and recarridge of the Shores
ffor 20 dayes Sev" men ab l Setting up and taking downe
y c Shores
ffor the use and Cutting to wast 7 large Barlings
ffor drawing 4 Shores from Panics to bow
ffor i c * of 20 nayles &c 2 of 10" nayles
012
Charges In Rebilding the Tower of Bow
To John Baxt'r. Smith for iy c : ii; 21'' being Cramps rings
and Staples at iij' 1 ob qr
ffor Stone hookes \v" i: o: o at iiij' 1 ob
To Walter Clements Anchor Smith for Great Irons dd
from July 23: 1672 unto August 14 th following &c ffor
a chaine of Cramps joyned w th rings & wedges laid into
the wall & encompassing y c whole Tower over y c 1 st
Arches w u ig r : 3'': 23" at xxxvij 5 iiij d
ffor altering 3 Cramps
ffor watredrje and Carrid<je
ffor Tare
i
i
o
o
37
o
o
i
2
i
i
4
5
15
12
6
o
o
o
6
2113
i 8 o
0160
o 5 10
26 2 i
30 10
22
3^
32 12
o
o
38 14 o
To Tho; Freeman Plum r for lead dd to y Masons to Apr: 1 1: 1674
ffor 61: i: 24 at xv 5 vj' 1 per Cent 47 12 4
Ded for old lead w" 58: 3: 22: at xiiij" 41 5 3
Remaines 6 7 i
ffor labour and Coales 7100
Totall 1317 i
Errour. To Mathew Bankes Carpent r for worke at y e Old Steeple
Sep r 71.
ffor 2 men \ a day each mending y c dores of y c Vaults at 026
ffor 70 double tenns o i o
ffor taking downe y 3" floor one man 2 dayes at iiij 8 080
ffor 7 men 2 dayes each at iij" 220
ffor y e use of a gabell rope borrow'd o 10 o
ffor y use of my owne gabell & other ropes 012 6
2 10 o
i o o
8 10 o
2 o
i o
10 o
4
7 /.? y
i 8 o
/ o o
i 8 o
lo
37 f
\includcd
2f/-
76 16 7
to o o
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 37
*- <<
ffor removeing y c Timber out of y c Rubbish at 0176
ffor making good y e dores of the Vaults 020
ffor takeing downe y e Shores from y e Steeple 090
ffor 8 men 2 dayes each at ij" vj d 200
ffro [sic] drawing 4 Shores to Panics at 2140
ffor y K use and cutting 5 peeces of dram timber for Shores 3 15 o
ffor y c use and cutting 9 large barlings at 170
ffor removing y e g l timber out of y c Steeple at 076
ffor drawing and Carting 1 3 peeces of Oake from Panics
to Bow i 6 o
ffor 5 men 2 dayes each loading & unloading y e Said
Timber i 5 o
ffor removing old Stuff out of y e Vault 012 6
ffor y c use & cutting to wast 4 peeces of fir timber i o o
ffor 14 men Setting up y e Shores i i o
ffor Planks to Sett y c Snores against 020
ffor nayles o i o
ffor 6 linkes to light y c men in y e Night o i 6
ffor Carridge and recaridge of y e Shores 040
ffor 20 dayes { Seuer" men ab l Setting up and taking down
y c Shores 211 3
ffor y c use and cutting to wast 7 large barlings i 8 o
ffor drawing 4 Shores from Paules to bow o 16 o
ffor i c : -'- of 20 nayles & -*- c of IO D nayles at 0510
Memdum this Bills [sic] is cnterd 'n y e Church 26 2 i .
To William Grey for a Module for the Cornice of Bow
Steeple 140 f o o
To John Baxter for worke done at Bow Tower May 16. 72. D. 73
ffor cramps w tt 4: i : 3 at xxxij* 6169 6 16 y
ffor Stone hookes 202 at iiij d 0610 6 10
~7~~3 7
To Thomas Cartwright & John Thompson Masons for
building y'' whole Stone wall Inside & outside of y c New
Tower of Bow from y c pavem 1 to y e top of y e first g l cornice
w" 1 y e winding Staires y" G l Neech Poralls Pillasters wind
& carvings according to a Contract by y c g' bearing date
March. 3. 167! the Sume of one Thousand Six hundred
pounds 1600 o o 4-Voo o o
To Thomas Cartwright Mason for additionall worke more then y c i"
contract for the Tower of Bow as followeth
ffor 1 1 f 6 in Portland block laid in the wall of y c Tower
letting in the Irons and run: them w lh lead at ij" x' 1 16 i i 6 10/6 (n 13 y
ffor 6;, f of Portland Stone in 1 2 corbclls Stone and worke
at iij 1 vj d 1106 10/6 33 / 6
38 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
ffor 72' of Portland Stone & workman'? in 4 Springers at
iij" iij d
ffor the Cornice of y c Bellcony & y 2. Neeches
ffor raising y c whole Tower 2 f higher then y c contract
accounting Ashler and Rubble at
ffor 4 Steps 38' of freestone Ashler
ffor Centering the Arches in y c Church by Agrem'
ffor covering the worke 2 years
ffor carridge loading and unloading 133 loades of Rubble
of rubble Stones from Abb Chur: to Bow at xx d
,
X.
d.
I I
'4
10/6
37
16
25
o
o
7?
47
14
4
'4?
3
6
3
o
p
10
9
o
o
9
5
o
T
I I
'3 6
143 5
To Mat; Bankes Carpent' for 3 Sq. 3i f of flor [sic]
planked with 2 in Oaken Planke and a plate under the floor
for frameing, raiseing, nayles Tackling, & Sawing of Some
of the Stuff at xxx 8 per Sq
To Mat; Bankes Carpent r for y Bell: floor of Bow
Tower being 2 beames of 1 7'" Sq. and 2 others of 1 7' and
14. And 2 plates i2 in by 7 planked w th 3'" planke of Oaken
Timber at xij-^ per Sq
4 '9 ,6 square 19 17 2
48 o o
o o
To Stephen Leaver Smith for worke done by him at y New Tower
of S' Mary le: Bow to Jan: 31: 1678.
ftor Stay barrs and rings w" i4 r : 2" 1 : 9'' at xxxij 8
ffor 1 80 Cramps for y c g' cornice, 8 Strap Cramps to y c
Timbers, 12 Gudgons in y c Pillars w" ii c : o q : 26" at
23 6 7
2} 6 7
iij d ob q
ffor 12 round barrs for y c rayles w" 2 C : i q : 15" at iiij' 1
ffor 2 paire of hookes and hinges w" 23!" at iiij d ob
ffor 100 Spikes w" 19" at iiij u
ffor a lock & a staple & for a lock at
19
J 3
'I
>9
'3
2
4
9
o
4
9
8
9f
9
o
6
4
f
o
5
o
10
48 8 10
To Tho: Aldworth Plum r for Lead delid from May 74 to Apr. 77.
ffor i6 r : o q : 1 5"' of lead deli: for Cramps at xv s : vj d 12101
ffor i : o: o more at 0156
13 5 7
To Widdow Baxter Smith for worke done at y r Tower of S' Mary le:
Bow in Jan 1670 being used by y c Masons &c.
ffor 6 Iron Crowes w" 100'' at
ffor a Crate and 3 drills
ffor mending crowes and other Iron worke at
ffor Iron worke clone ab' y e Pump at
ffor 2 Padlocks & haspes to lock the Goods up
ffor twice mending y c Pump handle at
2 17 8
21 8 4
o
8
o
8
o
8
o
8
I
i
8
4 f
'
o
8
6
I 10
o
3
o
IT
8
6
i 14
'
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
To Tho: Cartwright & John Tompson Ma: ffor building a
y e whole Stone wall inside & outside of y e new Tower of
Bow from y top of } e first g 1 Cornice to y e top of y c round
Cornice accordg: to Contract Signed Sepf 22". 1676 the
Sumne [stc] of 2 55O o o
To Tho; Cartwright & John Tompson Masons for worke done at Bow
Steeple, being for Additionall worke over & above w' was agreed for by
y e 2" Contract & being in full of all demands thereupon when the whole
therein contracted for Shall be compleated ffeb: 21: 167^.
39 1 7 6 10 6
ffor Additionall Ashler in y c Plinth being 319* 4 in at ij 8 vj d
ffor 6 f 8 in of chaptering moulding on y'' pedestall w th y c
plinth course xiiij 8
ffor 144' Solid Stone & worke in y c 16 Pillasters at iij 3 viij' 1
ffor 64' of window lambe at iij s
ffor 2OO f of Ashler at ij s vj' 1
ffor 6 f 8 in of Architrave freez and Cornice at lj s
ffor 13' 4'" of Ashler under y e Raile at ij s x d
ffor 6: 8: of rayle and Ballaster at xxv 5
ffor 6o f of Ashler in y e pedastall at iij s
ffor y uper Architrave freeze and Cornice f 6'" at xxxiiij 3
ffor 8 Steps at vj s each
ffor 6o f of Ashler in y e Staircase at ij s
ffor Additionall Ruble allowed, & all other demands
whatsoeuer as above.
To Cartwright & Thompson Masons for mor Additionall worke done
at Bow Tower more then what was Agreed for y e 2" Contract Aug' 15.
1678.
ffor 1 13' 8 in of Portland Ashler of 4 window Stooles at ij" vj 1 '
ffor 4 window Stooles cont: 45' of Cubick Portland & i4i f
Sup"
ffor J of a Rod 46 f of Brickworke in y c Same at
ffor 12 Transumes over y c Columes cont: 88 f Cubick
Portland at xxxiij" iiij' 1 each
ffor 22 f of perpen compass portland at
ffor 178' of purbeck Cieling above } r 12 Columnes between
the Transumes at xviij' 1
4
13
4
26
8
o
to/6
9
12
o
10/6
25
o
10/6
17
o
i
17
9
10/6
8
6
8
9
o
10/6
I 2
15
2
8
20/-
6
o
10/6
15
o
o
177
18
^
o
14 4
16
i
20
4
4
10
o
8
o
o
o
o
IJ
69
o
To Cartwright & Tompson Masons for worke done at Bow Tower
being Omitted in the last bill Meas' 1 : Septem r 18. 1678.
ffor 640' 9 in of Compass portland Ashler wrought fair on
both Sides, being between y e Setting of inside y c Steeple
And y e Architraue within y'' lonick Capitalls ffeb: 27:
167! at iiij" vj d 144 o o
10/6
10/6
10/6
10/6
7/6
39
* <'
7650 o o
167 13 o
/)
7? 12 o
33 12 o
to? o o
60 o o
700
2<>
31 10 o
40 o o
80
31 10
$000
T9 '3 6
23 i .' 6
r ; o
'4
it n o
66 /y o
10/6
33* 7 "
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
io/6 874 n
To Cartwright & Tompson Masons for worke done by y" 1 at Bow
Tower Meas' 1 Meas d [sic] from y e Top of y e Cornice over >' lonick
Pillars to the top of y c Cornice under y c Pedastall ffcb: 27. 167^.
ffor 1 666 f of Cubick Portland at ij s vj' 1 208 5 o
ffor 345 i f of Sup" Portland at xviij d 258 16 8 [sic]
467 i 6
To Thomas Lane Painter for worke done by him ab' y p weather-
boarding the windows of Bow Tower Ap" 9: 1679.
ffor 256 y d " of Painting 3 times in Oyle at xij d 12 16 o iod, 10 13 4
To Mathew Bankes. Carpent r for worke done ab' boarding, the top
of y' Steeple to keep y c weather from y e Bait: &c Dec: 1677.
ffor 1 1 7 whole deales at xij d each 5
ffor 1 1 : large firr Poles at ij" vj' 1 i
ffor 100: often g' nayles at o
ffor 500. of 10" nayles at o
ffor 1000 of 20" nayles at o
ffor 22 dayes worke of Sev" men at ij s vj d per diem 215 o ///-
ii "4 8
To Mathew Bankes Carpet r for worke at Bow Tower ab' weather-
boarding the windowcs March 12. 1679.
ffor 4 wind: weather-boarded according to Contract 56 o o
ffor 2 peeces of Oake each 27' long 14 & 14 Scant and for
2 peeces more each 26 f long 1 2 and 7. Scant being y e 4
diagonall timbers above y e bells all at per foot Solid at
iij 8 vj d 18 3 6 6/- f.c
74 3 6
To Cartwright & Tompson Masons for worke done at Bow Tower
Meas d from y c Top of y c Cornice under } c first pedestall to y c under
Side of y e Spire June 27. 1679.
ffor 1 1 oo f of Cubick Portland att ij s vj' 1 137 10 o 10/6
ffor 1761' of Super" Portland att xviij' 1 132 i 6
ffor 1 75' of Portland Ashler at iij s 26 5 o 10/6
295 16 6
To Robert Bird Copper Smith for worke done by him at Bow Tower
being about & in y p Neck. Ball & Dragon Sept r 25. 1679.
ffor Copper and wast in y r Dragon being 144 li at ij 8 vj d 18 o o
ffor Chaseing Revitting & fastening y c Same at 20 o o
ffor y e Ball neck being 1493'' at ij 8 vj d 18139
ffor fitting y c Sockett to y c Spindle & care in Setting up
y" worke Seuer" times & lead used in poysing y e head at
12 2
IfO
31 4 o
577 10
yl 17 6
400
60 13 9
To Tho; Lane for worke done in Guilding [V] the Urnes Bait &c.
ffor 94 f Guilding y c Vrnes Batt: and Dragon at iij' 14 2 o
ffor 1 2O f round barr and Cramps at i o o
ffor Colouring 22 f of Spindle & 2 f of Sockett 026
15 4 6
l?o o o
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
To Stephen Leaver Smith for worke done at y e Spire of Bow being
Cramps Straps &c and for worke ab' y c Spindle Nov: 27. 1679.
ffor 1005 Cramps, 128 plugs, 2 Straps in y u upper part of
y c Steeple weight 25: o: 232 at iij d ot> q 44 2 4
ffor y c Great Spindle w ch Carryeth y c dragon being 22 f long
w" 2: 2i; 15" at iiij d 418 3
ffor Allowance for his paines in fitting y e upper Cramps of
y* Spire and Setting on the Spindle and Vane at i o o
50 o 7
To Cartwright & Tompson Masons for worke done by y m at y Spire
of S 1 Mary le Bow ab' finishing y e Piramids pinicles & other workes of
y e Tower June 8 th 1680.
ffor y e Pyramid with y c Other things relateing thereunt [sic']
according to Contract at
ffor y e 4 pinicles w th y e carving according to Contract at
ffor 4 Vrnes w th y e flames by Contract
ffor Scaffolding in considers : of y c Great height by
Contract at
ffor makeing Motldells
ffor carving 1 2 composite Capitalls at
ffor carving y e 1 2 leafes of y e Scrowles over y e Bowes
Omitted in y last Measur' i io f Sup" workemanship at xviij' 1
ffor 86 i f of large Portland Paving cutt w' h channels & drips
laid in terrace upon a core of 2 course of flanders bricks
at ij' vj' 1 107
ffor revayling the Plinths & Scrowles of the 4 pinicles at
the Corner of the Tower at
Allowed more for makeing y e Moddell of the Pinicles
28/-
I 2
8
i
o
18
551 1 6 o[V]
To Tho; Aldworth Plum r for worke done at Bow Tower and lead
delivered to y e Masons for Cramps &c
ffor lead for Cramps w" 160 Cent at xiiij" vj d 11600
To Edward Pearce Mason for Carving of a wooden
Dragon for a Moddell for y e Vane of Copper upon y c top
of y c Steeple and for cutting a relive in board to be
profered up to discerne the right bignesse the Summe of 400
To Cartwright & Tompson Masons for worke clone at y e Tower of
Bow ab' paving Copeing, Spurrs at bottom &c Octo r 21: 1680
ffor 1355' of rough Purbeck paving in y c Poarch Passage
& Bellcony, laid in courses att per fo' viij' 1
ffor 123' 4'" of rough Purbeck Step at ij*
ffor 30' 2 in of Portland copeing i6 in broad. "j\ thick 2 f i i in
girt at iiij" vj d
ffor 3' of Portland Copeing i f broad 5'" deep 2 f girt at iij"
VOL. LXVI c
41
*. d.
3? r "
3 19 o
200
So
o
o
120
250
o
o
7?0
20
o
o
60
30
o
o
TO
IO
o
o
So
24
o
o
60
'
I 2
o
30
8
5
o
120 J
20
included.
200
20
45
3
4
1/6
lot
12
6
12
6
o
1/6
21
II
8
6
'5
9
8/9
'3
4
O
9
o
4/F
13
3
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
ffor new Setting 44 r of Old Copeing at iij d
ffor 5' 6 iB of Portland Soyle 15'" broad 7'" deep 2 f 2 in girt
at iiij s
ffor 41' of Portland Soyle at the bottom of the weather-
boardes ab' 2 f 8 in girt y p Scant i f 8 in and i ' 2 at ij s vj d
ffor Portland Spurrs 4 in number Six f 6 in long and i f
diamef att per each at iij^ X s each
To Tho: Aldworth Plum r for worke done at the Tower of Bow
being for lead to Cover the Stone Cornice &c
ffor lead for } r Masons weight 9: 2: 14 at xiij s
ffor lead for y c Roofe and Cornices 219: 2: 26 at xvj"
ffor Sotlar w" i : i : 6*- at ix d
ffor Sodar & workman" 1 " of 2;/ of pipe being 2 lengths 3 f
at xiiij" each length
ffor lead in 7 Grates w" i : i : 20 at xvij' vj' 1
ffor 20 doz: of Spikes to fasten y'' lead on y r Cornice at
xviij' 1 per doz:
ffor Nailes
ffor 2 men one day at
Reed back in cuttings w" i9 r : 3*1; 26'' at xiij 5 per Cent
i
/ *.
(/.
o
I I
o //-
-' 4
I
2
7/7
-' <
9
5
2
6 20/y
4/ //
i
14
O
70/-
/4 o
85
9
7
sr of Bow
6
5
i ; -v-
/J
g
175
15
8 2 30 /-
?-P 12
5
9
ioj j*/.
f 9
II
i
I 2
2
2 6
i
6
JT/-
2 to
i
IO
//tf
I 10
o
3
O
3
o
6
o
1 2
192
7
IO
I 2
19
ioj
179 711
To discount out of y* aforesaid bill to Tho: Aldworth
y n Surhe of 1 1 : iiij 5 being So much allowed in a following
bill to Matt: Roberts for finishing worke after the decease
of Tho. Aldworth So remaines
1 68
1 1
To Sam; Oliver, for Glizing worke done by him at y c Church and
Tower of Bow Septem 1 " 8. 1680.
ffor 68 f 8'" of Small Quarry's worke at xij d
ffor nailes
ffor i7/ f 8'" of Quarry worke at vij d
ftor one Casment pined at
ffor 74' 5 in of Squares at ix' 1
1 1 10 o
To Mathew Bankes Carpent r for worke done at y c Tower of Bow,
ab' y' Staires, flooring, doores, outward Dores &c Nov r iS: 1680.
ffor i23 f of round flooring of y c 2 halfe past and head of
y e Staires boarded w' h Oake at x d 526
ffor a peece of Oake to hang up y Newell 5 f long 1 2'"
& I2 in at 120
hurch and
3
8
8 2/-
6
17
4
o
i
o
I
i
5
3
7 1/6
13
6
6
o
i
o
i
i
2
15
9 1/9
6
10
3
2/6
IT 7 6
200
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 43
ffor 112 Steps of Staires all of Oake y e Newell & rail / s. d.
included at xij s 6740 2o/- 112 o o
ffor 23' of flooring in y L Gatl: boarded \v th Oake at viij' 1 0154 1/6 i i_[ 6
ffor 1 2 f 3'" of raile to y c Same at iij s vj d 2 2 10 $/6 2 2 u
ffor 36' of Oake brase in y e Truss 8'" & 8 at 4100 12 12 o
ffor y c crowne peece of y e Truss w lh doth bear up y e Newell
3 f long i8:&i8 1150 ? o o
ffor 1 1 8 f of new Oake Plank in y e Clock loft 2'" thick at vj d 2 19 o 2/- 11160
ffor an Oake dore to y c Spire lined w th whole deal 2'" \
thick 5' \ high 2 f wide 0160 / if o
ffor a whole deal dore lined \v th Slit deal on y e Staires at y e
belloft [su] 5 f > & 2 f 080 16 6
ffor a double deale door to y c bell-loft 6 f high & 2 f 2 at 0160 / 12 o
ffor a double deale dore to y c Clockloft 6 f high 2 f wide 0120 i j. o
ffor a double deal dore in y c ringing loft 2 f \ wide & 5 f *
high at 0140 i 8
ffor a deale floor there with 2'" fir planck at 1 1 10 o // 10
ffor a Oake dorecase to y L belcony 6 f 8'" Scant & 8: 4 0180 if -
ffor a pair of double deal dores to y e Same at i o o
ffor a double deale dore at y e foot of y e Staires 014 o
ffor 9 Sq. -J. of Roofing at 1 s 23 26 fo/-
ffor 8 Sq. i8 f of boarding at xvj 9 61010 2o/-
ffor 96' * of guttering w th 2 in Oake Plancke at xij' 1 4166 2/6
ffor 10 Sq. i6 f of groyned Cieling &bragetting of 2 Corbells
at xxxv s 1 7 1 5 6 fo/- 25 8 o
ffor 7 Sq |: 6 f of Cieling floor at xxxv 8 13 4 7 jf/- 13 4 7
ffor 278' in 3 pare of Gates of Oake Stiles & railes 3'"
pannells 2'" being extraordinary wrought at iij s vj' 1 48 13 o 7/6 104 ? o
To Tompson & Cartwright Masons for worke dne [sic] at y e Tower
of Bow ab' Vautin y e Porch of y e Same, Carving there &c dec: 2: 1680.
ffor 487' 6 in of cane Stone in y e Vauting wrought Circular,
and Portland Stone Moulding round y e bell hole they
finding Materialls & Centering & Scaffolding at iij" 73 2 6 io/- 24$
ffor carving y e Circular Torus round the bell-hole being
1 5 in girt vj'
ffor i: Rod of rubble w" 1 Stuff and workman' p at
To William Cleere Joyner for worke by him in making
a cover for y c well hole at Bow Tower by agreement with
carving worke, Smiths worke Setting up &c the Summe of
Nine pounds Tenn Shitt: 9 io o
To Tho: Horn Bricklay r for worke done at Bow ab 1 the Parapet and
Gavell end neer the Steeple Mar: io: i68J.
ffor 2 Rod I 58 f of Brickworke begun at 40' high at v^ x" 1418 9
G a
f
2
I
-'3
8
12
:
H o
2 6
3 7
I 3
6
5
o
o
O
O
12/-
7
12
7
8 4
2
6
20
7 6
44
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
flbr 74' of flashes at v d i 10 10
ffor 10 y d> of paving w" 1 core under y c Same to bring it
levell at xx" i o o
To Stephen Leaver Smith for worke done by him at y e Tower of Bow
being for y c finishing worke of the Steeple & in y e passage between the
Chun & Steeple from Sept: 26: 1679 to Mar: i: 1680.
ffor 402 Cramps & pluggs w tt 8: 2: i| at iij d ob" q
ffor Straps, bolts, plates, rings, Staples, colloures, & keyes,
in y f low roofe between y c Steeple & Chur: w" 3: 2: 17
at iij' 1 ob" q
ffor i Casm 1 6 Staples w" o: 3: 19^ at vij d
ffor 3 fill'd barrs to Stay y l dores o: 3: 13 at v d
ffor barrs & revit barrs, cross barrs, plates and keyes & I.
window on y c loft with 8 Studds w" 6: 3: 26 at iij d ob q
ffor 2 p r of X Garnetts, 9 p r of hinges revits and nailes
w" 3: i 1 ": 20'' v' 1
ffor a Ballcony w" 6: i: 17* at iiij"
ffor 12 Stone hookes o: i : 2 at iiij d ob"
ffor 2 rowes of flowers & 8 Screwes & nutts for y e dores
ffor one lock for y* Steeple clore
ffor mending a lock
ffor a Stock lock
ffor 3 Stock locks 5 keyes & revitts
ffor 2 bolts & a lock for y c bellcony dore
ffor one rimb lock
ffor 3 locks & hasps for y c Barrs
ffor one rimb lock & box plate
'7
9
O 1
ver of Bow
2tW(
:en
the
M
Ilj
6
7
9
3
4l
2
o
5
12
4
4l
8
O
I I
19
2
O
1 1
3
3
IO
o
o
4
o
i
2
IO
o
o
8
o
I
5
o
o
12
o
I
5
o
sic]
66 18
To Thomas Lane Painter for worke done by him at the Tower of
Bow June 2. 1681.
ffor 75 y Hs of painting laid 3 times in Oyle in y e Out dores
& ballcony xij' 1 3 15 o
ffor 20 y' ls of painting laid twice in Oyle in y e Inner dores
of y r Steeple at ix' 1
ffor 59 y' ls run: of Saddle barr twice done at iij d
ffor 1 7 y ds of revitt barr att iiij' 1
ffor painting a Carved pannell
ffor painting y c G' Casm 1 and frames at y c leads
o
o
o
o
o
15
H
5
5
2
5 17 5
To Doogood & Grove Plaister rs for worke done at y c Tower of Bow
ab l finishing whiting &c Aug' 18. 1681.
ffor 898 y ds of finishing with Marble lime at ijs iij d 101 o 6
ffor 65 y ds J of finishing w" 1 common lime at xx d 592
BJ.
If
14. 18
679
306
* o r
12 4 6
8
u
'9
2
li
3
10
7
6
2
f
i
12
6
12
6
12
If
3 -' 6
'3 4
9 10
2 10
f o
2
2/6
/;/ j o
8 3 9
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 45
ffor 112 y ds of groined Cieling between y e Chur: & Sleeple
al xvj d
ffor 4' ~ of Chapler Moulding enriched w" 1 leaves at
ffor Sloping 3 windowes & Sloping wilhout dores at
ffor 433 y ds of whiting at ij d
ffor 149 y d * ~ of rendering at vj d
ffor 374 y ds of whiting within dores at ij d
ffor Sloping y e Old Scaffolding holes al
7 9
o 9
I IO
3 12
3 12
3 2
I IO
4 2/6
2/6
o
2 2(i.
9 1/2
4 2ci.
O
S. d-
14
" 3
100
3 '- -
.V 14 f
3^4
3 o o
127 15 3
To Sam: Oliver Glaiz r for worke done ab' finishing & complealing
the Glaizers worke at S' Mary-le-Bow. Nov: 10. 1681.
ffor Sodering and banding 244' of Glass at ij d
2
o
S
400
ffor 39 f new leaded and cemented al iij d ot>
O I
I
4i
1
ffor 49' of Compass worke at viij d
I I
2
8 2/-
4 18 o
ffor 738 y ds putting in at ij d
6
3
O 2(i.
630
ffor 3 dayes to Cleanse ihe windows al ij s vj d
o
7
6 7/6
I 2 6
IO I
5
2
To Mathew Roberls Plum r for worke done al y e Tower
of
Bow
ffeb 9: 1682.
ffor new Sheel lead in a Cislorne w lt io c : o q : 17" &
covering ihe walls & copeing belween y c Chur: and
Sleeple al xvj*
8
2
5 3/~
If 4 7
ffor Sodar used in y e corner and olher places where ihere
were drips w" 46" | at ix d
I 14
iol or/.
I 14 II
ffor making a trough & Cieslerne at
2
O
o
200
ffor mending of holes in y >: Roofe of y c Chur: & for Spikes
& nailes
I
O
o
200
i
2 I
7
3
Dect: for Cutting w" i r : o q : 22'' at xj s o^ 13': 2 d .
Remaines 124 i
To Doogood & Grove Plaisters [sic] for worke done at y" Tower of
Bow May n: 1682.
ffor washing Sloping & whiling y 1 ' Veslry 312 y' 1 ' al ij' 1 2 12 o ?</ .? /.V o
To Mathew Roberts Plum r for worke done at the Tower of Bow
June i: 1682. Allowed Aug' 17: 82.
ffor new lead w" 4: 2: 18 at xvj" vj d 3 16 ioj| jo/- 6 /y to
ffor Sodar w" o: 2: | at ix d 224^ yd. 22$
ffor 52 dayes worke at ij 8 vj d per diem 610 o io/- 26 o o
ffor Spikes & nailes at 0130 10 o
ffor y e PlunV time at i o o 400
'4 2 3
Ded: for Old lead \v" 4: 2'': o 11 at xiij" 2^: i8 s : o' 1
Remaines 1 1 40
46 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To Tho; Cartwright Mason for worke don at y e Tower of Bow Oct 1 @ s. d.
26: 1682.
ffor 23 f 9 in of Watertable lett into Bow Steeple on y c
South Side at iij" riming measure. 300 y- to n v
Totals^ for all accounts 15586 9 4 38620 16 2
Deduct as belcnv 112160 130 o 10
15473 '3 4 3X49 (> 4
DEDUCTIONS.
Cwts.yrs. /bs. s. d. @ s. d.
12 i o Old iron I5/- 939 f/- 3 / ?
38 2 24 Cuttings 17/6} 34 5 9 V' tf '4 1
1 1 Sodar 9</. ) //- no
i 2 Lead 1 7/- 62 Jo/- / 4
58 3 22 Old lead 14/- 41 5 3 17/6 // // 6
19 3 27 Cuttings i3/-cwt. 12 19 loj 2o/- /^ /p /o
Discount allowed to Thomas Aldworth 1140 7/40
i o 22 Cutting 1 1/- 13 2 2o/- / 3 //
420 Old lead i3/- 2 18 o 17/6 3 18 o
112160 130 y 10
1 See note on page 26.
APPENDIX IV
THE COMPLETE BILLS FOR ST. STEPHEN'S WALBROOK
The Roman figures in the first money columns are copied from the original accounts. The italic
figures in the second columns are the estimated prices the work would cost in 1915. See supplementary
paper, pp. 11-13.
Estimated cost of
the work in 1915.
Charges In Rebuilding the Parochial! church .of. S' Stephen's
Wallbrooke.
To Thomas Strong Mason for taking dow: y p East j s. d.
walls, and the pillars and arches on the North side, & '
Soarting and pileing y c Stones in the Church- Yard by i
Contr by M r Woodroofe at
To John Longland Carpent r for a pare of Cross Garnets
lock and Staples att 040 4 o
ffor pulling downe y c Roofe floor bells and frames 300 12 o o
ffor a doble Ufer and base to Shore the wall 036 70
DESIGNED BY
Allowed for mending y Teames and Supplying y
Spoiled by pulling clowne y e tower
Allowed for y p use of all y- fences enclosing y 1 ' Church on
y' North and west Sides, and maintaining y m in repaire
for 2 years to come ending Midsumer 1675 by Verball
greem 1
SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
Stuff
IO
16 7
o o
o
"6
47
> *
12 C
20
To Tho; Strong & Chr. Kempster Masons for worke clone at
S' Stephen Wallbrooke, being from y c founda: of y e walls East West,
North, and South, to the top of y c Abacus of y Capitalls of y'' pillast r
both Rubble and Stone worke allso y e 16 Columes within y e Chur: from
y c found, to y Same hight except y c 2 Corner Capitalls of y pillasf west
& y 1 " Abacus of the truss Stones North and South Measd Sept r 24: 167 |.
For 3473 r of freestone Ashler Stone and worke at ij 3 iiij' 1
ffor workmanship of 520' of Old Stone part freestone part
Portl' 1 wrought in Mouldings at ix' 1
ffor 4733 f of freestone workman* 1 * Super" Measur at xij' 1
ffor 3684 f of block at ij 9 iiij' 1
ffor 1 5 1 Rod. 2 of Rubble worke at 1 s
Allowed in considera: of loss of Stone in Circular wind &
Circut. Ashler
To Strong & Kempster Masons for Carving 16
corinthian Capitalls for 2 f Columes Sq r ing Setting encluded
at vij^
ffor 6 Capitalls for Pillasters at lv s each
ffor 2 Corner pillaster Capitalls at vj^ each
ffor 7 Small Cherubins heads at xij" each
ffor a Mask head upon the west dore at
ffor carving 2 Scrowles at the west dore at
ffor enriching y Cornice over the west dore at
4<->5
J
o
19
IO
} -/6
236
13
o
429
1 6
o
6/6
378
'5
Ijo/-
20
o
o
1489
17
8
I I 2
o
o
Soof-
16
IO
o
200/-
12
o
o
4 oo/-
4
4
o
60 -
I
IO
o
I
IO
o
So/-
I
o
148
14
o
868 ? o
pi o o
included.
1197 d o
1060 10 o
o o
640 o o
60 o o
40 o a
21
4/00
,V o o
To Strong & Kempster Mason for pulling downe and
cleering y e Steeple and y c West adjoyning by Contract
ffor takeing clowne y c East wall, & all the Pillars and
Arche on y e Nor: Side by Conf
ffor takeing downe and cleering the Outside wall North
& South
ffor diging and cleering y e foundations of y c East & all y 1 "
pillars & all other charges of moveing Earth & cleering
& carridge of all the Rubbish made by y 1 ' Masones w"
" worke Shall be finished at
40 o o
IO O O
18 o o
98 o o
160
120
40
72
48 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To Strong & Kempster for makeing a Vault at the West End of @
S l Stephen Wallbrooke Church.
ffor 360 y* 1 * of digging at
ffor 5 Rod 1 4 f of Rubble wall att 1 s
ffor 6 Rod 62 f of brick worke in y c Arches reduced to br:
& \ at v*. v s .
ffor 8 f of Stepp at
ffor 1 6 f of paving at
59 18 o
To Strong & Kempster for worke done in M r Pollexfields Vault made
upon agreenV in leave of Some lights for better fitting y c South Isle.
ffor 50 y*" 5 of digging att
ffor 248 f of brick worke in y c Arch att v^ v s
ffor i: Rod: of Rubble wall att 1 s
ffor 37 f of Step at xij d
ffor 7 f 6'" of paveing at viij' 1
IO
I 2
12
4
t/~
po
3?
7
2
32
4
15
O
10
8
34/-
1/6
10?
4
i
17
4
6
a
n
2
4
2
I
o
17
IO
17
5
O
I
O
O
O
I 1
9
I
12
12
8
O
O
I
18
O
14
O
2
O
12
o
I
O
o
I
O
o
2
6
12
28
IO
6
To John Longland Garment' for 14 Sqrs: of Centerg for
the 2 Vaults at xviij s
ffor 8 Sq: of Centering for dorecases & windowes att xx"
ffor 57 f of 3'" Oaken plank to cover y c Staires goeing
downe into y Vaults att viij' 1
ffor 28 f of 3'" Oaken planke ab' y c Same at vj d
ffor a Gutter 43 f long 20'" broade att
ffor altering y e roofe & laying y e plate within y e wall att
ffor Shoreing used i 7 peeces i i f long. 26 Joysts 17 peeces
9 f long 64 deT.
ffor 8 dayes workman sp
ffor nailes att
ffor carridge and re-caridge at
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke done at S' Stephen Wall-
brooke, being from y e top of y Capitalls to y c Chur: w th y e 2 Corner
CapT: of y 1 ' pillasters at y c West end & y c Abacus of y c Truss-stones
North and South, and y' Soyles & Splayes of all ye windowes, mullions
& Transums of the East window, and a wall at y* East end w lh 2
dorecases in y' Same and working up an Ovall window in y e North Side
& Ashler of y e Chimney
For 9io f 6'" of freestone Ashler att ij s iiij' 1
ffor 3292 f 10'" of Sup" freestone at xiiij''
ffor 1570' 5'" of freestone Block at ij" iiij' 1
ffor i ^7O f 9 in of Sup" portland at xviij' 1
ffor 694 f 6 in of Portland Block at ij s ij d
ffor 5 Rod ': 26': of new brickworke reduced to br: being
T/o
1/6
12 10 o
/f 10
700
780
I' 3
12 12
16
< //
44
2 '3 9
280
200
480
2 6
2 10
1 06 3 4
r/-
227 10
192 3 o
included
183 4 4
6/6
flO f
102 16 I
included
75 4 9
10/6
364 7 o
thin wall wrought w' h Stone worke att vj^ vij"
37
102 6
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
ffor 22 Rod: i2 f of Old Rubble at lij s
ffor carving the Kestone of y e East window
ffor Carving 10 antick Capitalls att
ffor 8 f of Portland parpen Ashler att iij 9 vj d
ffor working 88 f 9 of Rigate Stone at vij d
To Tho; Aldworth for Plumers worke done by him at S' Stephen
Wallbrooke to July ig: 1677.
ffor new Sheet lead w" 1159: 3 q : n" cont. 59 Tunn.
19 31 1 1 1 at xvij^ p Tun
ffor 4: i: 7: of Soder at ix d
ffor Soder and workmanship of 1 3 Cistorens
ffor ii5 f of Pipes making n lengths | io f in each length
for worke & Sod' xvij s . p. per length at
Received back in cuttings 125: 3 q : 12" at xiiij s
Allowed more for extraordinary worke ab' y e Dome &
Lanthorne being circular & chased worke & for Plum r
Nailes & tacks us'd ab' y e Same
Remaines
To John Longland Carpent r for worke done ab' y e Roof<
of S' Stephen Wallbrooke Church to y e i/j." 1 of Aug' 1677.
ffor 43 Sqrs f 2O f of Roofing y c low Roofe at iiij^
ffor 34 Sqs -J-. 5 f of Roofing in the Dome at ix^
\llowed further according to contract for y e Dome at
for 8 Sqs \: 5 f of Roofing out of y e lower part of y e Dome
at vj^
for 4 Sqs: f of firring y e flatt Roofes att xl s
for 38 Sqs. |: ig f of Cieling Joysts at xxx*
for 348 f Supp" of bragetting w th 2'" Oake planks in y*
Moulding round the lower part of y c Dome at vj d
ffor i52 f of y c Same at y e top ab' y e fo' of the lanthorne at
; i
V J
ffor 112 Sqrs. f of brageting in y c Inside y c Chun & dome
at !
ffor 377 f of brestsumer att v s
ffor Centering y e upper windowes
ffor 286 f of wall plate Scant: 6 & 8 at x' 1
ffor i7o f of Guttering at xij' 1
ffor 53' 9 in of 7 in plank att xx d
ffor 75 modilions att iiij d each
ffor the Lanthorne on the top of y c Dome att
jrriHK WKHJN 49
@
s.
d.
57
6
o
'4/-
'H
6
2
i
10
o
3
25
o
i6o/-
So
i
8
o
10/6
4
4
2
1 1
4
*/4
10
7
I
784
9
i
S' Stephen
985
17
6
600 /- ton
1739
If
f
18
2
3
9 d.
18
2
3
19
IO
o
4/~
26
9
15
6
11
10
1033
5
3
88
2
945
3
3
20
o
o
60
965
3
3
i and
Dome
175
16
o
100/-
210
1?
308
H
o
200/-
343
15
o
o
4?
5i
6
o
IfO/-
64
2
6
8
2
9
4/-
8
2
9
58
O
8
lo/-
?x
8
8
H
l?
.?
9
3
16
o
7
281
17
6
w-
28l
17
6
94
5
o
;/-
94
r
4
o
o
4
1 1
18
4
lod.
it
3
4
8
IO
o
8
10
4
8
4
4
i
5
o
>/-
3
n
On
o
o
180
1095
13
7
VOL. LXVI
H
50 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To John Longland Carpent r for the plates to make y c /
8 Sqrs. of y e Dome of S 1 Stephen Wallbrooke Ch: to be
io in by 7 in the 8 punchions io in by io io ye braces 6 in by 6 in
of good Oake Timber for w ch to receive in Grosse by the
Contract the Sum me of 30 o o
To Strong & Kempster, Masons for worke done at S 1 Step: Wallbrooke
Chur: & Steeple, Measd from the bottom of y e founda: to y c underside
of the facia without ; and y e top of y c ringing loft floore within side of
y e Steeple, and the top of 24 Steps in the Staircase. The Vestry and
porch Measurd to the Same hight Sep' 10: 1677.
For. 29 Rod. 46' of Old Rubble at 1 s
ffor 2 Rod 24' of brickwork in Arches reduced to br: -i
a at
ffor 1 78 f of Cubick portland at ij s ij' 1
ffor 38 2 f Sup" portland att xviij d
ffor 78o f of Kentish Ashler at i) s
ffor 779 f of freestone Ashler at ij s iiij d
ffor i /6 f of portland Ashler at ij s ij' 1
ffor 24 Steps of Staires att vj s each
ffor 270 f 5 in of Old Rigate Ashler coines at vj d
ffor 402' \ of Old rigate in Arches new wrought under the
Staires i i f 7'" long & i i f 7'" wide 3 f deep at xij d
ffor 22 f 2 of Old rigate arch 6 f long 18'" wide 2 f 6'" deep at
xij d
ffor i87 f of circular arches of y c Staires of Old rigat (Step
deducted) at viij d
ffor cleering Rubbish in y c founda: of y e Steeple at vj d
being 45 y ds
ffor carrying away 20 load at xvj d
ffor pyleing up and cleering Old walls in y e Steeple and
Porch at ij s being 47 Load
To Grove & Doogood Plaister" for worke done at y e Chur: of
S' Stephen Wallbrook and ab l y e Dome finished in Sept r 1677.
ffor 546 y ds of plaine Cieling and groined (excluding y p Dome)
xv d
ffor 103 y ds | of rendering above y c Cornice att vj d
ffor 624 f of Architrave moulding within y e pannels enrich:
w" 1 2 Inrichm" at ij 1
ffor 284' of Impost cornice enrich't w th 3 Inrichm ts 4' 5'" girt
at iiij" iiij d
ffor 334' large Baft: in y c pannells 9" 1 girt at vj d
ffor 62 i f of Small Belt: under y c brestsume? 3'" ~ girt at iij d
ffor 32 flowers under y c brestsumer i f 6'" over at iij"
ffor 1 35' of Modilion Cornice 4 f 6 in girt at v*
ffor 1 76' of belt: 6 in girt in the Spandrills at iiij d
72
18
1 1
8
o
19
5
8
28
13
o
78
o
90
17
8
19
i
4
7
4
o
6
15
2
20
2
6
I
2
6
6
4
8
i
2
6
i
6
8
4
14
o
368
15
8
e Chur:
7-
of
le)
34
2
6
2
I I
9
62
8
o
61
IO
8
8
7
o
7
'5
3
4
16
33
15
2
18
8
'4/-
34/-
lo'd
?/-
10/6
'i/tf
y-
2/6
2/2
3/4
4J-
7/6
, s. d.
204
8
3? 10 o
93 9 o
included
117 o o
104 // o
92 8 o
18 o o
20 f 8
60 7 6
3 7 6
18 14 o
I 2 6
400
4 14 o
68 f o
600
67 12
47 6 8
12 10 6
10 7 o
12
40 10 o
480
DESIGNED BY SIR CHR1STC
J)FH
Eb
L V
/REN
51
ffor 8 Sheilds w lh pannells io f base & 5 f perpendicular at
@
s.
d.
xxx s each
12
o
o
6o/- each
14
ffor 232' of Architraue in the Arches enriched inricht [sic]
w"' 2 Enrichm ts 2 f girt xviii d
17
8
o
3/~
34
16
ffor 8 keystones enrichet [sic] w th Cherut>: heads 16'" deep
1 2'" over at ij 3 vj d
I
o
o
12/6
7
ffor 8 foliage leaves at y e fo l of y e Architraue 2 f deep at iij s
I
4
o
F/~
2
ffor ii2 f of Roses & leaues i f 2'" over in y e 4 Ribbs att
ij'vj' 1
H
o
o
f/-
28
ffor 3 double foliage flowers 2 f 3'" diameter at x s each
I
IO
o
6of-
9
ffor ii2 f of Staff w th leaues under y c Architrave of y e 4
Arches io' n girt at xij' 1
5
I 2
o
1/6
8
8
ffor 58 f of foliage in y e 2 ribbs at y c west end. i f 8'" over at
ij 8 vj d
7
5
2/6
7
r
ffor 24 f of Cornice in y c Lanthorne i' 8'" girt at ij 3
2
8
o
2/6
3
ffor a foliage flower in y e top of y e Lanthorne 4 f 6'" over
O
10
3
ffor 23' of moulding at bottom of y e lanthorne 20'" deep at
xviij' 1
I
14
6
*/'
2
6
ffor 26 f I of foliage twisted round a Staff at bottom of y e
Lanthorn io f 6'" gr ij 9 vj d
3
6
3
3
6
3
ffor 35 1 y ds in y" Dome fretted w" 1 mouldings roses & palmes
150
o
o
fOO
For 1888 y ds of whiting at ij' 1
15
H
8
If
>4
8
444
17
3
To Stephen Leaver Smith for worke done by him at
S 1 Stephen
Wallbrooke ab' y c Roofe & Lanthorne Jan r 31: 1673-.
ffor Cramps w lt 13: 2: 5 iij d ob q
ffor window barrs w" 29: 3: 7 iij d ob" q
23
S 2
14
3
si
\ 28 /- cwt.
60
>4
ffor compass wind: barrs for y c Lathorne [sic] I : o: 8 iiij' 1 ofr
2
5
o
j.0/- CWt.
J
2
10
ffor Straps bolts, Spikes & nailes 20: 2: 18 iij' 1 ot5 q
36
3
! 2
jo/- cwt.
30
'9
10
ffor x Garnetts, hookes, hinges, Staples, bolsters and
holdfasts iiij' 1 ot5
3
6
2
4/~
3
2
10
ffor Stoone hookes w" 2: o: 7 at iiij' 1
3
'7
O
3 o/- cwt.
3
I
n
ffor 2 Casm 1 " & frames w" o: 2: 25 at vij' 1
2
7
3
2
7
3
ffor 6 Casmtes and frames w" 2: 3: 19 at vij' 1
9
IO
9
9
10
9
ffor a key & mending a lock
o
i
3
2
6
ffor a Stock lock
o
2
4
7
6
ffor a lock and plate at
o
2
9
10
ffor a key & bitt att
o
O
8
I
6
ffor 4 Stock locks
o
3
f/~
i
ffor 400 dognailes
o
3
4
if/.
i
13
4
ffor 4 bolts and pullies for y c branches
2
o
2
ffor 9 Oualls & 4 roundes & barrs w" 6': 2'': 23-" at iiij' 1
12
IO
4
JO/' CWt.
'3
S
r
148
IO
5
To discount for Old Iron w" 35: 3 n : 3" at xiiij' per Cent
25
o
6
To discount for Small Iron. 15: o: 12 at vij* per Cent
5
5
o
Remaines
118
4
1 1
H a
52 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To John Longland Carpent r for worke done by him at the Church of (<t> s. d.
S' Stephen Wallbrooke ab< the Porch feb r 27: 167!
ffor i: Sq \ of naked flooring over y e Porck \sic\ Scant:
9 in & 4 in | at 1" 476 70/- f> 2 6
ffor 6 Sq of Roofing at xxx' 900 ^o/- 12 o o
ffor 30' of Pitched Gutter at xij d i 10 o //- / 10 o
14 17 6
To John Longland Carpent r for worke done at S l Stephen Walbroke
about Scaffolding and altering y e Gutters Sept r 4: 1679.
ffor a Gutter to bring y e water from M r Polixphens house
adjoyning to the Church, being about 24' long at 140/7- i j o
ffor turning y e Current of y c Gutter at y e west end being
42 f taken up & md broad 200 zoo
ffor making a Modell at 2 10 o 10 o o
ffor Scaffolding for y c Plum r for y e Lanthorne and for
making the moulds to Strike out the lead for the Dome at 4 o o 1600
9 14 o
To Strong & Kempster. Masons for dayes worke done by y" 1 at
St Stephen Wallbrooke feb r 19: 1679.
ffor a Mason 6 dayes to cutt 6 holes through y'' Cornice
for y'- leaden pipes, the current of y e Gutter being turn'd 0150 ///- j 6 o
ffor a Mason & a labourer 2 dayes to Stop 3 holes on y e
South side and to make way for y e water at y e west end at 084 18/6 i 17 o
ffor a Mason 6 dayes to cutt y' holes for y 1 ' Timber of y 1 '
Organ floor 0150 ///- ^ 6 o
ffor a Mason 3 dayes to cutt holes for y e bolts & Staples
of y' Chur: dore 076 ///- / /j o
ffor pulling downe y' wall at y' 1 west end to make roome
for the Staircase of y' : Steeple at 400 17 10 o
6 5 10
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke done at y e Chur: &
tower of S' Stephen Wallbrooke, Measd from y c top of y'' 3 d facia to
y e top of the Raile & batt: . And from the top of 85 Steps in y v Staires
to y' top of 127 Steps being 42 more then the former Measurm' feb r 19"'
ffor 1 349 r of Kentish Ashler at ij s 1 34 1 8 o j/- 202 7 o
ffor 268 f of cubick Portland of y e foure windowes at ij s iiij' 1 31 5 4 10/6 140 i+ o
ffor 459 f 6 in Sup" of y c Same at xviij d 34 9 3
ffor 536' of burford Ashler in y e Splayes & Outside of y c
Staircase next the Steeple and of the head way att
ij' iiij' 1 62 10 8 10/6 281 8 o
ffor 88 f of Cornice Mesd at y c Nose as by contract at xvj' 70 8 o jf/- 7^4 o o
ffor 85' of raile & Ball: the Pedestalls and Setting allowed 80 o o 17$ o o
ffor 85 f of parpen Ashler being under y e Same at iiij* vj' 1 1926 40 o o
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
ffor 34' of Portland copeing at y e top of the Stairecase @
wrought on both Sides 6 in thick at iiij*
ffor io f of Portland Parpen of y e Newell at ij* vj d
ffor 42 Steps of Staires at vj" each
ffor 368' of circular Ashler of y e Staires (Steps deducted)
at ij 8 vj d
ffor 6 Rod of new Rubble at v v s
ffor i halfe pace Step on y e top of y e Staires at
Allowed for worke done above 4O f high being above 350
Tunn at xij d
To Thomas Aldworth Plum r for worke done by him at the Chun of
S 1 Stephen Wallbrooke Apr: 8: 1680.
ffor new lead w" 69: 3: 3 at xvij s
ffor Soddar at y 1 ' Steeple o: 2: 16 at ix d
ffor workman 8 " 1 and Sodar for one Cistorne at
ffor workman: & Sodar for 6o f of pipe at xvij 5 every io fot
ffor Soder used to mend y c leads 3" at ix d and worke vj"
ffor lead dd to y p Masons w" 9: i: 14: at xvj 3
Reed back for cuttings w" 9 C : o n : 23'' at xiiij 3
Remaines
To Stephen Leaver Smith for worke done by him at y e Chur: &
Tower of S l Stephen Walbrooke from feb r 12: 1677: to Mar: 25: 1680.
ffor 301 cramps. \v u 5: 2: 4! at iij d ot5 q
ffor 6 Stone hookes w" 0:1:7^ at iiij d
ffor 9 p" of hinges, revits & Nailes 2: i: i. at iiij''
ffor 4 Stay barrs & rings at 4: o: 6\ at iij' 1 ot>
ffor a Stay bar. & loope for y" dore o: o: 26* at iiij' 1
ffor 4 Spikes o: o: 3 at iiij' 1
ffor 2 revitt barrs. 15 Sadie barrs. i: 3: i i-J- at iij' 1
ffor a row of Spikes and flowers at
ffor 4 Rimb locks at
ffor a Spring lock at
ffor a Rimb lock for the Steeple dore
ffor 3 plate bolts
ffor 240 dice-headed Navies
34 5 1
To John Longland Carpent r for worke done at S l Stepli: Walbroke
ab' a flore and guttering in the Tower Decem r 10. 1680.
ffor y c upper floore erected and compleated in y c Tower
being done with good yellow deale, and the Gutters
made of y c Same in drips according to Agreem' at 20 o o
"3
53
6 16 o
10/6
i 5 o
io/6
12 12
If/'
46 o o
10/6
31 io o
1 4 0/-
060
v/-
17 io o
T/-
548 12 9
e Chur: of
59 9 8
30,'- cwt.
2140
9 d.
I IO O
520
083
7 io o
2f/- Civt
76 13 ii
6 8 ii
70 5 o
'" Chur: &
25: 1680.
9 '3 io)
2$/- cvaf.
O I I IOJ
444
4/~
6 12 6J
j f/- CWf.
0810
3f/- cwt.
O I O
4 J. Ib.
2 I I IOJ
2ff- CWt.
iii 7
600
12/6
o 15 o
O IO O
0190
060
id.
104 13 4
2 14
200
600
I 7
II 14 f
840
4 10 4
722
-V 3
i o
261
1 II 7
2 10
/f
10
10
100
20
54 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To Tho: Aldworth Plum r for worke don at Walbrooke Vestry i /" .v. d.
Nov r 80.
ffor new lead w" 25 2: 1 2 at xvp 20 9 8 $o/- cicf. 3<V tV 3
ffor Sodar w" o: o: 32^ at ix' 1 i 4 6< yd. 747
Return'd for Cuttings w" i c 2* 14" at xiij' i I s i*-* 1 21 14 2\
Remaines 20 13 o
To Tho; Home Bricklayer for worke done at S' Step
Walbrooke in finishing the Brick wall of y c Church with
a flash to carry of \sii\ y c water at o 10 o i 10 o
To Grove & Doogood Plaister the Summe of Seaven
Pounds being so much Omitted in their first bill of plast rs
worke, in y particular of the Small Bett: under y r - breastsunV
3'" 2 girt at per fo' the Summe of which bill is 444^: 1 7 s : 3''.
whereas it ought to have been 7^ more viz' 451: 17: 3 700 10 o o
To John Longland Carpent r for worke done at S' Stephen Walbrooke
about weather boarding it Octob r 13: 1681.
ffor 4 Sq 34 f of Ground floring in y' Vestry boarded at 1 s 1017 o $o/- 10 17 o
ffor 4 Sq *: 20' of planking w"' 2'" plank in y*' bell loft &
ring loft iij^ vj s viij' 1 1513 4 4/~ 980
ffor 2 Sq of 2 in plank in y' clock loft at 5100 ^of- 400
ffor 73' of Oake Timber in y bell-loft floore at iij" 10 19 o 6/- 21 18 o
ffor 4i8 f Sup" of weather boarding y e heades Mesd Sq at
xx' 1 34 1 6 8 1/8 34 16 ,V
ftbr i Sq of Timber carcase of Oake w"' an Oake dore in
the Same the rest boarded w th firr att 300 6 o o
ffor *-. of a Sq. of Oake floor & boarding at 0150 too/- square i j o
ffor io f of firr cornice there ab' S'" deep at o 10 o 2/- i o o
ffor a Sqr 4 of Oake flore boarded w th firr boardes with
a brestsumer 1 5 and 1 2 Scantling at 700 700
ffor 4 dores to y u leads clock loft and ringing loft & bell-loft
made with Oake lined w th Slitt deall att i'] x s Cont:
56 f Sup" 2 10 o 4/-ff- "4 o
ffor an Oake dore lined w' h Elme, and well nailed w lh dice
headed nailes at y 11 fo' of y c Stairecase at 140 400
ffor a -*- of a Sqr. of Roofing at 0150 if o
93 10 o
To Robert Bird Copper Smith for worke done at y c Chun of S' Stef>
Wallbrooke ab' y' 1 Vane there Sept r I M 1681.
ffor new Copper in y c Vane wrought hollow, and Chassed
cut w" 59" at iiij s 11160 30 o o
To John Longland Carpent r for worke done by him at y e Chur: of
S 1 Stephen Wallbrooke ab' y c Vestry and Steeple to feb r 7. 1677.
ffor 2 Sqrs 3 i f of flooring & boarding y c Vestry at iij^ v' 7 11 4 6j/- 7 10 2
ffor i. Sqr 39' of firring att xxv' i 14 9 2f/- i 14 9
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
55
ffor 5 Sqrs 43 f of Centering y c Vaults w" 1 groines at xxx"
ffor 3 Sq. 6 f of naked flooring in y e Steeple at iiij c
ffor centering y c coveing of y c Tribune and for center,
a wind
(g
/
-^. f/.
8
2
10
**/-
,V
.? /o
I 2
4
9
/f
2
o
3
3i 13 8
To Richard Finder Glaiz r for worke done by him at y f Church of
S' Stephens Wall brooke & at y e Dome feb r 24. 1675.
ffor 1054' 7 in of Quarries at vi' 1 ob 28 1 1 2)
ffor 4i9 f 8 in of Squares at viij d
To Grove & Doogood Plaister" for worke done
S' Stephens Wall brooke being between y'' bottom of ) c
the ground Jan: 10"' 1677.
ffor 387 y' ls I of Rendering att vj' 1
ffor 8 y' ls of lath and plaister at xiiij' 1
ffor 683 y' 1 " of whiting the Stoncworke and rendering ij' 1
ffor 32' of moulding in y 1 ' No: & South windows 10'" girt
at xij' 1
ffor 68 f of ball: moulding att vj' 1
ffor pointing 35 windowes at
ffor Scaffolding to y c Dome and y 1 ' Church att
To Thomas Aldworth. Plum r for worke done and lead
Masons at S 1 Stephen Wallbrooke Aug' 15. 1678.
ffor Sheet lead w" 61: 2: 17 att xvij s
ffor lead Set. to y e Masons 2: o: o att xiiij 1
ffor Sodder w" o: 2: 19 at ix' 1
ffor workmanship of Cistornes
Reed, of lead & cuttings 031: 3'': 2" at xiiij" and Sodder
13 19 4)
42 10 6
by them at
Cornice and
9
5
'3
10
13
9
7
10
i
1 1
o
i
8
'4
o
o
o
10
o
7 4
to y''
9" at ix"
Remaines
52
I
8
8
[
2
16
->
,1
3
o
O
59
I 2
4
22
I I
6
6
37
O
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke at y c Chur: & Steeple of
S' Stephen Wallbrooke, Measd from y" under side ot y'' facia to y' top
of 8 f above y f Same & from y 1 " top of 24 Steps of Staires to y" top of
40 Steps being 16 more Aug' 28. 78.
ffor 26 f 4'" of freestone block at ij s iiij' 1
ffor 29' 4'" of Sup" freestone at xiiij' 1
ffor 1 1 i f of freestone Ashler at ij" iiij' 1
ffor 12' 4 in of Cubick Portland at ij' ij' 1
ffor 3 Rod of Rubble at lij"
ffor 277 y di of finishing at xviij' 1
6</.
9 J.
//o //
/4 //
f n '
I 12
i /4 o
8 o o
\0
9- 9 7
2 10
400
3
i
6
6/6
X
II
2
i
14
A
12
19
o
r/-
27
IT
I
6
8
10/6
6
9
8
9
o
ijo/-
22
/r
20
15
6
1/6
20
IT
t
56 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
ffor 4 Festoones & Scrowles 2' io in wide 6 f high io in thick m s. d.
at v^ x s each 22 o o 200 /- 40 o o
ffor cleaning 16 Columes 6 Pilasters 2 Coine Pillaster* 10 10 o 10 10 o
ffor 10 Antick Capitalls at 2 10 o 2 10 o
ffor 163' 9'" of parapett i i in - Sq. at iiij s vj* 1 36 16 10 9/6 77 if 8
ffor Carving a Sheild \sic\ 4 festoones 14 Keystones 2 large
Keystones 2 palmes at 1300 ?2 o o
ffor i54 f 6'" of Purbeck Step wrought with an Astragali att
iij s vj' 1 2709 )/- ^,y 12 6
ffor 50' 6 in of rub'd purbeck halfe pace at xij' 1 2 10 6 2,'- ? i o
ffor 14' 9'" of Purbeck Step at ij s iiij' 1 i 14 5 4/6 $ 6 ?
ffor 5 78' of Kentish Ashler at ij s 57 16 o j/- 86 14 o
ffor 1 66 f of Coines of freestone at ij" iiij' 1 19 7 4 ?/- 41 10 o
ffor 46 f of Sup" portland att xviij' 1 3 9 o
ffor 1 24 f of Circular freestone at ij s vj' 1 15 10 o 6/6 40 6 o
ffor 62 f 6 in of Portland facia 1 5'" deep at iiij s viij' 1 14 11 8 10/6 $2 16 $
ffor a Rubble Arch over the freestone Arch in y r doroway
\sic\ to y 1 Organ loft 5 f \ long 5 f wide 3 r 6 in thick att xij' 1 i 7 6 2/6 B ^ 9
ffor 16 Steps of Staires & a Step to y 1 Organ loft at vj s each 4 16 o /j-/- 12 o o
ffor Covering y' Walls of y' Church and Steeple against
winter 10 o o if o o
291 5 10
Discounted for pulling downe y c East wall and all y e
pillars and Arches on y 1 ' Nor: Side (y Same being twice
Charged by Mistake in y r preceeding Bills)
Remaines 261 5 10
To Roger Davis Joyner for worke done by him at y Chur: of
S' Stephen Wallbrooke Nov r 18: 1678.
ffor 233' of R' wains' dores at ij s vj d 29 2 6 <>/6 64 i 6
ffor carving y outward dores w th gules & 2 flowers in y
Scroules i o o y o o
30 2 6
To William Davis Painter for worke done by him at y' Chur of
S' Stephen Wallbrooke feb r 23: 167!.
ffor 7 1 y' u of painting 3 times in Oyle in y e Lanthorn &
5 dores at xij d 311 o /or/. 2 19 2
ffor 1 4O5 f of Sadie barrs att j' 1 ot> 8 15 7 id. 5 17 l
ffor 1 4O f of locket barrs at iij d i 15 o zd. 134
ffor 8 Casern" att xij d 080 //- 8 o
ffor 4 y' ls of painting in y c Ovalls at xij' 1 040 lod. 3 4
'4 *3 7
o 12
o
8
4
7/6
I 17
4
IO
o
I 10
o
5
o
7/6 each
^
'i
o
6
o
2/6 each
10
4
IO
o
f
'.'
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke done by them at y c @
Chur: of S' Stephen Wallbrooke more y" w 1 as Mesct. in y other Mesm'
ffor 5 dayes worke for a Mason to pull downe the wall for
y c new dorcase to be put in next to y e Parsons ground
att ij' vj d
ffor 5 dayes worke of a labourer to help y e S d Mason at
xx d per diem
ffor hewing i5 f of Old Rigate Splayes in the dore at viij' 1
ffor 2 peeces of freestone lett in the Alter for the fastning
of y e Joyners worke 18'" long 9'" Square at
ffor letting in 4 Rings into y e Paveing of y e Church at y e
Opening of the Vaults att
ffor covering y c Steeple before winter to prevent y e Danger
of y e frost
6 1 1 10
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke done by them at the
Chur: & Tower of S l Sphen: [sic] Wallbrooke, being from >' Top of
40 Steps of Staires to y c top of 58 Steps, and in y e Outside from y'' top
of 8 f aboue y e I st facia to y e top of y e 2" facia Measd: March: 26: 1679.
ffor 739' 6 in of Kentish Ashler at per fo l ij"
ffor 50 f of Cubick portland at ij 3 ij d
ffor 95' of Sup" Portland at
ffor 2736' of Paveing w"' Sweedish Stone new wrought &
Rubed with Smooth Sand at xij d
ffor 1 8 Steps of Staires at vj"
ffor 66' of black & white Marbel paveing at
ffor 6' of Rigate Arche 21'" wide 20'" deep at xij' 1
ffor 49' 8 in of Circular Marble Step at x"
ffor 5 Rod of new Rubble at 5^: 2 s : 6 d
ffor io f of Purbeck Step at ij" ij d
ffor 79' of facia 15'" deep & I2 in bed at iiij 8 viij 11
ffor i44 f 6" 1 of Circular Ashler Step deducted at ij s vj' 1
ffor 2i8 r of freestone coynes att ij s iiij d
352 o 7
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke done by y' n at y 1 ' Tower
of S' Stephen Wallbrooke ; Measd from y' top of y' 2'' facia to y'' top of
y c third facia being even w" 1 the Bellflore, & from y' top of 58 Steps to y"
top of 85 Steps of Staires being 27 Steps more then y former Measd" 11
[sic] June: i4 lh 1679.
ffor g88 f 6 in of Kentish Ashler att ij* 98 i 7 o
ffor 2go f of freestone Coynes at ij s iiij' 1 33 16 8
ffor 2O4 r 9 in of Circular Ashler at ij s vj' 1 25 1 1 10
ffor 27 Steps of Staires at vj 8 each 820
ffor 2 halfepace Steps being twice as broad as y c rest at
vj" each 012 o
57
s. d.
73
19
o
3/~
no
/,V
6
5
8
4
10/6
26
y
7
2
6
136
16
o
*/-
173
13
5
8
o
if/-
/.?
10
9
1 8
o
3/6
n
II
o
6
o
3/~
Iff
24
IO
o
-v-
62
1
X
25
I 2
6
l 4/~
if
i
I
8
T/~
->
10
1 8
8
8
10/6
4/
9
6
18
I
3
7/6
f4
.?
9
25
8
8
?/-
T4
10
)/-
f/-
6/-
if/-
20 /-
148 f 6
72 10 o
6l <V 6
20 f
58 BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
@ s. d.
ffor 45 f of Cubick Portland at ij" ij' 1 417 6 10/6 2$ 12 6
ffor 75' * Sup" Portland at xviij' 1 5 13 3
ffor i i f I of cubick Burford Stone ij 8 iiij' 1 i 6 10 10/6 6 o y
ffor i6 f * Sup" at xiiij d o 19 3
ffor 7 Rod 7 f of Rubble at v^ 2 s vj d 36 o o /^o/- ^ j 7
ffor 8 i f of Portland facia 1 5 in deep i f bed at iiij 1 viij d 18 18 o /o/tf 4-' /o tf
ffor 8 f of dripp Stone 9'" deep at ij s vj d i o o 10/6 440
235 M 4
To Matt; Roberts Plum r for \vorke don at Walbrooke Ch. feb r 9: 82.
ffor new lead for 2 lengths of pipes \v" 2: 3: 8 at xvj s 252 2f/- cwt. } 10 7
ffor making the 2 lengths of pipes at xv s each i 10 o 200
ffor Spikes and Nayles at 030 3 o
To John Longland Carpenf for a Moulding ab' y e foot
of y' Lanthorne at Walbrooke i /' 4'" long 2 f girt i'" at 1 s 2 10 o ? o o
ffor a pannell of y' well hole in the Steeple 3' 9'" over
with a mould 1 2' ab' the Octtagon [sic] 20'" girt at 300 10 o o
ffor 2 firr trunks each 2/ f at 200 200
tlor mending 2 well holes broake by y L Masons at 0120 2 y o
ffor the Lanthorne over y c Vestry at 500 10 o o
1320
To Geo: Pcowrie Glai/ r for worke done at S' Stephen
Walbrooke in exchangeing 53' of glass quaries to fitt y'
new casern" at iiij' 1 017 8 |
ffor pining in 2 large Casm ls 020!- / o lo
ffor 14 Quarries at 012)
i o 10
To Dogood & Grove Plaister 1 " for worke done at Walbrooke Chur:
May: 82.
ffor lathing & plaistering y' Cieling in the Vestry and
under y Gatt: w" 1 heart laths 54 y' ls | at xiiij d 337 t/9 4 'f f
ffor 58 y' ls of Rendering at vj d 190 1/2 j 7 8
ffor 112 >' u of Whiting at ij d o 18 8 2d. 18 8
5H3
To Rich: Pinder Glai// for worke done at Walbrook Chur: May 25:
1682
ffor 190' of Quarries in y' Ringing loft and Vestry at vij' 1 511 i 1/6 14 f 9
ffor 52' \ of Skie lights at x d 239 2/- 550
7 14 10
DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN 59
To Step: Leaver Smith for worke done by him at y Chur: of
S' Stephen Walbrooke from Mar: 28: 1680 to feb r 22: 1682. altd in
June 1682. id s . d.
ffor 2 1 Cramps & plugs w" o: o: 26 at iij' 1 ob q o 8 i \ 28/- cwt. 6 6
ffor 8 p r of hinges, revitts & nailes o: 3: 2i| at iiij d ob i 19 4- $o/- cwt. i 17 8
ffor 3 revitt barrs & 30 Sadie barrs 3: o: 192 at iij' 1 ob q 5 n i 28/-cwt. 4 8 n
ffor 4 Stone hookes at 0:0:9! at iiij d 032 }o/-cwt. 2 7
ffor 2 Casm' frames & hookes i: o: 14 at vij d 3136 3136
ffor Spikes w" o: o: i at iij d ob q o o 3! 4
ffor lead to run the Stone hookes o: 2: 2 at j d ob 7 3 2f/- cvot. 13 o
ffor a plate for y c lock of y 1 " Steeple dore o i o / o
ffor 2 bolts & 4 Staples for y e dore going to y c Vestry dore o i 8 f o
ffor a Stock lock to the Same 030 7 6
ffor 4 hold fastes for the trunk at 014 / 6
ffor a Rimb lock Staple & lead for y Vestry dore 146 // o
ffor a lock to the leads att 030 76
ffor a Spindle w" 21 at iiij d o 18 8 ^o/-cwf. i? o
ffor Scaffolding to y c Lanthorn to fix y e Spindle and vane 200 200
16 15 ii
To Strong & Kempster Masons for worke done at S' Stephen
Walbroke June 22 d 1682.
ffor 20 f | of burford flash over y c Vestry 4 in deep 4'"
projection at xviij' 1 1109 1/9 i 15 n
ffor f of rubed purbeck Step at y Vestry & South west
dore at ij" vj d 0176 f/- i // o
ffor 14' f: of rough purbeck Step out of y c North dore in
y c Street at ij a ij d i n i i-J- 4/6 $ 6 j
ffor a Chimney head at i o o f o o
ffor 1 6 f of brickworke under y e Steps att iiij d 054 //j too
ffor 2 1 f of rough purbeck paving at viij d o 14 4 1/6 in 6
ffor 2 f \ of Rough purbeck Step at ij 8 o 4 io| 4/6 10 2
ffor 7 r * of Portland copeing 22'" broad 5 in thick at v s 1176 10/6 3 18 9
ffor 23 days \ worke for a Mason letting in Iron barrs and
making way for y c Carpenf ab' y 1 " Steeple and Vestry,
Tyleing and Poarch 311 3 ///- 12 /,V 6
ii 13 6
To Strong & Kempster Masons the Summe of 10^: 10*
being Soe much disburst by them upon award of S r Jo:
Shorter S r John Moore, and S r Robert Jeffries to be paid
to y c Farmers of the Marcates for damage done to the
Piazza of the Stckes [sic] Marcats in building the Church att 10 o o to o o
ffor their Charges to the Officers o 10 o 10 o
10 10 o
6o
BUILDING ACCOUNTS OF CITY CHURCHES
To Tho: Laine Paint' for worke don at S' Stephen Walbrooke
Sept r 7 1 " 1682
ffor painting 6 y d " \ of revitt barrs at iij d o
ffor painting 36 y ds runn of Saddle barr at j d ob o
ffor 13 y ds in y e trunks & Lanthorne painted 3 times in
Oyle at x d o
i
4
ii
6
6
3
(
3*
lod.
S.
i
4
n
d.
8
6
3
o 17 3
To Edw; Bird Painter r [sic] for worke done ab l y e Vane of Walbroke
Ap:8 7
ffor 22 f of Guilding the Cinq-foyle at iiij" 480
ffor Strewing the Vane Iron with blew at 0140
7
10
7
6
5
2
Totals J for all Accounts 7831
Deduct as below 1 78
2
9
7
181
If
10
9
3
^7652
DEDUCTIONS.
13
7
17408
f
6
Cu>ts. qrs.
Ibs.
S.
d.
@
S.
d.
125 3
I 2
Credit for cuttings on lead
>4/-
2
20/-
17
2
35 3
3
Old Iron
*4/~ 25
O
6
8
18
11
15 o
I 2
Small do.
7/~ 5
5
o
T/-
3
if
6
9 o
2 3
Credit for lead cuttings
'4/~ 6
8
1 1
20,'-
9
4
i
I 2
14
Do. do.
i
i
i|
20/-
i
12
6
<> | 1
O 1
2
9
Do. do.
Credit for soddar
H/-\
ff\ "
1 1
6
{*>/-
\ 9 d.
3'
6
4
9
Item charged twice in error
30
^178
9
o
isi
10
3
1 See note on page 26.
II. Some Remarks on tlie Churches of the Domesday Survey.
By WILLIAM PAGE, Esq., F.S.A.
Read 2ist January, 1915.
SIR HENRY ELLIS,' Lingard, 2 and others have called attention to the ir-
regularity of the entries relating to churches and priests in the Domesday
Survey, and have consequently disparaged the evidence that the Survey affords
of ecclesiastical organization of the eleventh century. Although there is some
truth in their assertions, yet there are certain points which evolve from a study
of the subject which I venture to think are worthy of the consideration of this
Society.
One of the principal difficulties with regard to this subject is that several
churches which contain architectural remains of pre-Conquest date, and others
whose existence before 1086 is vouched for by documentary evidence, are not
mentioned in the Survey. This can be accounted for to some extent by the fact
that the Survey being compiled for fiscal purposes did not concern itself with
churches which for want of endowment or other reasons were not liable to
taxation. It is expressly stated that certain churches were not taxed/' and
some others, not mentioned, there can be little doubt, were likewise exempt.
Occasionally also the entry of a church is unrecognized because it appears
mder the name of a hamlet on the land of whose lord it was probably built. 4
"he most usual reason perhaps for not finding an entry of a church in Domes-
lay is that it belonged to a religious body which had either appropriated its
mdowment, or had established it unendowed and served it from its own house. 5
1 Ellis, Gen. Introd. io Dom. Bk., i, 286. * Lingard, Anglo-Saxon Church, i, 398.
3 See the churches of Frampton Cotteril in Gloucestershire (Dom. Bk., orig. text, 169), Wantage
and Sparsholt in Berks. {V. C. H. Berks., \, 328, 329; orig. text, 57), Manchester and Blackburn in
Lancashire (V. C. H. Lane., i, 286, 287 ; orig. text, 270). A hide at Droitwich held by two priests never
paid geld (V. C. H. Wore., i, 302 ; orig. text, 174 b). See also Filsham in Sussex (V. C. H. Sussex, i, 397 ;
orig. text, i8b).
4 See the churches of Titchfield in Hants entered under its hamlet of Crofton (V. C. H. Hants, \,
476 ; orig. text, 44), Ash in Surrey under its hamlet of Henley (V. C. H. Surrey, i, 31 1 ; orig. text, 34),
Stanwick and Kirkby Fleetham in Yorks. under their respective hamlets of Aldborough and Fleetham
(V. C. H. Yorks., N. Riding, i, 133, 322), and many others could be quoted.
8 AtWoodbury in Devonshire the abbot of St. Michael's Mount held in 1086 the church and land
which the priest had held in 1066 (V. C. H. Devon, i, 410; Exon. Dom., fol. 96 b).
VOL. LXVI. I
62 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
It would take a considerable amount of research to trace out the ownership in
1086 of all the known pre-Conquest churches in England not mentioned in
Domesday, but it may be stated that the following belonged to religious houses
or ecclesiastics, viz. in Devonshire, Sidbury to the Bishop of Exeter ; in Wilt-
shire, Bradford-on-Avon to Shaftesbury Abbey, Bremhill to Malmesbury Abbey,
Somerford Keynes to the Bishop of Lisieux ; in Hampshire, 1 Tichborne and
Hambledon apparently to the Bishop of Winchester ; in Sussex, 2 Bishopstone
to the Bishop of Chichester ; in Kent, St. Martin's Canterbury to the Archbishop
of Canterbury ; in Essex, Hadstock or Cadenhou and Strethall to Ely Abbey;
in Buckinghamshire, Wing to the abbey of St. Nicholas of Angers ; in Bedford-
shire, Clapham to Ramsey Abbey, Turvey to the Bishop of Coutances ; in Hert-
fordshire, St. Michael's and St. Stephen's, St. Albans, to St. Albans Abbey; in
Northamptonshire, Barnack to Peterborough or Crowland, Earls Barton to the
abbey of St. Mary de la pre ; in Lincolnshire, Bracebridge to Geoffrey Bishop
of Coutances, Clee and Glentworth to the Bishop of Bayeux, and Marton to the
Bishop of Durham.
It may be noticed also with regard to this point that although there
are occasionally entries in the Domesday Book of churches with good endow-
ments on the lands of ecclesiastics, yet in most cases few, and in some instances
no churches are shown on the lands of religious bodies. Thus no church or priest
will be found in the returns of the vast possessions of the abbey of St. Albans
in Hertfordshire, nor yet in the nineteen holdings of the church of Coventry in
Warwickshire, and so with regard to the great estates of Glastonbury (with one
exception), Muchelney, Athelney, Bath, and many others. Nor is there a priest
or a church recorded on the lands of the Bishop of London in Middlesex, and
only two in thirty-four holdings of the bishop in Essex. It must not, how-
ever, be necessarily supposed that these estates were altogether devoid of
churches, in fact we know in some instances 3 this is not so, but it would
seem that each religious house considered perhaps all its lands, at all events
those vills which surrounded it, as its parish, and any churches which hap-
pened to be built upon such lands would be, in most cases, served from it.
Thus in 1092 it was decided in a suit that although there were several churches
in Worcester, there was no parish but that of the mother or cathedral church, 4
and according to the Domesday Book every hide of land in the great hundred
1 Unfortunately I have not found evidence of the ownership of the notable pre-Conquest church
of Breamore in 1086.
2 At Arlington the church has pre-Conquest details and is not mentioned in Domesday. The
manor belonged to Wilton Abbey in 1066, but the Count of Ou held the manor in 1086 ; the church,
however, may have been retained by the abbey.
11 For example, as already stated, we know there were churches on the lands of St. Albans.
4 V. C. H. IVorc., iv, 410, quoting Heming Chartulary (ed. Hearne), 528.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 63
of Oswaldslow in Worcestershire paid a horse-load of grain at Martinmas, pre-
sumably as church-scot, 1 to the Bishop of Worcester in recognition that Worcester
Cathedral was the mother church. 2 A like custom prevailed with regard to the
monastic church of Pershore throughout the hundred of Pershore. :! It may be
noticed also that the churches of the Vale of Evesham were chapelries of the
mother church or monastery of Evesham almost to the Dissolution, so that in
the eleventh century the whole hundred of Blackenhurst in Worcestershire
formed the parish of Evesham Abbey. In 1147 Pope Eugenius refers to the
paroclriani of the abbot of Abingdon signifying all the tenants of the abbot,
even those outside the county of Berks. 4 Again, in 1178 Pope Alexander issued
a bull confirming the privileges of Ramsey Abbey, and in it there is a prohibi-
tion for any one to presume to build within the parish of the monastery a church
or oratory without the assent of the bishop of the diocese and that of the abbey. 5
In East Anglia the organization of the parish church was more fully developed,
and the modern idea of a parish seems possibly to have been recognized in the
Domesday Book for Suffolk.
A further point of difficulty is whether the reference to. a priest in Domes-
lay implies the existence of a church. This question can be answered only by
an examination of the individual entries, for besides the references to what
for convenience we will call the parochial clergy there are many notices of
)riests holding lands in their own right or as almsmen and clerks of the king
>r others, who had no cures or at all events were without cures at the places
/here they are entered. But in cases other than these it is generally safe to infer
lat where there is an entry of a priest in Domesday a church existed.
It will be well, however, to examine foe. formulae as to churches and priests
/hich are used in the Domesday Book in different parts of the country. As
/ill be noted later, what we may term manorial or parish churches 7 had no
1 As to payment of church-scot to mother church, see Laws of Ine and Edgar, Thorpe, Ancient
laws, i, 46, in.
1 V. C. H. Wore., i, 298 (orig. text, 174). 3 Ibid., 305 (orig. text, 175^).
4 Chron. Man. de Abingdon. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 200.
5 Ramsey Cartulary (Rolls Ser.), ii, 138. The parish here probably refers to the ' banlieu ' of
Ramsey, where there was no sepulture (ibid., i, 340). It is clear that the word parish down to the four-
teenth century merely meant any district over which an ecclesiastic or body of ecclesiastics ministered ;
thus Bishop Kellaw in 1311 directed the parishioners of the parish church of Staindrop to pay procura-
tion, and in 1312 he ordered the arrest of John Warayn his parishioner (parochianus noster), that is of
his diocese. Rcgistntm Palatinunt Ditnelniensc (Rolls Ser.), i, 20, 262.
' V. C. //. Su/., i, 419, 431 (orig. text, 282, 291 b).
7 It is difficult to give an appropriate designation to the church with a single incumbent. The
idea of the parish church as we know it did not exist in 1086 except perhaps in Norfolk and Suffolk.
The term manorial church or church of the manor is used in the Domesday Survey, not only for the
church with one priest, but also for the small minster or church with a college of priests. In using the
i 2
64 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
general adoption in the western counties of Cornwall and Devon. In the counties
of Somerset, 1 Dorset, Wiltshire,and Berkshire,and occasionally in Hampshire, the
expression used is ' So-and-so holds the church of the manor ', and as a general
rule priests are not referred to. In Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent the usual
formula is 'there is a church to which belongs so much land'. In Norfolk and
Suffolk, except for priests specifically mentioned, there are only references to
churches, the entry running 'there is a church with so much land', etc. In Essex
both priests and churches mentioned among the incidents of the demesne are
referred to. Elsewhere than in Wessex, Essex, and East Anglia, however, the
notices of priests become emphasized as compared to the references to churches.
In the counties of Hertford, Middlesex, Northants, Leicester, Warwick, Worcester,
Hereford, Gloucester, and Chester, the references are almost wholly to priests.
In the Danish counties of York, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Rutland, and in
Huntingdon, the prevailing formula becomes 'there is a church and a priest', or
sometimes ' there is a priest with a church '. In Lincolnshire we have the further
term of ' the advowson of the church ', which seems to equate with ' the church ' ;
for instance, where the ownership of a church or advowson is divided we have
the one part expressed as ' half the advowson of the church ' belonging to one
person, while the other is entered as ' half the church ' the property of another.
It would seem also that the term advowson was generally used in Lincolnshire
where fractions of churches are dealt with. From a comparison of these/orwu/ae
it appears that the term church was more usual in the southern and eastern
counties, and that of priest in the midland and western counties. In some
cases we have entries at the same places of a priest and two churches, two
priests and one church, and at Houghton (Hoctune) in Huntingdonshire there
occurs an entry ' there is a church [but] no priest ' (Ibi ecclesia n presbiter)? and
in Sussex 3 and Gloucestershire 4 we find in one or two instances that the church
and the priest of the same place had separate endowments. As a general rule,
however, the use of the term church seems to carry with it a more substantial
endowment than that of a priest, and may in some instances refer only to the
emoluments. 5
Christianity was largely established among the Saxons through their kings
and rulers on whose conversion it followed that the people were baptized. Hence
terms monastery and minster it is not intended to imply that the former denotes a house of regulars
and the latter that of seculars, a distinction which has been adopted by some modern writers.
1 By comparing the entries of the Exchequer Domesday with the Exeter copy, it will be found in
some instances that ' presbiter ' in the one will be given as ' ecclesia ' in the other. See entry as to
Long Ashton in V. C. H. Soniers., i, 450 (orig. text, 88 b) and note i.
2 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 204 b. 3 V. C. H. Sussex, i. 426 (orig. text, 24).
4 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 162 , at Cheltenham.
5 See as to this Rev. O. J. Reichel in Trans. Devon. Assoc., xxxix, 365.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 65
the organization of the church followed to some extent that already adopted for
lay purposes. As each Saxon kingdom became Christian a religious house was
founded at the principal seat of government, where was placed the see of the
bishop, who was intimately connected with the king's court. Additional monas-
teries were subsequently founded, the majority being endowed with great areas
of marsh, forest, and other waste lands which it was intended they should reclaim,
settle, and evangelize. Over their own lands the monasteries ministered to their
parochiani, while the districts not under the rule of a monastery continued to be
served by the bishop from his minster of priests. Bede, writing in 731, gives
evidence of the itinerant character of the ministration of the clergy in his time.
He relates in a famous passage often quoted how when clerks visited places to
preach, baptize, and visit the sick, the people flocked to them, 1 and when Cuthbert
some fifty years earlier travelled sometimes on foot, and less often on horseback,
the people came together to hear his preaching. 2 Aidan, as Bede relates, did the
same. 1 The expression frequently used by Bede that a church was built in a par-
ticular district apparently refers to the founding of a monastery.
According to a charter of Wihtred, King of Kent (696 to 716), the churches
in Kent at that date are stated to be those of St. Peter and Christchurch,
Canterbury, Rochester, Folkestone, Lyminge, Reculver, Dover, Hoe, Upminster,
Southminster, and Sheppey, 4 all of which were monasteries. By a decree of the
Witan as to the disposal of the inheritance of Oswulf among the churches of East
Kent in 844, the churches are named, and their number in the latter district had
not increased.' Thus we have probably the ecclesiastical organization of Kent
up to the time of the Danish invasions, consisting of two cathedral establishments,
and nine other monasteries, each of which would have its parish served by priests
from the monasteries.
At the same time there must have been recognized places of assembly for
those who dwelt at a distance from a monastery to receive the rites of religion.
Probably there were hallowed spots loci orationis? to use Bede's term marked
by crosses, or possibly chapels or oratories 7 to which the missionary priest would
naturally go when visiting the district. In the Life of St. Willibald it is stated
that in Saxony many of the nobles and others were ' wont to have, not a church,
but the standard of the holy cross dedicated to the Lord, and reverenced with
great honour, lifted up on high so as to be convenient for the frequency of daily
prayer '." Bede refers to the cross erected by Oswald, King of Bernicia, at the
1 Bede, Eccl. Hist., bk. iii, cap. 26.
2 Ibid., bk. iv, cap. 27; ' Life and Miracles of St. Cuthbert', cap. 14.
1 Bede, Eccl. Hist., bk. iii, cap. 5. 4 Haddon and Stubbs, Councils and Eccl. Doc., iii, 238.
' Thorpe, Diplom. Angl., 96-100. n Bede, op. cit., bk. iii, cap. u.
7 Ibid., bk. v, cap. 12. * Hodoeporicon Sancti Willebaldi, cap. 3.
66 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
battle of Deniseburn in 634 as a place of prayer which was visited by the
brethren of Hexham, and where later a church was built. Bede adds that before
Oswald set up his cross, there was no sign of the Christian faith, no church, no
altar throughout the nations of the Bernicians. It is a significant fact that Celtic,
Saxon, and Danish crosses in this country, particularly in the north of England,
are commonly found in proximity to churches, which leads to the suggestion that
they often marked the sites of loci orationis l where later the parish churches
would be erected.
After the Danish invasion of the ninth century the church like the state
seems to have undergone a reformation. An important development under
the legislation of Alfred and Edward the Elder was the formation of boroughs
as administrative centres to which dependent districts were attached ; 2 and
the establishment of churches at such places with their ecclesiastical organi-
zation would supply a necessary complement to the lay jurisdiction. A little
later, possibly, hundreds appear as units of administration which in many
instances probably adopted the burghal districts as the areas of their sokes. In
Wessex and the west the hundreds usually took their names from the borough
towns, and what were later hundred manors, where the meetings of the hundred
courts were held. Elsewhere in England the older hundreds, formed probably
before those established consequent on the legislation of Alfred and Edward the
Elder, were named after the meeting-place of the hundred at some prominent
feature such as a conspicuous tree, earthwork, or stone, but the later formed
hundreds like those in Wessex were probably called from the borough or vill
where the court sat.
As will be shown from the evidence of the parts of the Domesday Book
relating to some of the Wessex counties, churches are recorded at the hundred
boroughs or manors or other administrative centres which are very frequently
the only churches entered in the Survey under such hundreds/' Consequently
it may perhaps be concluded that in this part of the country one church
originally served the district dependent upon such an administrative centre,
and became the mother church to the churches subsequently built there, the
subsidiary churches being in some instances served from it. At first it would
seem that the churches founded at these towns were small minsters or churches
with colleges of secular priests or canons, 4 but the later form of foundation was
1 Mr. L. F. Salzmann, F.S.A., has called my attention to the fact that in the fifteenth century
crosses in Cornwall were used as resting-places and places of prayer when carrying the dead to burial
(see will of Dr. Reginald Mertherderwa, Monumenla Acadetnica (Rolls Sen), ii, 559).
- Chad wick, Studies in Anglo-Saxon Institutions, 219-22.
1 There is no evidence of rural deaneries in the country till the eleventh century (Dansey, Horae
Dccanicae Rurales, \, 85).
4 These were probably the ' minsterharas ' of the Wessex Laws of Alfred where sanctuary was
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 67
the parish church with its single incumbent which began to be common in
this country toward the close of the tenth century. There is ample evidence of
the building of such churches during the eleventh century, and throughout the
twelfth century.
The ecclesiastical organization under small minsters or colleges of priests,
and after them under manorial or parish churches, differed in other parts of the
country from that which existed in Wessex, and the development of churches in
such other districts will be hereafter shown for convenience under the ancient
English kingdoms. No attempt has been made to identify the different types of
churches with the classes set out in the laws of the Saxon and later kings. As will
be seen, the organization of the churches varied so greatly in the different parts of
the country that a careful and lengthy investigation would have to be made as
to the place of origin of the various series of laws, and how far they applied to
a particular district.
For examining in detail the evidence of the Domesday Book as to the con-
dition of the church, it will be well to take first the counties comprised in the
kingdom of Wessex as it existed at the time of the division between Edwy and
Edgar in 957, and to start with Cornwall, where the most primitive conditions
prevailed. It must be observed that the entries in the Domesday Book for the
western counties are not placed under hundreds or similar divisions as they are
elsewhere in England. It is clear, however, from the Exeter Domesday that
such divisions existed in 1066. In the reconstruction of the Domesday entries
under hundreds, upon which the following observations are based, the Feudal
Aids and other later sources have been used for the boundaries of the hundreds.
In Cornwall there was probably a considerable Celtic survival in the eleventh
century. We find no houses of monks at the time of the Domesday Survey, the
county being apparently served by communities of secular canons. It is clear that
the minster of St. Petrock at Bodmin, the seat of the bishopric of Cornwall till its
destruction by the Danes in 981, remained the centre of religious organization.
As a remnant of its former importance it received from various places the yearly
render of an ox and sheep. There was a time possibly when the bishop and
the priests of his minster at Bodmin served all Cornwall. By 1086, however,
there were small independent houses of secular priests at St. Germain which
succeeded Bodmin as the episcopal see in 981, St. Buryan, St. Constantine,
given (Thorpe, Ancient Laws, i, 27 ; compare Lingard, Anglo-Saxon Church, i, 160) ; and the Rev. O. J.
Reichel, B.C.L., is of opinion that the term church was originally confined to collegiate churches
either secular or monastic, because by ancient rule only a collegiate body could administer discipline ;
only a body which included deacons as well as priests could undertake the administration of ecclesiastical
property; only where there were several priests was it possible to discharge the offices for the dead.
See ' Churches and church endowments in the eleventh and twelfth centuries ', Trans. Devonshire
Assoc., xxxix, 363, 4.
68 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
St. Crantock, St. Goran, St. Keverne, St. Michael's Mount, St. Neots, St. Picran
or Perranzabuloe, and St. Probus.
Little is known of the early organization of the church in Cornwall. The
Domesday Book affords no hint of the existence of manorial or parish churches
there in 1086. At the same time it is a curious fact that besides the minsters
already referred to there are mentioned in the Domesday Book about seven
places named after saints mostly Celtic, twenty-four places whose names begin
with ' Lan ', one beginning with ' Eglos ', and one ending in ' Circa ', all of which
it might be supposed took their names from churches of some sort. Whether
such churches represented buildings, or were merely loci oratioiiis marked out
by the surviving crosses often associated with the existing ancient churches,
want of evidence prevents us from forming an opinion.
In Devonshire by the reconstruction of the Domesday entries we have
evidence of the organization of the church under administrative centres. The
western part of the county, including the high land of Dartmoor Forest, was but
slightly settled in the eleventh century. There is here no evidence in the Domes-
day Book of small minsters or parish churches. The wealthy monastery of Tavi-
stock, with possessions extending into Cornwall, doubtless served the hundred of
Lifton (including the later hundred of Tavistock), and perhaps the hundred of
Blacktorington in the west, and may account for the omission of all reference to
churches here in Domesday. The abbey of Buckfastleigh probably served the
hundreds of Stanborough and Roborough in the south, while the Bishop of
Exeter would look after the scanty population in the high land and moors of the
middle of the county, including the hundreds of Crediton and Teignbridge, from
his minster at Crediton, where a community of secular canons no doubt remained
after the removal of the see to Exeter in 1050.
In other parts of the county we begin to get evidence of small minsters and
manorial churches at administrative centres, apparently serving the hundreds
in which they lie. Thus in Hartland hundred, in the north of the county, the only
church referred to in Domesday was at Hartland or Nectans Stoke, where there
was a community of twelve secular canons, afterwards refounded as a house of
Austin canons, who held the manor of Gerold the chaplain. 1 In South Molton
hundred there was a community of four priests at the hundred manor of South
Molton holding a virgate of land in alms of the king. 2 In Axminster hundred
the only church was at Axminster, where there was a minster of priests, holding
half a hide, said to have been founded by Athelstan. 3 At Exminster in Ex-
minster hundred, whose name denotes the existence of a religious house, the
king had given to Battle Abbey the land which had been allotted by the reeve
1 V. C. H. Devon, i, 518 (Exon. text, 456, 456 b). 2 Ibid., 435 (Exon. text, 194 b).
3 Ibid., 404, 545 (Exon. text, 84 , 503). These are duplicate entries.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 69
to a priest in the time of Edward the Confessor. 1 In Plympton hundred the
canons of the minster church of St. Peter of Plympton held two hides/- and the
priests of the township of Yealmpton had one hide. 3
In Colyton hundred the only church was at the hundred manor of Colyton,
endowed with half a virgate of land. 4 In Collumpton hundred the only church
was at the hundred manor of Collumpton, which had been given to Battle Abbey. 5
In Braunton hundred there was a priest of the manor of Braunton, indicating per-
haps a church. 6 In Fremington hundred there was a priest at Instow. 7 In
Wonford hundred the only church was at Pinhoe, endowed with a virgate of
land also given by Battle Abbey. 8 In Budleigh hundred the only church was
at Woodbury, which was held by the Abbot of Mont St. Michel, who had appro-
priated the endowment of half a hide which the priest there had formerly held.
In Kerswell or Haytor hundred the only church in Domesday was at Kers-
well with half a virgate, 10 but it would seem probable from the name that
there was also a church at St. Marychurch on the land of the Bishop of Exeter."
In Axmouth hundred, now included in Axminster hundred, the church of Sidbury
still perhaps retains work of pre-Conquest date, but being owned by the Bishop of
Exeter, 12 and probably without endowment, it would be served apparently from
the bishop's minster, and therefore finds no place in Domesday.
In the city of Exeter, besides the minster church of St. Peter and the church
of the canons of St. Mary of the Castle, there is reference to three other churches
attached to the estates of the larger landowners. The church of St. Stephen
belonged to the bishop's holding ; 13 the church of St. Olave to that of the Abbot
of Battle ; u and another unnamed, probably St. Laurence, to that of the Count
of Mortain. 15
In the county of Somerset a very large proportion of the land was in the
hands of ecclesiastics. Glastonbury alone, notwithstanding the losses it suffered
at the Conquest, owned, it has been reckoned, an eighth part of the county. 16
Besides this abbey there were religious houses at Bath, Wells, Muchelney, and
I Ibid., 403, 540 (Exon. text, 83, 498 b). 2 Ibid., 406 (Exon. text, 86).
3 Ibid., 406 (Exon. text, 86 b). " 4 Ibid., 405 (Exon. text, 85).
5 Ibid., 435 (Exon. text, 195). 5 Und., 405 (Exon. text, 194 b).
7 Ibid., 496 (Exon. text, 39o/>). * Ibid., 410 (Exon. text, 95/1).
9 Ibid., 410 (Exon. text, 96 b). 10 Ibid., 404 (Exon. text, 85).
II Ibid., 417 (Exon. text, 120).
" Ibid., 416 (Exon. text, n8). Priests apparently as almsmen of the king held lands at Swym-
bridge, Clannaborough, Eastanton, Up Ottery, Brockland, Stallenge, Uplowman, Bickington, Radclon,
and Shapleigh, but it is doubtful whether they had cures at these places (ibid., 434, 452, 481, 484, 485,
493, 499, 517, 518, 527, 537, 540 (Exon. text 295 , 296, 337 />, 342 b, 343, 378, 394, 456, 475 A, 496, 498)),
and priests possibly held in like manner at Evercreech and Wincanton (ibid., 457, 498).
13 Ibid., 417 (Exon. text, 120*). 14 Ibid., 436 (Exon. text, 196).
16 Ibid., 446 (Exon. text, 222 b). " V. C. H. Somers., ii, 85.
VOL. LXVI. K
yo SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
Athelney, all well endowed. Few churches are entered in Domesday under the
lands of these houses probably for the reasons suggested. The evidence of the
borough minsters and churches at hundred manors is still ample. The most inter-
esting of them is the minster at the Bishop of Winchester's borough of Taunton,
the only church mentioned in the Domesday Book in the hundred of Taunton.
Here we have a remarkable example of an administrative borough with a de-
pendent district attached to it which corresponded with what was then probably
the hundred. 1 At the borough of Taunton the courts were held, the customary
dues were paid, the host met for military service ; here also was the market and
the mint. The minster, a house of secular canons, which in 1115 was converted
into a priory of Austin canons, was in existence in 904 when Edward the Elder
granted Stoke St. Mary to the Bishop of Winchester for its benefit. 2 Through-
out the dependent district, with one exception, the lords of the lands when they
died were buried at the minster, to the minster was paid the churchscot, and at
it was collected Peter's pence. 3
Of the other churches of Somerset mentioned in Domesday, the only one
in Carhampton hundred was that at Carhampton, endowed with one and a half
hides, and held by Peter Bishop of Chester. 4 In Williton hundred the only
church was at St. Mary ' Warverdinestoch ' or Stogumber, held with two hides
by Richer de Andeleio, one of the king's clerks. 5 In Brompton hundred there
was a priest at King's Brompton holding a hide of land in alms of the king.
In Milverton hundred the only church was at the hundred manor of Milverton
with a virgate and a ferling of land. 7 In Cannington hundred the only church
was at the hundred manor of Cannington with two and a half virgates of land,
which was held by Erchenger, one of the king's clerks. 8 In the hundred of North
Petherton the only church was that of St. Mary at North Petherton with three
virgates of land, which was held by Peter Bishop of Chester, and afterwards by
his nephew Ralph. In the hundred of Abdick there was a church at Curry
Rivel, 10 and a priest at Ilminster 11 a significant name.
In the hundred of South Petherton a priest held a hide in alms of the king
at South Petherton. In the hundred of Crewkerne, the only church was at the
hundred manor of Crewkerne, held by St. Stephen of Caen with an endowment
often hides, an endowment which implies a community of priests. 13 In Tintin-
hull hundred Isaac the provost and the canons of the minster of St. Andrew of
1 See Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 1 13. 2 V. C. H. Sotners., ii, 141.
3 Ibid., \, 442, 443, 527 (orig. text, 87 b ; Exon. Domesday, 75). * Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 91 b).
6 Ibid. (orig. text, 90). 6 Ibid., i, 437 (orig. text, 103). 7 Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 91 b).
8 Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 91 b). In the twelfth century there was a house of Benedictine nuns
adjoining the church (ibid., ii, 109).
9 Ibid., \, 471 (orig. text, 91 b). 10 Ibid. " Ibid., 535.
12 Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 91 b). 13 Ibid., 470 (orig. text, 191).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 71
Ilchester held six hides, and six parish priests held two and a half hides. 1 In
Catash hundred there was a clerk at South Cadbury with half a hide of land. 2
In Frome hundred the only church was that of St. John at the king's market
town of Frome which was held by Reinbald the priest, 3 one of the king's clerks,
who held with it a hide of land. 4 In Kilmersdon hundred the only church was
at Kilmersdon with half a hide. 5 In Chewton hundred the only church was
at Chewton Mendip, held by the Abbot of Jumieges. In Keynsham hundred
there was a priest at Keynsham holding a hide. 7 In Bedminster hundred there
was a priest at Bedminster. 8 In Congresbury hundred the only church was at
Congresbury with half a hide of land. In Hartcliff hundred the only church
was at Long Ashton with a virgate of land. 10
Although there is only definite evidence of minsters of secular canons at
Taunton and Ilchester, and from their names at Ilminster and Bedminster, yet
the endowments of most of the other churches of Somerset mentioned in Domes-
day indicate the existence at one time of small communities of priests rather
than single incumbents.
The county of Dorset is not satisfactory for an investigation of this nature.
Over a third of it was at the time of the Domesday Survey in the hands of the
church, where, for reasons already given, we have little evidence of the ecclesias-
tical organization, much of the land also was forest, and the hundred system
apparently had not fully developed. In the north-west of the county the Bishop
of Salisbury held the possessions of the ancient see of Sherborne, including the
hundreds of Sherborne, Beaminster, Charminster, and Yetminster. At the last
three it is clear there were minsters at the hundred towns, but their endowments
having been absorbed apparently by the bishop, we learn nothing about them
from Domesday. Besides the bishopric lands the monasteries of Abbotsbury,
Milton, Cranbourne, Shaftesbury, Cerne, Wimborne, Horton, and Glastonbury,
held considerable possessions. Of the evidence of borough minsters and
manorial churches, there were in the hundred of Whitchurch Canonicorum the
churches of Whitchurch Canonicorum, Burton Bradstock, and Bridport.with four
hides which belonged to the church of St. Wandrille near Rouen. 11 In Gillingham
hundred the only church was that of St. Mary, Gillingham. 12 In Wareham the
1 Ibid., 467, 470, 531 (orig. text, 91, 193 b).
2 Ibid., 515 (orig. text, 382 b). Catash may not be a Domesday hundred; it is not quite clear in which
hundred South Cadbury was.
3 See for this great pluralist Round, Feudal England, p. 426, and compare p. 78 beiow.
* V. C. H. Somers., i, 436, 437, 470 (orig. text, 90 b, 193 b. 5 Ibid., 472 (orig. text, 91 b).
Ibid., 441 (orig. text, 113). 1 Ibid., 527. " Ibid,, 436 (orig. text, goA).
" Ibid., 439, 531 (orig. text, 87). Ibid., 450 (orig. text, 88 b).
1 Dorset Domesday (ed. W. Bawdwen), p. 42 (orig. text, 78).
12 Ibid., 43 (orig. text, 78 b).
K 2
72 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
church of St. Wandrille held one church, and the Abbot of Horton another. 1 In
Winfrith hundred Bollo the priest, an almsman of the king, held the churches of
Winfrith Newburgh, Puddletown, and East Chaldon,and in Uggscombe hundred,
Fleet. 2 Bristvvald the priest, another almsman, held the churches of Dorchester
and Bere Regis in Bere Regis hundred/' The only other foundation in the county
was a chapel at Wimborne held by the Abbot of Horton. 4
Of the forty early hundreds in Wiltshire 5 some eighteen fell into the hands
of ecclesiastical bodies. The Bishop of Salisbury held the hundreds of Under-
ditch, ' Rouberghe Episcopi ', Cannings, and Ramsbury. At none of these is
there mention of a church in Domesday except at the old episcopal see of
Ramsbury, where there still remained a community of priests holding four hides. 8
The Bishop of Winchester held the hundreds of Downton and Knoyle Episcopi,
in the former of which at Downton there was a church of the manor with four
hides,an endowment suggestive of an intention to support a community of priests. 7
The abbeys of Malmesbury, Wilton, and Romsey each held hundreds in which
there is no reference to churches in the Domesday Book. The Abbess of
Shaftesbury held the hundred of Bradford, where at Bradford there had been a
monastery or minster (coenobiuni) which with its endowments was granted by
King Ethelred in 1001 to the monastery of Shaftesbury as a place of refuge for
the nuns in case of invasion. 8 Shaftesbury apparently appropriated the endow-
ments which are included in the Domesday Survey under the lands of Shaftes-
bury, and hence this well-known Saxon church not being taxable did not find a
place in the Survey ; in like manner the Abbot of Glastonbury held the hundred
of Damerham, where we know there was a minster at the hundred manor of
Damerham about 885, which probably for the same reason as Bradford is not
referred to in Domesday. The Prioress of Amesbury held the hundred of Melk-
sham, where the only church was at Melksham, held by Rumbold the priest,
and endowed with a hide. 1 " The Prior of St. Swithun at Winchester held the
hundred of Elstub, in which a ruinous church is returned at Nether Avon," and
a priest at Enford. 1 " In the hundred of Calne there was at the ancient borough
of Calne a church with six hides which claimed five more, said to have belonged
to it in the time of Edward the Confessor. 1 ; 1 Here, again, from the size of the
endowment there can be little doubt there was a minster of priests which origin-
ally served the whole hundred. In the same hundred there was in 1086 also a
..
1 Dorset Domesday, 41, 42 (orig. text, 78). 2 Ibid., 44 (orig. text, 79).
" Ibid. < Ibid., 41 (orig. text, 78 b).
'' W. H. Jones, Domesday for Wiltshire, 155-6. Ibid., 23 (orig. text, 66).
~ Ibid., 17 (orig. text, 65 b). * Dugdale, Monasticon, ii, 479.
' Thorpe, Diplom. AngL, 492. 10 Jones, op. cit., 12 (orig. text, 65).
11 Ibid., 14 (orig. text, 65). Saxon work survives in Nether Avon church.
12 Ibid., 20 (orig. text, 65 b). " Ibid., ^ (orig. text, 64 b).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 73
church at Bromham endowed with a hide and a virgate of land. 1 In Dole hundred
the only church was at Winterbourn Stoke, held by the Abbot of Jumieges, and
endowed with a hide. 2 In Westbury hundred the only church was at Westbury,
endowed with a hide and a half;' In High worth hundred the only church was
at Highworth (Wrde), endowed with three hides. 4 In Heytesbury hundred the
only church was at Heytesbury, endowed with three hides, 5 which later we find
as a college of four priests. In Alderbury hundred the only church was at
Alderbury with two hides." In Chippenham hundred there were churches at
Chippenham 7 and Corsham 8 (with the adjoining church of Pewsham), each
endowed with two hides, and other churches at Sherston Magna 9 and Hasel-
bury. 10 In Cawden hundred Osbern the priest held the church of the manor of
Britford, 11 which still has remains of Anglo-Saxon work, with a hide of land, and
Leuric the priest held the church of Combe Basset with half a hide. 1 " In Swan-
borough hundred there was a church at Rushall with two hides held by the
abbey of St. Wandrille, 111 and ' a new church ' at Wilcote. 14 In Silkley hundred
there were churches at Aldbourne ' ' and Avebury, 10 where Saxon work survives,
each endowed with two hides. In Kinwardston hundred there were two churches
at Wootton Rivers, endowed with a hide, n and churches also at Burbage, 18 Pewsey, 19
and Bedwin. 20 In the same hundred, at Collingbourn Ducis,- 1 which later
formed the hundred manor of Collingbourn hundred, there was a church, then
ruinous, endowed with a hide.
As might be expected, Hampshire shows a highly developed ecclesiastical
organization. The great monasteries still doubtless retained their extensive
parochiae in which they had established churches, and although somewhat ob-
scured by increased building of manorial churches, which is strongly marked
in this county compared with the counties further west, the arrangement under
hundreds is traceable. Under Hampshire we begin to get evidence of the
foundation of chapels.
On the west side of the county, which was largely forest land, we find in
Fordingbridge and Ringwood hundreds that the only churches were at the
1 Ibid., 13 (orig. text, 65). - Ibid., 14 (orig. text, 65).
3 Ibid., 13, 14 (orig. text, 65). 4 Ibid., 15 (orig. text. 65 b).
r> Ibid., 16 (orig. text, 65 b). 6 Ibid., 57 (orig. text,- 68 b).
I Ibid., 9 (orig. text, 64 b). * Ibid., 11, 12 (orig. text, 65).
Ibid., 16 (orig. text, 65 b). 10 Ibid., 16 (orig. text, 65 b).
II Ibid., g, 10 (orig. text, 65). 12 Ibid., 12 (orig. text, 65).
:1 Ibid., 10, i i (orig. text, 65). 14 Ibid., 65 (orig. text, 69).
18 Ibid., ii (orig. text, 65). " Ibid., 16 (orig. text, 65 b).
" Ibid., 13 (orig. text, 65). ia Ibid., 16 (orig. text, 65 b).
19 Ibid., i6(orig. text, 65 b). 20 Ibid., 16 (orig. text, 65 b).
21 Ibid., 14, 15 (orig. text, 65). Gerald the priest of Wilton held the tithe of this church (ibid.).
74 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
hundred manors of Fordingbridge ' and Ringwood. 2 In ' Egheite' hundred was
the minster of Christchurch and thechurch of Hordle served from it. In'Rodedic'
hundred the only church was at Brockenhurst. 3 In Redbridge hundred there
was a manorial church at Eling, 4 where late eleventh-century work survives, and
a chapel (ecclesiolii) at Fawley. 5 In the hundred of Thorngate or Broughton
there was evidently a minster on the Archbishop of York's manor of Mottisfont,
where there was a church with six dependent chapels taking all customary dues
from the living and dead, and endowed with five hides less a virgate. 6 In the
same hundred there was a church at Nether Wallop which was endowed with a
hide, the moiety of the tithes of the manor, the whole churchscot, and 46^. from
the villeins' tithes. 7 The payment of churchscot is suggestive of a minster or
mother church here. 8 There was also a chapel at Over Wallop, and a manorial
church at Shipton Bellinger. 10 In King's Sombourne hundred there were two
churches in the hundred manor of King's Sombourne, 11 and two at Houghton, 1 -
endowed with two hides. In ' Falemer' hundred, which belonged to the monks
of Winchester, was the great manor of Chilcomb with its nine churches, assessed
only as one hide." In the Domesday hundred of Hoddington there were
manorial churches atUpton Grey 14 and Warnborough. 14 In Buddlesgate hundred
there was a church at Nursling, 10 where there was an ancient minster which had
become attached to the bishopric of Winchester, and manorial churches at Chil-
bolton, 17 Otterburn, 18 and Stoke Charity. 19 In Mainsbridge hundred the mother
church of South Stoneham, endowed with a hide, had two churches near South-
ampton attached to it; 20 there were also manorial churches at Hinton Ampner,- 1
still a pre-Conquest building, Botley," North Baddesley, 23 Chilworth, 24 Allington
in South Stoneham,- 5 and a chapel (ecclesiold) at Netley in Hound. 20 In Titch-
1 /". C. H. Hants, i, 489 (orig. text, 46^). * Ibid., 454-5 (orig. text, 39).
* Ibid., 516 (orig. text. 51 b). 4 Ibid., 454 (orig. text, 38 b). * Ibid., 467 (orig. text, 41 b).
" Ibid., 468 (orig. text, 42). The chapels were at Broughton, East Dean, Lockersley, Prittleworth,
and East and West Titherley (ibid., iv, 509).
7 Ibid., 452-3 (orig. text, 38^), but as to the identification of Over and Nether Wallop compare
ibid., iv, 525, 531, 534.
* Under Edgar's laws churchscot was to go to the old minster. See Ancient Laws and Inst.
(Thorpe, fol. ed.), i, in.
' V. C. H. Hants, i, 453 (orig. text, 38 b). 10 Ibid., 493 (orig. text,47/).
1 Ibid., 457 (orig. text, 39^). Little Sombourne church is in part Saxon. n Ibid., 462 (orig. text, $ob).
3 Ibid., 463 (orig. text, 41). The churches were at Barton, Buddlesgate, Winnal, Moreshead,
St. Faith, Compton, Week, Littleton, and Sparsholt. Compare Maitland, Domesday Book and
Beyond, 449, 496-9.
7 . C. H. Hants, i, 482 (orig. text, 45 b). 16 Ibid., 496 (orig. text, 48;.
" Ibid., 464 (orig. text, 41). 7 Ibid. " Ibid., 489 (orig. text, 466).
Ibid., 461 (orig. text, 40 b). 20 Ibid., 467 (orig. text, 41 b) ; see also iii, 524.
Ibid., 467 (orig. text, 41 b). " Ibid., 490 (orig. text, 47). * 3 Ibid.
24 Ibid., 494 (orig. text, 47 b). K Ibid., 498 (orig. text, 48 b). * Ibid., 495 (orig. text, 48).
16
19
21
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 75
field hundred the only church was at Crofton, 1 a hamlet in Titchfield, represent-
ing probably the present parish church of Titchfield, which has considerable
remains of Saxon work. I n Fareham hundred the only church was at the hundred
manor of Fareham. 2 In Portsdown hundred there were manorial churches at
Boarhunt, 3 where at the present day there is a complete Saxon church, and at
Bedhampton. 4 In Bosmere hundred there was a manorial church at Yateley. 5
In Chalton or Finchdean hundred there were churches (ecclcsiae) at Chalton 6
which served many hamlets, a manorial church at Mapledurham, 7 and a chapel
(ecclesiold) at Sunworth 8 in Buriton parish. In Meonstoke hundred there was
a church endowed with a hide at the manor of West Meon, 9 and manorial
churches at Exton, 10 Worthy, 11 Corhampton, 12 still with pre-Conquest work.Lomer
in Corhampton, 13 and Hound. 14 In East Meon hundred we have an example
of the survival of ecclesiastical organization from an administrative centre.
According to the Domesday Survey the only church was at the hundred manor
of East Meon 15 with six hides, which would indicate apparently an endowment
for the support of a minster of priests. East Meon continued to be the mother
church for the whole hundred, and till recently the parish covered 11,370 acres,
and included the chapelries of Westbury, Froxfield, Steep, and St. Mary in the
Field. In Bishop's Waltham, hundred the only church was at the hundred
manor of Bishop's Waltham, endowed with two and a half hides." In Fawley
hundred there were three churches at Alresford 18 (Medstead, Old and New
Alresford), and manorial churches at Twyford " and Avington,- and two chapels
at Easton. 21 In Barton Stacey hundred there was a church at the hundred manor
of Barton Stacey, 22 a manorial church at Wonston, 2:! and two churches at Sutton
Scotney in Wonston. 24 In Bishops Sutton or 'Eselei' hundred there were churches
at Bishops Sutton and West Tisted. 2 ' In Bermondspit hundred there were two
manorial churches at Dummer, 20 and one at Ellisfield.' 7 In Neteham hundred,
later divided into the hundreds of Alton and Selbourne, there were manorial
churches at Selbourne, 28 Willhall in Alton, 29 which may represent the church of
I Ibid., 476 (orig. text, 44). 2 Ibid., 462 (orig. text, 40 />).
:i Ibid., 477 (orig. text, 44 b). 4 Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 43).
9 Ibid., 483 (orig. text, 45 b). K Ibid., 478 (orig. text, 44 b).
7 Ibid., 451 (orig. text, 38). 8 Ibid., 478 (orig. text, 44/>).
9 Ibid., 461 (orig. text, 40 b). 10 Ibid., 466 (orig. text, 41 b).
II Ibid. I2 Ibid., 481 (orig. text, 45).
13 Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 43). !4 Ibid., 481 (orig. text, 45).
18 Ibid., 452 (orig. text, 38). 10 Ibid., iii, 75. " Ibid., i, 460-1 (orig. text, 40).
18 Ibid., 459 (orig. text, 40). ' 9 Ibid., 460 (orig. text, 40).
8) Ibid., 464 (orig. text, 41). 21 Ibid., 460 (orig. text, 40). ~ Ibid., 497 (orig. text, 48 A).
3 Ibid., 467 (orig. text, 41 b). ** Ibid., 488-9, 504 (orig. text, 46 b, 49 b).
'' Ibid., 463, 477 (orig. text, 40 b, 44 b). 20 Ibid., 482, 504-5 (orig. text, 45 b, 49 b).
' Ibid., 486 (orig. text, 46). < Ibid., 451 (orig. text, 38).
M Ibid., 497 (orig. text, 48 A).
76 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
Alton built about 1070, Froyle, 1 and Newton Valence.'' In Cronda"! hundred
the only church was at the hundred manor of Crondal.' In Odiham or 'Edefele'
hundred there were at the hundred manor of Odiham two churches held by one
priest endowed with six pounds, and two other churches held by two priests en-
dowed with 675. 6d. ;* there was also a church at Dogmersfield. 6 In Holdshott
hundred there was a manorial church at Stratfieldsaye." In Basingstoke hundred
there was a church at the hundred manor of Basingstoke, 7 endowed with a hide
and the tithes of the manor, and churches at Hurstbourne Tarrant endowed with
half a hide, 8 which was consecrated in 902, and at Sherborne St. John, 10 and
manorial churches at Bramley, 11 Cliddesden, 12 and Hatch Warren. 13 In Chuteley
hundred there were manorial churches at Worting 14 and Church Oakley. 15 In
Overton hundred there were two churches at the hundred manor of Overton, 1 '
and manorial churches atLaverstoke, 17 where pre-Conquest work remains, Ashe, 18
and Polehampton 10 in Overton. In Kingsclere hundred there was a church at the
hundred manor of Kingsclere - (Clere) with an endowment of four hides, which
is suggestive of a minster of priests, and a manorial church at Hannington. 21 In
Evingar hundred there were churches at Whitchurch, 22 where there is a Saxon
tombstone, Hurstbourne Priors, 23 and Clere, 24 each endowed with a hide. In 'Esse-
borne ' or Pastrow hundred there was a manorial church at Crux Easton. 24 Wher-
well or Welford hundred belonged to Wherwell Abbey, founded in 1002, and
Wherwell continued the mother church with its chapels of Bullington, Good-
worth, Clatford, Tufton, and perhaps Longparish. 20 In Andover hundred there
were manorial churches at Quarley, 27 Penton Grafton, 28 Penton Mewsey, 2 ' J Fifield, :n
and Anne. 31
Hampshire is of particular interest for our present investigation, for in it
1 } '. C. H. Hants, i, 474 (orig. text, 43 1>). 2 Ibid., 494 (orig. text, 47 b).
3 Ibid., 465 (orig. text, 41). 4 Ibid., 450 (orig. text, 38) ; iv, 97.
'' Ibid., 502 (orig. text, 49/>). B Ibid., 496 (orig text, 48).
7 Ibid., 469 (orig. text, 42). s Ibid., 456 (orig. text. 39).
' Thorpe, Diplom. Angl., 151, 152. 10 V. C. H. Hants, i, 479 (orig. text, 45).
11 Ibid., 479 (orig. text, 45). ' Ibid., 493 (orig. text, 47 b).
13 Ibid., 502 (orig. text, 49). M Ibid., 470-1 (orig. text, 43).
1/1 Ibid., 482 (orig. text, 45 b). 10 . Ibid., 461 (orig. text, 40).
17 Ibid., 472 (orig. text, 43). ls Ibid., 491 (orig. text, 47).
19 Ibid., 491 (orig. text, 47).
20 Ibid., 471 (orig. text, 43). Entered in Domesday under Mansbridge Hundred possibly by a slip.
21 Ibid., 467-8 (orig. text, 41 b). 22 Ibid., 464 (orig. text, 41).
23 Ibid., 465 (orig. text, 41). 24 Ibid., 465 (orig. text, 41).
25 Ibid., 501 (orig. text, 49).
26 Ibid., 475 (orig. text, 44). There was an alteration of this hundred after the Domesday Survey.
27 Ibid., 456 (orig. text, 39). " Ibid., 473 (orig. text, 43 b).
29 Ibid., 477 (orig. text, 44 b). Ibid., 493 (orig. text, 47 b).
31 Ibid., 501 (orig. text, 49).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 77
we see the survival of minsters at administrative centres, and the development of
the modern parochial system.
In Berkshire the characteristics of the county as regards the ecclesiastical
conditions were much the same as those of Hampshire. In the hundred of
Kintbury only a manorial church at Denford ' is returned in Domesday, but
there was a minster at Kintbury 2 in 931 which was probably given to Amesbury
Abbey at its foundation in 979, and the endowment absorbed by the abbess. 3 In
the hundred of Eagle there was only a manorial church at Letcombe Regis held
by the Abbess of Amesbury. 4 In ' Hilleslau ' hundred there was at Ashbury a
church and a priest holding a hide, 3 and another church at Compton Beau-
champ endowed with half a hide. 8 In Shrivenham hundred the only church,
which was at the hundred manor of Shrivenham, 7 was, from its endowment
of five hides, probably established for a minster. In 'Wifol' hundred, of which
Faringdon hundred later formed a part, there was a church at Faringdon held
by Bishop Osmund of Salisbury and endowed with a hide, and another church
at Great Coxwell endowed with half a hide. 8 In Sutton hundred there was a
church at Little Wittenham. In Marcham hundred there was a church at the
hundred manor of Marcham. 10 In Ganfield hundred there were churches at
Buckland, 11 Pusey, 12 and Hinton Wildrist. 13 In Wantage there was a mother
church, probably a minster, at the hundred manor of Wantage, 14 two parts of
which were held by Peter Bishop of Chester and endowed with four hides, and
the remaining third was held by William the Deacon and endowed with one
lide. There were other churches in this hundred, at Sparsholt 15 held by Edred
the priest, at West Hanney 10 held by Turold the priest, each endowed with a
hide, at East Lockinge, 17 West Hendred, 18 belonging to the Abbot of St. Albans,
East Hendred," and Denchworth. 21 In ' Hesletesford ' or ' Eletesford' hundred
there was on the king's manor of Cholsey a church held by the abbey of Mont
St. Michel endowed with a hide ; and two priests who were there took the tithes
and other profits worth 4. In the same hundred Wilbert the priest held the
1 V. C. H. Berks., i, 352 (orig. text, 61).
' Thorpe, Diplom. Angl., 495. ' V. C. II. Berks., \, 344 (orig. text. 60).
4 Ibid., 332 (orig. text, 57 b). 5 Ibid., 342 (orig. text), 59 b).
K Ibid., 351 (orig. text, 61). " Ibid., 332 (orig. text, 57 b).
8 Ibid. 9 Ibid., 340 (orig. text, 59).
10 Ibid., 338 (orig. text, 58^). u Ibid., 336 (orig. text, 58 b).
2 Ibid., 361 (orig. text, 62 b). 1S Ibid., 367 (orig. text, 63^).
14 Ibid., 328 (orig. text, 57). 15 Ibid., 329 (orig. text, 57).
c Ibid., 346 (orig. text, 60). 7 Ibid., 342 (orig. text, 59 b).
18 Ibid., 343 (orig. text, 596). " Ibid., 345 (orig. text, 60).
20 Ibid., 348 (orig. text, 60 b).
n /;#., 328 (orig. text, 56 />, 57). Aminsterwas founded here by Ethelred about 986 which was possibly
destroyed by the Danes in 1006 (Dugdale, Afon., vi, 1615). There is pre-Conquest work in the church.
VOL. LXVI.
78
SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
church on the manor of Geoffrey de Mandeville at Streatley with a hide of
land ; ' two priests held two churches at Basildon endowed with a hide, 2 and
there were churches at Brightwell * and Childrey. 4 In Blcwbury hundred there
were a church at the hundred manor of Blewbury endowed with five virgates, 8
and other churches at ' Wibaldtone '," North Moreton, 7 and South Moreton, 8 and
a chapel at Harwell. In 'Nachededowne' hundred the only church was at the
hundred manor of 'Nachededowne ' held by Ralph the priest, and endowed with
a hide and half a virgate. 10 In 'Roeberg' hundred there was a church at Leck-
hampstead. 11 In Bucklebury hundred there were churches at the hundred manor
of Bucklebury, 12 and at Hampstead Norris. 1 ' In Thatcham hundred there was
apparently a small minster at the hundred manor of Thatcham, 14 with two clerks
holding three hides, and one church at Greenham, 1 "' and two at Brimpton. 10 In
Reading hundred there were four or more priests, possibly forming a community,
and a church at Aldermaston, 17 and manorial churches at Sulham, 18 Stratfield
Mortimer, 19 andBurghfield. 20 InCharlton hundred, later called Sonning hundred,
there was a church belonging to Sonning at Wallingford, 21 but the mother church
of the hundred manor of Sonning was in the hands of the Bishop of Salisbury,
and hence perhaps does not appear in Domesday. In Beynhurst hundred there
was apparently a minster at Cookham (later the hundred manor of the hundred of
Cookham), where Reinbald the priest " held one and a half hides in alms together
with the church, and certain other lands and tenements, a hide of the endowment
being held by two clerks.' 2 " This church also held a hide of land at Boveney in
Buckinghamshire.- 4 At White Waltham the manor was held by the Bishop of
Durham, Ulwin a canon formerly held it as three hides of Earl Harold, as the
endowment of the church, which from its wealth was at one time probably
a minster.-' 1 There were also churches in this hundred at Hurley,*' Shottis-
brooke,' 7 and Bras - 8 (Bray Wood ?). In Bray hundred the only church was at the
hundred manor of Bray, where Reinbald the priest held a hide of the endowment."
2 Ibid., 328 (orig. text, 57).
4 Ibid., 364 (orig. text, 63).
8 Ibid., 348 (orig. text, 60 b).
8 Ibid., 364 (orig. text, 63).
10 Ibid., 330 (orig. text, 57 b}.
12 Ibid., 330 (orig. text, 57).
14 Ibid., 327 (orig. text, 56 b}.
16 Ibid., 359, 361 (orig. text, 62, 62 b).
18 Ibid., 353 (orig. text, 61).
20 Ibid., 362 (orig. text, 62 b)
22 See p. 71, note.
24 V. C. H. Bucks., i, 243 (orig. text, 146).
26 Ibid., 358 (orig. text, 62).
28 Ibid., 368 (orig. text,
1 V. C. //. Berks., \, 358 (orig. text, 62).
3 Ibid., 335 (orig. text, 58).
' Ibid., 327-8 (orig. text. 56 b).
Ibid., 353 (orig. text, 61).
9 Ibid., 361 (orig. text, 62 b).
11 Ibid., 338 (orig. text, 58/1).
13 Ibid., 366 (orig. text, 63).
15 Ibid., 347 (orig. text, 60 b}.
' Ibid., 326, 334 (orig. text, 56 A, 58).
9 Ibid., 361-2 (orig. text, 62 b).
21 Ibid., 335 (orig. text, 58).
3 Ibid., 327 (orig. text, 56 b).
'' V. C. H. Berks., i, 336 (orig. text, 58).
27 Ibid., 367 (orig. text, 63 b).
29 Ibid., 330 (orig. text, 57). See p. 71, note.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 79
In Sussex a great difference is noticeable in the eleventh century between
the ecclesiastical organization of the older settled districts in the south and that
of the later settlements on the verge of the forest in the north. In the former we
find the older system of minsters of secular priests at the hundred boroughs and
manors, in some instances still possibly serving the whole hundred, and at others
having their areas of ministration encroached upon by more recently established
manorial churches. In the forest lands of the north, however, manorial churches
only are to be found, and they are few in number.
Of the older southern hundreds, Bosham hundred was of course served by
the ancient minster of Bosham, 1 founded as it was claimed before 68 1, and en-
dowed with 112 hides. The minster and its endowment had been granted by
Edward the Confessor to his Norman chaplain Osbern, Bishop of Exeter, who
left them to his see. Eastward in Box hundred there was clearly a minster at
Boxgrove where the clerks of the church held a hide of land." Here the church
was granted by Robert de la Haye in 1105 to the abbey of Lessay, and became
an alien priory. There were two other churches at the time of the Domesday
Survey in Box hundred, one at Aldingbourne 3 on the Bishop of Chichester's
land, and the other at West Hampnett, 4 where Saxon work still exists. In
Singleton hundred there was a small minster at the hundred manor of Singleton
with a community of clerks, endowed with three hides and a virgate of land,
together with^"io a year. 5 This church also retains evidence of Saxon work.
There was further a church at Binderton in this hundred." In Steyning hundred
were two churches at the hundred borough of Steyning, 7 held by the abbey of
Fecamp by grant of Edward the Confessor ; one of these was possibly at Warm-
inghurst, and the other the minster or college of priests which existed here
shortly after the Conquest, and is said to have received privileges from King-
Alfred. 8 It is interesting to note with regard to this church that when William
de Braose founded a small college of priests in the church of St. Nicholas,
Bramber, and claimed the right of burial there, the Abbot of Fecamp compelled
the dean of Bramber college to restore the bodies buried and refund the fees,
apparently in respect of Steyning church, as the mother church of the district.' 1
There were also manorial churches in Steyning hundred at Annington, 10 Wiston,"
and Coombe. 12 In South Mailing or Loxfield hundred the only church was the
1 V. C. H. Sussex, i, 392 (orig. text, 17). There was another church at Bosham which has been
identified possibly with West Stoke (ibid., 387). There may have been a third church the tithes of
which were held by the clerks of the minster (ibid., 392). There is much Saxon work at Bosham church.
* Ibid., 433 (orig. text, 25^). a Ibid., 390 (orig. text, i6b).
4 Ibid., 433 (orig. text, 25 b). r> Ibid., 421 (orig. text, 23). " Ibid.
7 Ibid., 392 (orig. text, 17). 8 Ibid., ii, 122.
Round, Cat. of Doc. France, 38. 10 V. C. H. Sussex, i, 444 (orig. text, 28).
11 Ibid., 445 (orig. text, 28). " Ibid., 446 (orig. text,
L 2
80 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
minster of St. Michael at the hundred manor of South Mailing, the secular
canons of which held four hides. 1 In Willingdon hundred Godfrey the priest
held a hide and a virgate at the hundred manor of Willingdon." In Bexhill
hundred the only churches were two at Bexhill, where Geoffrey and Roger,
clerks, held a hide as a benefice. 3 In the Archbishop of Canterbury's important
hundred of Pagham there was a church at the hundred manor of Pagham, 4 and
what was apparently a small minster of secular clerks who held the manor at
Tangmere. 8 In ' Risberg' or Poling hundred there was at Lyminster or Nonne-
minster, 6 probably the chief town in the hundred, a cell of the abbey of Alme-
nesches, where it is evident there had been a minster which Roger de Mont-
gomery converted into a house of nuns, and granted as a cell to Almenesches
shortly after the Conquest. There were also manorial churches at Patching, 7
North Stoke, 8 and Burpham in this hundred. In Benstede hundred the
minster of St. Nicholas at Arundel seems to have been the chief church, but
besides it there were eight manorial churches (Felpham, Climping, Walberton,
Barnham, Middleton, South Stoke, Eastergate, and Slindon 10 ) in the hundred.
In Totnore hundred there had been a minster at Bedingham which is mentioned
in the ninth century. At the time of Edward the Confessor Ulnod the priest had
held there two hides, probably representing the endowment of the minster,
which the Count of Mortain had given before 1086 to the Abbot of Grestain in
Normandy." In Foxearle hundred there was possibly a minster at Hurstmon-
ceaux where the priest held the whole manor, 12 while at Wartling there was a
priest," and at Ashburnham a church. 14 In Westbourne hundred the chief church
was evidently at Stoughton (Estone), 15 endowed with a hide and a half of land ;
there was also a manorial church at Compton. 1 "
In the hundreds in the middle strip of the county running east and west,
which were apparently of more recent formation and settlement than those on
the sea-coast, we still have evidence of hundred manor organization. In Bury
hundred there were churches at Bury 17 and Bignor. 18 In Hamfield or Henfield
hundred there were churches at Henfield 1 " and Woodmancote." In Preston hun-
dred there was a church at Preston." In Poynings hundred there were churches
1 V. C. H. Sussex, i, 388 (orig. text, i6b). 2 Ibid., 411 (orig. text, 21).
3 Ibid., 397 (orig. text, 18). 4 Ibid., 389 (orig. text, i6b).
5 Ibid. Ibid. 429 (orig. text, 24 b). Possibly pre-Conquest work at Lyminster.
7 Ibid., 389 (orig. text, 16 b). 8 Ibid., 429 (orig. text, 24 b). 9 Ibid.
" Ibid., 395, 430, 431, 432 (orig. text, 17 b, 25, 25 b). Eastgate church has eleventh-century masonry.
11 Ibid., 409 (orig. text, 20 b). '' z Ibid., 396 (orig. text, 18). 1! Ibid.
14 Ibid. Ibid., 426 (orig. text, 24). Ifi Ibid.
17 Ibid., 392 (orig. text, 17). " Ibid., 430 (orig. text, 25).
Ibid., 390 (orig. text, 16 b). 2 " Ibid., 446 (orig. text, 28 b).
21 Ibid., 391 (orig. text, 17).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 81
at Poynings, 1 and Godwin the priest held Saddlescombe in Newtimber, 2 as part
of the great Bosham manor. In Street hundred there were two chapels at
Street 3 and a church at Plumpton. 4 In Barcombe hundred there were churches
at Barcombe 5 and Hamsey." In Palmer hundred there was only one manorial
church at Palmer. 7
In a great number of the forest hundreds in the north, however, manorial
churches seem to have been established independently of any hundred organiza-
tion. Thus at Henhurst hundred there was a manorial church at Salehurst; 8
in Shoyswell hundred at Hazelhurst 9 in Ticehurst ; in Gostrow or 'Babinrerode '
hundred at Udimore. 10 In Easebourne hundred there were six manorial churches,
at one of which, Woolbeding," Saxon remains still survive. In Buttinghill hun-
dred there were churches at Hurstpierpoint, 1 - Keymer, I:i and Clayton,' 4 at the last
of which there is still pre-Conquest work, and with the other northern hundreds
the evidence is of the same nature.
Domesday Book is practically silent as to the ecclesiastical organization at
Chichester, 15 whither the bishop had only transferred his see from Selsey some
eleven years. The churches of the city were probably attached to the owner-
ship of properties, but the only church mentioned there is that of All Saints
in the Pallant belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury and attached to his
manor at Pagham. 1 ' The bishop's minster at Chichester or Selsey probably
served the hundreds of Stockbridge and Somerley or Manhood. The only church
mentioned in either of these hundreds was at Mundham in Stockbridge hundred 1T
which had been held by Countess Goda. Domesday gives us no information as
to the ecclesiastical organization of Lewes.
The north-eastern and the southern parts of Surrey, like the northern parts
of Sussex, were forest land and were sparsely settled. The only important
monastery in the county at the time of the Domesday Survey was Chertsey.
This abbey held the hundred of Godley, in which only a church and chapel at
Chobham 18 are returned, but on their lands in other hundreds there seem to have
been churches at many of the manors, while at Epsom 19 and Sutton'-" near Cheam
there were two churches. The minster of secular priests at Lambeth had only
1 Ibid., 440 (orig. text, 27).
2 Ibid. See for the holdings of Godwin the priest in Sussex in the time of King Edward, Round
in Sussex Arch. Coll., xliv, 142-3.
8 V. C. H. Sussex, i, 441 (orig. text, 27). 4 Ibid.
6 Ibid., 442 (orig. text, 27 b)- Ibid. ' Ibid., 436-7 (orig. text, 26).
8 Ibid., 403 (orig. text, 19 b). '' Ibid., 401 (orig. text, 19). 10 Ibid., 404 (orig. text, 19 b).
1 Ibid., 450 (orig. text, 29). l2 Ibid., 440 (orig, text, 27). n Ibid., 441 (orig. text, 27).
14 Ibid. '' Ibid., 421 (orig. text, 23). lfi Ibid., 388-9 (orig. text, 16 b).
7 Ibid., 426-7 (orig. text, 24). 18 V. C. H. Surrey, i, 310 (orig. text, 32^).
19 Ibid., 308 (orig. text, 326). I0 Ibid., 307 (orig. text, 32 b).
82 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
a small endowment in Surrey 1 and a little land in Gloucestershire. 2 The Arch-
bishop of Canterbury and Bishop of Bayeux each had several churches on their
estates, but on the lands of the Abbot of Westminster few are returned.
There seems to be evidence of the survival of borough minsters on the
western side of the county ; thus at the manor of the Bishop of Winchester at
Farnhanv 1 there was 'a church of the manor' held by Osbern de Ow, which was
then, as it is now, the mother church for apparently the whole hundred, con-
taining some 26,250 acres and comprising the chapelries of Elsted, Frensham,
Seal, and Bentley. At Godalming 4 in Godalming hundred there was a church,
identified as that of St. Peter and St. Paul, held by the famous Ranulf Flambard
with a valuable endowment of three hides, which suggests the existence at one
time of a small community of priests. There was also in this hundred a church at
Compton which still has eleventh-century remains. The church of Kingston was
probably the mother church of the hundred of Kingston, but in 1086 there were
also a minster at Southwark 7 and churches at Petersham 8 (a chapelry of King-
ston), Long Ditton,' Maiden, 1 " and West Horsley " in this hundred. In the other
hundreds we lose sight of the churches at the hundred manors and manorial
churches become frequent, particularly on the eastern side of the county. These
churches are entered in the usual way with the villein tenants, mills, meadows,
&c. ; even the ' new and handsome church ' of the Cluniac priory of Bermondsey 12
appears in this manner. There were three churches at Bramley,' 11 and the church
of Leatherhcad is said to have belonged to the manor of Ewell. 1 *
There seems to have been no ecclesiastical organization in Kent under lathes,
and the spread of manorial churches had largely obscured such organization
as may have existed at civil administrative centres. It is probable that in some
places the churches mentioned represent borough minsters, but the entries as to
churches in the Domesday Survey of Kent are so meagre that there is little to
indicate the existence of communities of priests. At the king's manor of Dart-
ford (Tarentefort), in Axton hundred, the Bishop of Rochester held the church
worth 6oj>. with its three chapels, 15 and in the hundred manor of Milton Regis
(Middeltune) the Abbot of St. Augustine held the churches and tithes, 1 " but at
the king's manors of Aylesford 1T and Fayersham 1 " there is no reference to
churches, nor is there any mention of a church at the archbishop's town of
1 V. C. H. Surrey, i, 312 (orig. text, 33 , 34). 2 Dom. Bk., orig. text,
1 V. C.H. Surrey, i, 300 (orig. text, 31). 4 Ibid., 298 (orig. text, 30^). There is Saxon work here.
6 Ibid., 322-3 (orig. text, 36). 6 Ibid., 297 (orig. text, 30 b).
7 Ibid., 305 (orig. text, 31 b). * Ibid., 308 (orig. text, 32 b).
9 Ibid., 317 (orig. text, 35). I0 Ibid. u Ibid., 323 (orig. text, 36).
n Ibid., 296 (orig. text, 30). 13 Ibid., 301 (orig. text, 31). H Ibid., 297 (orig. text, 30 b).
14 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 2 b. In Dartford church is work probably of Bishop Gundulf's time.
18 Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 83
Sandwich. 1 There was a church at Maidstone, 2 in the hundred of Maidstone,
then only a manor of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and another church
at East Farleigh 3 in the same hundred. In Hoo hundred there were six
churches at the town of Hoo St. Werburg 4 held by the Bishop of Bayeux,
and a church at Stoke.'' In Chatham hundred there was a church at Chatham, 6
and another at Gillingham. 7 In Wye hundred there were churches at the villa
regalis of Wye 8 and at Boughton Alulph. 9 In Petham hundred there were
two churches at Petham. 10 In Barham hundred there were churches at Barham n
and Bishopsbourne (Burnes). 1 - In Reculver hundred there were churches at
Reculver, 13 where there had been a minster, and where early Saxon work survives,
and at Norton. 14 In Chislet hundred there was a church at Chislet. 13 In Sturry
hundred there was a church at Sturry. 16 In St. Mildreds orThanet hundred there
were the minster at Minster 17 and two churches at Monkton. ls In Folkestone
hundred there were five churches at Folkestone," from which the archbishop had
555. In Street hundred there was a church at Street in Lympne, 20 and others at
Sellinge 21 and Bonnington. 22 In Loningborough(Moneberge)hundred there seem
to have been three churches at Lyminge, 23 one at Acres, 24 and another at Elham."" 1
As will be noticed, most of the hundred manors of the smaller hundreds
lying on the east and north side of the county were probably administrative
centres 20 with minsters or manorial churches ; on the other hand, however, in the
larger hundreds of Axton, 27 ' Helmestrei', 28 Toltingtrough, 29 Eyhorne, 31 and others
in the west, many manorial churches are recorded, but there is no trace of organi-
zation under hundreds. This west Kent district corresponds with the adjoining-
parts of east Surrey, in both of which the prevalence of the manorial church is
caused possibly by the later settlement of the forest and high lands here existing.
In the extensive property held by the canons of St. Martin's of Dover, be-
sides three churches in Dover/ 11 the only church mentioned is at Buckland
near Dover. 32 It is probable, however, that there were churches on the prebendal
manors of the canons.
Essex partook of the Mercian system of church organization, and there is
no evidence of administrative centres at hundred manors and boroughs such as
is to be found in Wessex. Colchester was the only large town, and although
1 /&/., 3 . 2 Ibid. 3 lbid.,+b.
4 Ibid, 8 b. ''Ibid.,$b. Il>id.,8l>. ^ Ibid.^b. * Ibid., 5,11 b, 14. Ibid., 14.
w Ibid., 3 A. "Ibid., <)b. 12 Ibid., 3 b. "Ibid. H Ibid. "Ibid., 12.
16 Ibid. * 17 Ibid. ' 18 Ibid., 4 b. " Ibid., 9 b. ' Ibid., 136. 21 Ibid.
22 Ibid., 134-14. * 3 Ibid., 4. " Ibid., lib.
28 Ibid., 9 b. The parish church is of late eleventh-century date, and the foundations of a far earlier
church adjoin it. 20 Many of them were villae regales; see Chadwick, op. cit., 249.
'" With churches at six vills. 28 Now Ruxley. With churches at six vills.
89 With churches at six vills.
30 With churches at sixteen vills; at each of the hundreds of Larkfield and Faversham there were
churches at nine vills. 31 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 2. M Ibid., i b.
84 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
in the list of its burgesses there appear the names of some three priests who
may have had churches, St. Peter's is the only church in the town mentioned in
the Survey.' Possibly for the reasons already suggested scarcely any churches
are returned on the lands of the Bishop of London, 2 Canons of St. Paul's, 3 nor
on the great estates of the monasteries which had possessions in the county,
although we know that the abbey of Ely had a church at Hadstock, at which
pre-Conquest work still remains, and probably the Bishop of London also had a
church at Great Hallingham, where likewise there is Saxon work. On the other
hand, the well-known timber church at Greenstead near Ongar, which is sup-
posed to be of pre-Conquest date, and has been identified with the chapel at
Ongar, 4 is not entered in Domesday, although both the manors of Greenstead
and Ongar ' were in lay hands.
There were several priests in Essex holding considerable estates either
in their own right or as almsmen of the king, but whether they held cures is un-
certain though probable ; thus a priest, described as a freeman, held Dunton as
seven hides four acres, 7 and another, also a freeman, at Horndon on the Hill held
two hides as a manor, identified as Wythefeld manor. 8 Harold gave a hide in
Writtle to one of his priests, 9 and almsmen of the king and others also had lands
elsewhere. 1 "
There can be little doubt that South Benfleet was an administrative centre,
and apparently the church of St. Mary had been a minster which William the
Conqueror had given with its endowment of seven hides and thirty acres to St.
Peter's of Westminster. 11 Some of the other better-endowed churches may have
been minsters of secular priests, but the evidence regarding them is slight.
There was, we know, a small minster at Earls Colne, of which yElfric the priest
was appointed head by the will of Leofgifu in IO45- 12
About a dozen manorial churches in the county are returned in Domesday
Book; each of them had a glebe usually of thirty acres, which seems to have been
the normal endowment, but the church of Hatfield Broadoak had as much as
a hide and thirty acres. 1 " At Horndon on the Hill there were three ecclesiastical
endowments, but it is not clear that they were all for the parish church, 14 while
1 V. C. H. Essex, \, 576, 578 (orig. text, 106 b, 107 b). The church in its suburb of Greenstead, how-
ever, is there mentioned. Holy Trinity church, Colchester, is a Saxon building.
2 Ibid., 437 (orig. text, gb). s Ibid., 442 (orig. text, 12 b).
4 Baldwin Brown, The Arts in Early England, ii, 40. The identification of Greenstead church,
near Ongar, with the wooden chapel erected in 1013 at Ongar to hold the body of St. Edmund for
a night is, however, not quite proved.
' V. C. H. Essex, i. 502 (orig. text, 56). Ibid., 467, 545 (orig. text, 30 b, 84 b).
" Ibt'd., 455 (orig. text, 22 b). * Ibid., 482 (orig. text, 42, 42 b).
9 Ibid., 433-4 (orig. text, 5, 5 b). Ibid., 431, 477, 558 (orig. text, 3 b, 39, 93 b).
11 Ibid., 444 (orig. text, 14). Thorpe, Dipt. Angl., 569-71.
ir! V. C. H. Essex, i, 429 (orig. text, 2, zb). " Ibid., 460, 482, 558 (orig. text, 26, 42, 93^).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 85
at Stifford we get a glimpse of a system which had become fully developed in
East Anglia whereby the church of the manor had been endowed with thirty
acres in alms by the neighbours, 1 and again at Prittlewell, where the endow-
ment of the church of the manor had been increased by thirty acres by the
benevolence of two unnamed benefactors. 2 In some seventeen instances we have
entries relating to priests, doubtless indicating the existence of churches, which
occur with the villeins, meadows, and other incidents of the demesne, and in
these cases there is no record of any endowment.
The development of the parish or manorial church in Norfolk and Suffolk
was altogether different from that of Wessex. The conquest of East Anglia by
the Danes in the middle of the ninth century practically obliterated organized
Christianity in this district. For some time there was no Bishop of Elmham,
and so far as we know every monastery in Norfolk and Suffolk was destroyed.
The land therefore being swept of all its religious institutions, a new organiza-
tion was introduced when the bishopric of Elmham was re-established at the
end of the tenth century. The greater monasteries were not founded or re-
founded till the time of Cnut, but minsters or colleges of priests at administrative
centres were possibly established at an earlier date. Such, for instance, it would
seem from its endowment, was the church of Blythborough in Blything hundred,
with two carucates of land, and having two churches without land attached to it. 3
In the same hundred was the minster of Wissett with a chapel subordinate to
it, endowed with two carucates of land and served by twelve monks. 4 At Clare
in Risbridge hundred there was a small community of clerks at the church of
St. John the Baptist, built by yElfric son of Wlgar, 5 and at Hoxne in Bishops
hundred, so lately the seat of the bishopric, the church was probably served by
a community of secular priests." Stoke, Mendham, and Sudbury were probably
served in a like manner. 7 There were minsters also at Thetford, Ipswich, and
Elmham, referred to later, and the large endowments held by the churches of
Eye in Hartesmere hundred 8 and Melford in Babergh hundred ' suggest that
they also were intended for the support of small communities of priests.
The instances, however, of the survival of the ancient organization under
minsters at administrative centres in East Anglia are few and scattered, and it
is clear that this system quickly gave place to the more direct and democratic
one of ministration by means of modern parish churches or, as they are called
in the numerous eleventh-century Norfolk and Suffolk wills which survive, tun
or town churches. 10 The organization of the country under these churches was
1 Ibid., 458 (orig. text, 246). 2 Ibid., 485 (orig. text, 44).
3 V. C. H. Suffolk, i. 420 (orig. text, 282). 4 Ibid., 433 (orig. text, 292/7).
5 Ibid., 527 (orig. text, 389 b). fl Ibid., 515 (orig. text, 379) ; Thorpe, Dipl. Angl, 513, 569.
; Thorpe, Dipl. Angl., 506, 513, 517. ' V. C. H. Suffolk, i, 459 (orig. text, 319*. 320).
9 Ibid., 494 (orig. text, 359, 359 b). ' Thorpe, Dipl. Angl., 459 et seq.
VOL. LXVI. M
86 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
so enthusiastically undertaken that within some sixty or seventy years of the
re-establishment of the bishopric of Elmham the number of churches founded
in Suffolk particularly, and to an almost equal degree in Norfolk, cannot have
been many less than that which exists at the present day. At first, no doubt,
these churches were built in towns, following the older system of the foundation
of churches at administrative centres. At Norwich, although not yet the seat
of the bishop, we have reference to no less than twenty-five churches and forty-
three chapels. Of these, fifteen churches and the forty-three chapels seem to
have been held by the burgesses collectively. The church of Holy Trinity was
held by twelve burgesses, while the remaining churches were attached in the
time of Edward the Confessor to various holdings, some belonging to the king
and others to Archbishop Stigand, the Abbot of Bury, the Abbot of Ely, and
others. 1 In the new borough Earl Ralph had built a church which he gave to
his chaplain. 2 At Thetford there were, besides the minster held by Roger Bigot,
twelve churches, one of which, St. Mary's, was a mother church with four sub-
ordinate churches." At Ipswich, beyond St. Peter's already referred to, there
were seven other churches with small endowments, three of them being held
by priests and four by laymen. 4 At Bungay there were four parish churches ; 5
at Elmham there was apparently a minster of priests in 1037," but in 1086 there
is mention of five parish churches ; 7 at Dunwich there was only one church in
the time of King Edward the Confessor, but by 1086 two more had been built,
owing apparently to the increase of the number of burgesses from 120 to 256*
At Stonham there were eight churches and at Coddenham eight. 10 At Aldeburgh
two 11 and Dcbenham two. 12 At Thorney there was a mother church endowed
with a carucate of land, which, being found too small for the parish, four brothers,
to give further accommodation, built a chapel on their own land adjoining the
church. l:!
But the most interesting part of the ecclesiastical organization in East
Anglia is the development of the parish church in the rural districts. Elsewhere in
England the churches had been apparently built and held by thegns and large
landowners, but in East Anglia they were frequently on the lands of groups of
freemen and others by whom or their predecessors they were probably built and
endowed. Professor Maitland has called attention to the communal action in
1 V. C. H. Norf., ii,46-7 (orig. text, 116-18). 2 Ibid., 47 (orig. text, u8|.
3 Ibid., 47, 48, 63 (orig. text, n8A, 119, 136).
4 V. C. H. Suffolk, \, 429, 557, 579 (orig. text, 290, 421 b, 446, 446 b).
5 Ibid., 428, 441 (orig. text, 288, 288 , 300). Thorpe, Dipl. Angl., 568.
7 V. C. H. Suffolk, i, 491, 517 (orig. text, 356, 380, 3806). " Ibid., 451 (orig. text, 311 b).
9 Ibid., 486-7, 511, 512, 557, 572 (orig. text, 350 , 374 b, 375*, 422, 438).
Ibid., 475, 512, 553, 557 (orig. text, 338, 375, 417, 422). Ibid., 455 (orig. text, 316).
14 Ibid., 446, 513 (orig. text, 305 b, 376 b. Debenham church has a Saxon tower.
13 Ibid., 419 (orig. text, 281 b).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 87
the holding- of churches which is fully exemplified in Suffolk. 1 We are expressly
told that several persons had shares in the churches of Ringsfield,* WorUngham,'
Kenton, 4 Loudham/' and Willingham, while at Stonham there was a church with
20 acres which nine freemen had given for the health of their souls, 7 and at
Swanton (Tuanatuna) in Norfolk was a church with 60 acres given in alms by
many men. 8 At Weston, where there seems to have been a church in 1045,' the
king's freemen held the church with 20 acres. 10 A group of twelve freemen
dwelling in Mutford, Rushmere, Gisleham, Pakefield, and Kirkley had two
churches attached to their lands at Mutford: 11 At Cotton the church with 1 1 acres
was on the land of three freemen. 12 Fifteen freemen under Stigand's commenda-
tion held with their land at Bungay a church with 30 acres. 13 The church of
Bucklesham with 8 acres was on the land of thirty freemen under commendation
of Harold. 11 In Norfolk the church of Letton with 12 acres was on the holding
of a group of nine freemen, 15 that of Shereford on the holding of a group of
six freemen, 10 and that of Hempton, a church with one acre, on the holding of a
group of four freemen, 17 and many other similar instances could be quoted.
In some cases apparently it was by the devotion of the smaller holders that
the church was built and endowed ; thus at Rendlesham the church with 20 acres
belonged to a holding of a freeman in the time of King Edward who only had
30 acres, 18 while there were holdings of a carucate held as a manor and other
smaller properties. At Culpho the church with 10 acres was on the holding of
five freemen under commendation of Ely Abbey having only 21 acres. 19 At
Alteston in Trimley the church with 5 acres was on the holding of two freemen
having only 1 1 acres. 20
Frequently the ownership of churches was split up into parts. Thus at
Wantisden half the church was attached to the holding of twenty-two freemen,-'
a quarter to that of two other freemen, 22 and the remaining quarter to that of one
freeman." At Thornham three-quarters of the church belonged to one holding- 4
and one-quarter to another." At Braiseworth half the church with 17 acres
belonged to the holding of Ulveva, 20 and half with 15 acres to fifteen freemen.- 7
At Chepenhall half the church with 20 acres was on the land of nine freemen,- 8
1 Maitland, Dotn. Bk. and Beyond, 144. 2 V. C. H. Suffolk, i, 420 (orig. text, 282 b}.
3 Ibid., 421 (orig. text, 283). 4 Ibid., 465 (orig. text, 326).
6 Ibid., 526 (orig. text, 3886). (! Ibid., 543-4 (orig. text, 407). 7 Ibid., 572 (orig. text, 438).
8 V. C. H. Nor/., ii, 113 (orig. text, 189 ). 9 Thorpe, Dif>l. Angl., 572.
' V. C. H. Suffolk, i, 421 (orig. text, 283). " Ibid. '- Ibid., 426 (orig. text, 286 f>).
:1 Ibid., 428 (orig. text, 288 ). 14 Ibid., 431 (orig. text, 292).
5 V. C. H. Norf., ii, 89 (orig. text, i66). lli Ibid., 92 (orig. text, 170). I: Ibid.
' V. C. H. Suffolk, i, 465 (orig. text, 326 b). 19 Ibid., 482 (orig. text, 346).
" Ibid., 478 (orig. text, 341). '- 1 Ibid., 446 (orig. text, 306 b). - Ibid., 447 (orig. text, 307).
3 Ibid., 481 (orig. text, 344). 24 Ibid., 461 (orig. text, 322 b). 5 Ibid., 572 (orig. text, 437 b).
Ibid., 462 (orig. text, 323 ). '" Ibid. " 8 Ibid., 468 (orig. text, 329).
M 2
88 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
and the other half with 20 acres on that of the men of Bury St. Edmunds. 1 At
Baylham half the church with 12 acres was attached to the land of a freeman,"
and the other half with 12 acres to that of Queen Edith. 3 At Helmingham a
quarter of the church with i * acres belonged to the holding of Godric a freeman, 4
another quarter with i| acres to Levestan a freeman/ and a half with 3 acres
to eleven freemen. 6 At Stonham one-third of a church went with the holding of
Uluric, another third with that of Ulmar, and the final third with that of Alflet. 7
At Greeting St. Peter's half the church with 10 acres was attached to the holding
of one freeman, 8 and the other half with 10 acres to that of another. Many
other instances could be given.
It is tempting to suggest that in some cases the freemen of different vills
held churches jointly and consequently, we may assume, combined to found and
endow them. Thus at Ringshall there was an isolated half of a church with
15 acres on the land of Lewin, a freeman under the abbey of Ely, 10 and on the
adjoining vill of Battisford was another isolated half of a church with 20 acres, 11
and we find that a twelfth part of the church of Ringshall was in Battisford. 1 ' At
Saxham there were two-thirds of a church with 6 acres, 13 while on the adjoining
vill of Westley there was a third of a church with 4 acres on the lands of eleven
freemen. 1 * At Mendham and Weybread, whose lands were intermixed, 15 from
fractions of churches three complete churches can be made. 10 In Norfolk we can
account for one and a half churches at Stoke Holy Cross,' 7 and there is an isolated
half church at the adjoining vill of Shottesham. 18
Some churches, it is stated, had no land attached to them, a few of which
were on the lands of religious houses and were probably served by them, and
some may have been chapels. 1 ' Churches also sometimes held lands outside
their vill. The church of Clopton had 15 acres taken from four demesnes
(dominationibtts) and the church of Rumburgh held 40 acres in Elmham.- 1
The evidence of the ecclesiastical organization, like the lay constitution, of
the counties of Danish Mercia (which included the counties of Lincoln, Notting-
ham, Rutland, Derby, Leicester, Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Bedford) differed
altogether from those of East Anglia. Although the religious progress of the dis-
trict had been retarded by the Danish invasions, there had not been that entire loss
1 V. C.H.Suffolk,\, 504 (orig. text, 368). 2 Ibid., 474(0^.16x1,336 b). 3 Ibid., 581 (orig.text, 448^).
4 Ibid., 513 (orig. text, 376). r ' Ibid. c Ibid. 7 Ibid., 487 (orig. text, 350 , 351).
" Ibid., 526 (orig. text, 389). 9 Ibid., 567 (orig. text, 432 b). 10 Ibid., 474 (orig. text, 336).
1 Ibid., 569 (orig. text, 434 b). > 2 Ibid., 431 (orig. text, 291 b).
z Ibid., 493 (orig. text, 357 b). u Ibid., 494 (orig. text, 358 b}. '' Ibid., 485 (orig. text, 349).
Ibid., 468, 485, 504, 516 (orig. text, 329 b, 349, 368, 368 /;, 379).
' V. C. H. Nor/., ii, 187 (orig. text, 2646). " Ibid., 97 (orig. text, 174/1).
9 Ibid., 91, 92, 141-2, 148, 187, 193; V. C. 11. Stiff"., i, 420, 426, 490, 519, 523, 528, 546.
' V. C. H. Stiff., i, 554 (orig. text, 4176). 21 Ibid., 439 (orig. text, 298).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 89
of ecclesiastical authority which seems to have marked the Danish domination of
Norfolk and Suffolk. Consequently more evidence of the survival of earlier
conditions is to be found in the parts of the Domesday Survey relating to this
district.
At the more important towns, chiefly in the north of Danish Mercia, prob-
ably the older and principal churches were or had been small minsters or colleges
of secular priests which had served wide dependent districts. But the develop-
ment of parish churches was fast overshadowing this earlier system and obliterat-
ing the evidence of the organization from administrative centres.
The chief town of Danish Mercia was Lincoln, which in 1086 had only lately
become the seat of the great Mercian bishopric. Here, of course, the cathedral
church of St. Mary with its secular canons was the centre, not only of the city, but
of the whole diocese. Parish churches, however, had been fully established in the
city of Lincoln. The canons of St. Mary's held there two churches and the moiety
of a third which we may assume to be of this character, 1 while the bishop had two
others in the suburb. Besides the cathedral there were two churches, St. Peter's
and All Saints, which from their endowments were apparently intended to sup-
port more than one resident priest, and may well at one time have had small
communities of priests. St. Peter's, where Saxon remains still exist, was endowed
with the church of Wellingore ; 2 and All Saints was endowed with a carucate
of land and 12 tofts and 4 crofts, and was held by Godric son of Garewin, who
seems to have become a monk of Peterborough, and hence it was claimed by the
abbot of that house. 3 There are references also to the church of St. Laurence
and other churches not named. 4 An instance occurs of an eleventh-century
land speculator Colswen, who obtained from King William a grant of some waste
land outside Lincoln, upon which he built thirty-six houses, and as a further
attraction to intending tenants he erected two churches for their spiritual welfare.' 1
At Stow St. Mary there was a minster of secular canons founded in 1040
which was later removed to Eynsham in Oxfordshire. At the king's great
manor of Grantham, with its extensive soke, there was the wealthy church of St.
Wulfran with endowments extending into Londonthorp, Houghton (Nougeton),
and Gunnerby, together with the tithes and ecclesiastical payments throughout
Wivebridge wapentake and ' Treos ' hundred. 7 FYom the nature and extent of its
endowments there can be little doubt that it was originally a minster of secular
priests. This and another church at Grantham were granted to the cathedral
of Old Sarum in 1091, and became the prebends of North and South Grantham.
In Nottinghamshire was the ancient minster of secular canons at Southwell,
1 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 336. '* Ibid., 337 b. :l Ibid., 336 . 4 Ibid.
' Ibid. Ibid., 344, 345; Dugdale, Man., iii, p. i. Saxon work exists at Stow.
7 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 337 b, 343 b, 377. The identification of Nougeton is kindly given by
Col. A. Wclby.
9 o SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
returned in the Domesday Book as a house of three clerks who held one and
a half carucates of land. 1 At Derby there were two minsters, the one served
by seven secular clerks endowed with two carucates of land at Little Chester, 2
and the other by six secular clerks endowed with nine oxgangs of land at
Quarndon and Little Eaton. 3 Besides these there were four manorial or parish
churches belonging to the larger landowners in the town, 4 and one Stori, it is
stated, could build a church on his land and assign his tithes as he wished with-
out the consent of any one. '
At Huntingdon there was a church held by Eustace the sheriff, which, from
its endowment of two hides and twenty-two burgesses with their houses with soc
and sac, 11 was or had been apparently a minster. In the town were two other
churches, one belonging to Geoffrey Bishop of Coutances, 7 and the other, that of
St. Mary, tells a story of traffic in churches. It had belonged to the abbey of
Thorney, which mortgaged it to the burgesses ; King William, however, gave it to
his priests Vitalis and Bernard, and they sold it to Hugh the king's chamberlain.
Hugh sold it to two priests of Huntingdon who had a confirmation under the
royal seal, but at the time of the Domesday Survey it is said that Eustace held
it without livery or seisin. 8
At Bedford there was the house of St. Paul, a minster of secular priests,
who held separate prebends.' 1 From the endowments of the churches at Luton,
which held five hides, 10 and Leighton Buzzard, which held four hides, 11 it seems
probable that they were minsters serving their extensive parishes. In Cam-
bridgeshire there was a minster (monasterium) at Shelford. 12
There is no trace in Domesday of minsters at the towns of Leicester,
Northampton, Oakham, or Cambridge. The religious ministration at all these
places seems to have been organized under parish churches. At Leicester there
had been a minster of secular priests, 13 but in Domesday we have mention only
of four churches, all on the holding of Hugh de Grentemaisnil. 14 At North-
ampton, 1 ' Oakham, 1 " and Cambridge 17 references occur respectively to only
one church or priest, but these returns may not be complete. They stand out
in strong contrast to Newark with its two berewicks served by ten churches
1 V. C. H. Notts., i, 255 6 (orig. text, 283). 2 V. C. H. Derby, i, 327 (orig. text, 280).
' Ibid. 4 Ibid.
' Ibid., 328 (orig. text, 280). From their endowments there may have been minsters at Repton,
Bakewell, and Ashbourne. Dotn. Bk., orig. text, 203. 7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., 208. '' V. C. H. Bedford, i, 221, 227, 230 (orig. text, 209, 210 />, 211).
10 Ibid., 222 (orig. text, 209). " Ibid. 1Z Dom. Bk., orig. text, 191.
13 Dugdale, Mon., vi, 1456. The minster is said to have been destroyed at the time of the
Conquest.
14 V. C. H. Leicester, i, 306 (orig. text, 230). Is V. C. H. Norlhants, i, 301 2 (orig. text, 219).
10 V. C. H. Rutland, i, 139 (orig. text, 293 ). " Dom. Bk., orig. text, 1890.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 91
with eight priests,' and Stamford served by three churches on the Lincolnshire
side of the river, and one, St. Peter's, on the Northamptonshire side. 2
Here as elsewhere the ecclesiastical administration was maintained by the
owners of the soil for the religious care of their own tenants. At many places,
such as Granby, where there were two holdings, each had its own church. 3
In Danish Mercia, as perhaps might be expected, there is occasionally evi-
dence of the development of religious ministration from chief manors to their
dependent berewicks or members. Thus at Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire
there were two priests who apparently alone served this great manor and its
eight members. 4 On the other hand the accounts of the important royal manors
of Rothley with its twenty-two members," 1 Great Bowden with its eleven mem-
bers/ 1 and the manor of Barrow on Soar with its thirteen members, 7 in the same
county contain no mention of church or priest in the Domesday Survey. In the
county of Rutland there were three priests and three churches to serve the manor
of Hambleton and its seven berewicks/ and two priests and three churches to
serve the manor of Ridlington 9 and its seven berewicks. In Nottinghamshire
there were two priests and a church to serve the manor of Orston and its two
berewicks. 10 The same principle does not apply to the great sokes which occur
in this district as they were judicial rather than proprietary areas. Evidence of
this is forthcoming with regard to the soke of Willoughby, in Lincolnshire, where
there are some three churches, and parts of two others. At the chief manor
which was the head of the hundred and soke there was possibly a small com-
munity of priests ;" there were also a church with a carucate of land on a bere-
wick of Willoughby, in Willoughby manor, 1 '- a priest and a church on land at
Willoughby, parcel of the soke of Folkingham, I:! half a church with a priest on
land in Willoughby, parcel of the soke of Osbcrnby, 14 and a quarter of the advow-
son of a church on land at Willoughby, parcel of the manor of Holm. 1 '
With the splitting up of estates, however, the system of the ministration from
the chief manor to its berewicks was becoming obscured. In some cases there are
references to churches at berewicks while none are entered at the chief manors.
The fact is that in the northern part of Danish Mercia, in the counties of Lincoln,
Northampton, Rutland, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Huntingdon, the
evidence of the adoption of manorial churches built by the lords on the demesnes
near their places of residence had become general, and so obscures the evidence of
the ministration from what were apparently mother churches at the chief manors.
1 V. C. H. Notts., i, 257 (orig. text, 283 b). 2 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 336 b.
3 V. C. H. Notts., i, 274, 284 (orig. text, 289, 292).
4 V. C. //. Leicestershire, i, 329 (orig. text, 235 b). :> Ibid., 307 (orig. text, 230).
G Ibid., 308 (orig. text, 230/1). " Ibid., 335 (orig. text, 237.)
8 V. C. H. Rutland, i, 139 (orig. text, 293 b). '' Ibid., 140 (orig. text, 2936).
10 V. C. H. Notts., i, 252 (orig. text, 281 b). " Dom. Bk., orig. text, 363.
12 Ibid., 355. 13 Ibid., 355 b. 14 Ibid., 367 b. " Ibid., 355*.
92 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
The southern counties of Danish Mercia, namely, Cambridge, Bedford, and
Buckingham, belong to a group of counties which includes also Middlesex,
Oxfordshire, and the western part of Hertfordshire, where evidence of churches
has for some reason been omitted from the Domesday Survey. Possibly this
district was so largely in the hands of religious bodies that no endowments
existed to be noted in the Survey, or, owing to forest and marshland, it was very
sparsely inhabited.
In Lincolnshire there is evidence of about 255 manorial churches, Notting-
hamshire about 90, Rutland about 16, Northamptonshire about 55, Derbyshire
about 47, Leicestershire about 42, Huntingdonshire about 53, Cambridgeshire
about 13, and in Bedfordshire only about 3 entries refer to parish or manorial
churches or priests. The churches are entered here as elsewhere among the
villein tenants, mills, fisheries, etc., and their endowments are seldom given.
The East Anglian system of churches which are held by groups of sokemen
occurs but rarely among the counties comprising Danish Mercia. Thus in Notting-
hamshire, at a holding in East Markham which in the time of King Edward was
held by twenty-five sokemen, there was a church and a priest, 1 and at Carlton in
Lindwick 2 and at Rampton, 3 which were held at the same time by six and seven
thegns respectively, there were churches. In Lincolnshire the holding to which the
church of North Carlton belonged was held by three sokemen and three bordars. 4
In Derbyshire there were groups of two, three, or more tenants holding, appa-
rently jointly, properties to which a church was attached. Thus at Sudbury,
Godric, Ulvric, and Elmer held in the time of King Edward two carucates, under
the demesnes of which holding a priest and a church are returned.' 1 Similar
entries occur under Barton Blunt/ Sutton-on-the-Hill, 7 Shirley, 8 and Sandiacre, 9
while on a holding extending into Codnor, Heanor, Langley, and Enticote, held
by eight thegns, there was a church among the incidents of the demesnes. 10 This
system, however, does not extend into the other counties of Danish Mercia.
In Lincolnshire there is evidence of fractions of churches belonging to dif-
ferent holders of estates,a practice which more generally prevailed in East Anglia.
For instance, the monks of Durham had one half of the advowson of Blyborough
church 11 and Robert the other. 12 In the same way the churches of Pickworth, 13
Rauceby, 14 Ringstone, ir 'Thorpe, 16 Bourne, 17 and others were divided into fractions :
in most cases the various parts on being added together form a whole. The
system can be traced into Nottinghamshire and to a very slight extent to Derby-
1 V. C. H. Notts., \, 249 (orig. text, 281). * Ibid., 262 (orig. text, 285).
3 Ibid., 268 (orig. text, 287). 4 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 370 .
5 V. C. H. Derby, i, 339 (orig. text, 274 b). Ibid. " Ibid., 340 (orig. text, 274 b).
* Ibid. 9 Ibid., 354 (orig. text, 279). 10 Ibid., 346 (orig. text, 276).
11 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 340 . n Ibid., 369 b. " Ibid., 341, 357.
14 Ibid., 341, 368 b. Ibid., 344 b, 353. l(i Ibid., 341 b, 359 b. Ibid., 364 b.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 93
shire, but there is no evidence of it in the more southern counties of Leicester,
Northampton, Rutland, Bedford, and Cambridge.
It appears that in English Mercia 1 the church was still largely organized under
minsters at the larger towns or administrative centres in its north-western parts,
although there is no trace anywhere in this district of a hundredal organization.
Earl Roger de Montgomery seems to have taken a personal interest in the develop-
ment of religious ministrations in Cheshire and Shropshire. In the borough of
Chester we have mention of three minsters of secular canons, namely, St. Werburg, 2
St. John; 1 and St. Mary, 4 but there are no references to parish churches. There
may have been a small minster at Farndon, 5 where there were two priests with a
hide and a half of land besides the priest of the vill ; but elsewhere in the county
there were churches and priests on the demesne at some twenty-three places.
At Shrewsbury Earl Roger was founding his new Benedictine abbey of St.
Peter which had been a minster of secular canons, 6 and there were also five other
minsters of secular canons, namely, those of St. Mary, St. Chad, St. Alkmund, with
twelve houses in the borough for the canons and two hides at Hencote which two
canons held, St. Milburg which Earl Roger had converted into an abbey, and St.
Juliana and St. Michael in the castle founded by the same earl. 7 These minsters of
secular priests apparently served the borough, for there is no reference to a parish
church. Outside the chief town Shropshire was well provided with small minsters
of secular canons. At St. Mary Broomfield there was a minster of twelve canons ; *
at North Lydbury there was also a minster, William the clerk holding there a
member of the manor and the church of the manor with the priests ; 9 at Stoke
ISt. Milborough there was a minster with twenty hides which Earl Roger gave
to his chaplains ; 10 at the great manor of Morville with eighteen berewicks there
was a church of the manor dedicated to the honour of St. Gregory, which was a
minster with eight canons who were endowed with eight hides, five of which Earl
Roger had given to his new abbey of St. Peter of Shrewsbury and the other
three to his chaplains ; u at Wroxeter there were four priests possibly forming
a community, 12 and at Stottesden there was a church which from the endowment
of two and a half hides 13 may have supported a community of clerks.
In Staffordshire there was the episcopal house of canons at Lichfield ; and
at Wolverhampton, 14 Tettenhall, 15 and Penkridge 10 there were also apparently
1 We may take English Mercia to include the counties of Chester, Salop, Stafford, Hereford,
Worcester, Gloucester, Warwick, Oxford, Buckingham, Middlesex, and the western part of Hertford.
2 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 263. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.
V. C. H. Shrops., 4,311 (orig. text, 252 b). 7 Ibid., 311, 312 (orig. text, 252 b).
8 Ibid., 313 (and note 17), (orig. text, 252 b). 9 Ibid., 311 (orig. text, 252).
10 Ibid., 312 (orig. text, 252). " Ibid., 315 (orig. text, 253). 12 Ibid., 321 (orig. text, 254/0.
13 Ibid., 318 (orig. text, 254). 14 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 247, 249; V. C.H. Worc.,\, 308 (orig. text, 176).
18 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 247. " Ibid.
VOL. LXVI. N
94 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
minsters of secular priests. At Hanbury, Laplcy, Trentham, and Tutbury a
there were or had been minsters.
We probably find the survival of a more ancient system of church organiza-
tion in the return of the lands of the canons of Hereford. These lands were
spread over the county, and on many of them were established well-endowed
priests, clerks, and chaplains, in some instances described as the clerks or chap-
lains of the bishop. These ecclesiastics were possibly a survival of the time
when the bishop and his priests served the whole diocese. It is not very clear
whether these clerks of the bishop were the canons themselves living on separate
prebends and serving the adjoining districts, or whether they were vicars put
in the place of the canons. Thus we find that Withington, Canon Pyon, Moreton,
and Moore near Hereford, each had three clerks who held from two and a half
to four and a half hides ; that Lulham in Eaton Bishop, Preston Wye, Woolhope,
and land at the gate of Hereford each had two clerks or chaplains holding
from a hide to two and a half hides ; and that Ledbury, Donnington, Huntingdon,
Bromyard, and Little Hereford each had a priest, clerk, or chaplain holding
from half a hide to two hides of land. 1 The royal manor of Leominster, to which
were attached sixteen members covering an extensive area, was an administrative
centrewhere apparently there was a minsterof ancient foundation with six priests. 2
The large endowments of other churches and priests, such as Monmouth with
two carucates and all the tithes :! and Ledbury with two and a half hides, 4 are
suggestive also of an intention to support more than a single incumbent.
Three out of the five hundreds in Worcestershire in the eleventh century
were held by the Benedictine houses of St. Mary Worcester, Evesham, Pershore,
Great Malvcrn, and Westminster. There is evidence that minsters of secular
priests had existed in the eighth and ninth centuries at Bredon/ 1 Blockley, 6 Flad-
bury, 7 Hanbury, 8 Kempsey, 9 Kidderminster, 10 and probably, from its name, at
Alderminster." All were given to the church of Worcester except Alderminster,
which was granted to Pershore. In all cases the endowments were absorbed by
the religious houses, and by 1086 Blockley, Fladbury, Hanbury, and Kempsey 12
had each only a priest with a small endowment, while at Bredon, Kidderminster,
and Alderminster 13 there is no mention in D.omesday of a church or priest.
In Gloucestershire we can trace minsters of secular priests at many of the
larger towns. At the borough of Gloucester we know that St. Oswald's was a
1 V. C. H. Hereford, i, 320-4 (orig. text, 181 -182 b).
2 Ibid., 314 (orig. text, 180). 3 Ibid., 318 (orig. text, i8o).
4 Ibid., 322 (orig. text, 182). 6 V. C. H. Wore., iii, 55, 252.
6 Ibid., 267. - Ibid., 353. 8 Ibid., 330, 374. Ibid., 431. 10 Ibid., 158.
1 Ibid., iv, 7. 2 Ibid., \, 293, 289, 298, 288 (orig. text, 173, 172^, 174, 172 b}.
13 Ibid., 291, 286, 305 (orig. text, 173, 172, 175).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 95
minster of secular canons which passed to the Archbishop of York. 1 Two priests,
Arnulf and Abraham, also held lands in the town, 2 but whether they undertook
any cure is uncertain. The abbeys of St. Peter's in Gloucester, Tewkesbury,
and Winchcombe had lately been changed from houses of seculars into houses
of regulars. At Cirencester, 3 Stanway, 4 and probably Bristol," there were
minsters of priests, and at Boxwell, Brimpsfield, Deerhurst, Horsley, Kinley in
Nimpsfield, Newent, Tetbury, and Westbury on Trym 6 there were also or had
been similar minsters.
In Warwickshire the monastery of Coventry was probably the only Bene-
dictine house in the county at the time of the Conquest. On its lands no churches
or priests are returned. The alien priory of Monks Kirby, which was founded
in 1077 by Geoffrey de Wirche, had amongst its endowments the church of
Kirkbury, which the founder rebuilt, and gave with two priests, Francis and
Osgot, mentioned in the Domesday Book, 7 and their possessions to the priory.
At Oxford there was a minster of secular canons at St. Frideswide's, 8 a com-
munity of priests at St. Michael's, 9 and possibly at St. Peter's. 1 " AtEynsham there
was a house of Benedictine monks whose abbot, Columbanus, held a consider-
able endowment under the Bishop of Lincoln." At Dorchester there must at one
time have been an episcopal minster which probably survived in 1086, but there
is no trace of it in the Domesday Survey, although the Bishop of Lincoln held
there 100 hides. 1 " Churchscot was paid at Bensington and Headington, so that
we may perhaps presume there were mother churches there. 13
At Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, which had probably always been the chief
town of the county, the church, it would seem, had been a minster of secular
priests. Its endowment consisted of the manor of Stoke Mandeville, and a con-
tribution of grain from the sokemen in the eight hundreds surrounding Ayles-
bury. 14 The church and the endowments passed to the bishops of Dorchester, and
later to their successors at Lincoln, and eventually became a prebendal church.
At Buckingham there was probably another minster which was endowed with
the manor of Gawcott, 1 " 1 and in like manner had passed to the bishops of Dor-
chester or Lincoln. The church of St. Firmin of North Crawley is described
as a minster (tnonasterium) in the Domesday Survey, and held halt a virgate in
Hardmead. 10 At the archbishop's manor of Haddenham (Nedreham), Gilbert
1 V. C. H. Glouc., ii, 84 ; Dom. Bk., orig. text, 165. 2 Dom. Bk., orig. text, 162.
a Ibid,, 166 b; V. C. H. Glouc., ii, 79. * Dom. Bk., orig. text, 163*. 5 Ibid., 163.
See Dugdale, Monasticon, and V. C. H. Clone., ii, ' Religious Houses '. The Saxon minster at
Deerhurst still stands.
7 V. C. H. Warw., i,335 (orig. text, 243 b). * Dom. Bk., orig. text, 154, 157. " Ibid., 154.
1(1 Ibid., 158. Ibid., 155; V. C. H. Oxon., ii, 65. " Dom. Bk., orig. text, 155.
3 Ibid., 154. " V. C. H. Bucks., \, 233 (orig. text, 143 b).
5 Ibid., 230, 234 (orig. text, 143, 144). 19 Ibid., 257 (orig. text, 149).
N 2
96 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
the priest held three hides and the church with its tithes, 1 an endowment sug-
gestive of having at one time supported a small community.
At Staines in Middlesex there had probably been a minster which with its
endowment had been given to Westminster Abbey * and hence perhaps omitted
from the Domesday Survey for Middlesex, but from Buckinghamshire we find
that the minster (monasterium) of Staines received 5 ores from three thegns at
East Burnham/ 1 In Hertfordshire the wealthy abbey of St. Albans dominated all
the western side of the county, but there is evidence of minsters at Hitchin, 4
Braughing/' and Welwyn.
Although we have a considerable amount of evidence of the organization of
the church by small minsters or churches with colleges of priests in the western
counties of English Mercia, yet the introduction of manorial churches built on
the lords' demesnes was by no means undeveloped. In Cheshire there were some
twenty-four manorial churches or priests, and in Shropshire about forty-seven,
mostly entered as parcel of the demesnes. In Staffordshire there was a good
number. In Herefordshire about thirty priests are entered. Three of the churches
in Archenfield in the south of the county had to provide priests to act as the
king's envoys into Wales and to sing masses for his soul. 7 At Ewyas Harold
there were three churches and one priest, 8 and at Bromyard two priests and a
chaplain. Many of the better endowed churches had been given to foreign
monasteries.
Notwithstanding the fact that so much of the land in Worcestershire
was held by ecclesiastics, many priests are entered in the Domesday Survey.
On the lands of the church of Worcester there was an unusual number of benc-
ficed clergy. The entries occur at Inkberrow, 1 " Rous Lench, 11 Bishampton, 12
Cutsdean," Ripple, 14 Blockley, 15 Tredington, 10 where there are still remains of a
Saxon church, Churchill, 17 Sedgeberrow, 18 Lapworth, 1J Cropthorn, 2 " Clive, 21 Han-
bury,Stoke Prior (with two berewicks),Hartlebury(with six berewicks),Wolverley,
Alvechurch (with four berewicks), and Eardiston in Lindridge. 22 Of these places
eleven were held by the church in demesne and the remaining six were subin-
feudated. The Abbot of Westminster had a church on his lands at Pershon .
1 V. C. H. Bucks., i, 232 (orig. text, 1436). - Doin. Bk., orig. text, 128.
1 V. C. H. Bucks., \, 242 (orig. text, 145 b). 4 V. C. H. Herts., \, 302 (orig. text, 132 b).
'' Ibid., iv, 289, 290. 6 Ibid. ~ V. C. H. Hereford, \, 310 (orig. text, 179).
' Ibid., 334 (orig. text, 185). 9 Ibid., 324 (orig. text, 182 b}.
I'. C. H. Wore, i, 289 (orig. text, 173). n Ibid., 290 (orig. text, 173).
Ibid. I:I Ibid., 291 (orig. text, 173). " Ibid., 292 (orig. text, 173).
' Jl>id., 293 (orig. text, 173). lc Ibid. 17 Ibid., 295 (orig. text, 173 b).
s Ibid. 19 Ibid., 296 (orig. text, 174); iii, 511. " Ibid., i, 296 (orig. text, 174).
1 Ibid., 297 (orig. text, 174). " Ibid., 298 (orig. text, 174).
*' Ibid., 299 300 (orig. text, 174^).
10
i
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 97
and some eight priests on his great possessions elsewhere in the county. 1 On
the lands of Pershore Abbey only two priests are returned, 2 and the same
number occurs on the lands of Evesham Abbey. a Some sixteen priests are
mentioned on the lands of laymen elsewhere in the county. In Warwickshire
there was a fairly large number of manorial priests, some fifty-eight in all, but
with one or two exceptions no endowments are given.
There is not apparently a church referred to in Domesday under Oxfordshire
or Buckinghamshire which can be put down as manorial. Both in Middlesex and
the western side of Hertfordshire the land was mainly in the hands of religious
houses ; consequently perhaps the references to manorial churches and priests
are not frequent, but those that are mentioned were usually well endowed,
holding in many instances from half a hide to a hide of land. The east of Hert-
fordshire partakes of the characteristics of Essex, and at three manors, Boreson
in Little Hormead, 4 Wyddial, 5 and Barley, we find manorial priests on the lands
of groups of sokemen similar to what has been described in East Anglia.
In Yorkshire there were the three great minsters: York, which took a thrave
from each plough in Yorkshire ; Beverley, in like manner taking four thraves
from each plough in the East Riding ; and Ripon, situated in the West Riding.
Christchurch, later Holy Trinity of York, had recently been .destroyed. Selby
Abbey, Whitby or Lastingham, and St. Olave's or St. Mary's of York, had prob-
ably been founded a few years before the Survey, but we learn little of them from
it. 7 At Howden and Hemingbrough it is generally thought there were early
communities of canons, but Domesday only records a church and a priest at
each." Elsewhere in the county the vills were served by manorial churches.
In the city of York there were eight parish churches, each belonging to a
separate estate or group of holdings. On the Bishop of Durham's holding was
the church of All Saints ; on that of the Count of Mortain, St. Cross ; on that
of William de Percy the churches of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert ; on that of Hugh
son of Baldric the church of St. Andrew; on that of Erneis the church of
St. Martin ; on that of Odo the crossbowman a church (unnamed) ; and on that of
Richard son of Erfast the church of Holy Trinity. 9 Other large towns with bere-
wicks attached had perhaps two churches, as Wakefield, 1 " Sherburn," Feather-
stone," and Whixley.' a In the rural parishes there is only evidence of about one
hundred and eighty manorial churches which were reckoned as before among
1 These were at Besford, Longdon (two priests), Droitwich (two priests), Comberton, Nafford in
Birlingham, and Severnstoke (ibid., 300 4, orig. text, 174^ to 175).
* These were at Broadway and Mathon (ibid., 305, orig. text, 175, 175 b).
1 These were at Church Honeybournc and Church Lench (ibid., 307, 308, orig. text, I75/').
4 V. C. H. Herts., i, 322 (orig. text, 137 b). & Ibid., 340 (orig. text, 141 b).
6 Ibid., 339 (orig. text, 141 b). " See Eng. Hist. Rev., xxix, 351.
* V. C. //. Yorks., ii, 196, 217 (orig. text, 299, 304^).
1J Ibid., 191, 192 (orig. text, 298). 10 Ibid., 198 (orig. text, 299 b). There were three priests.
11 Ibid., 210 (orig. text, 302 b). '- Ibid., 247 (orig. text, 316). la Ibid., 281 (orig. text, 329 ).
98 SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
the incidents of the demesne, the mills, fisheries, and meadowland. There is an
interesting group of churches in the southern part of Rydale Wapentake, which
from architectural evidence all date probably from the middle of the eleventh
century. 1 Three churches, namely at Hackness, Suffield, and Everley, were served
apparently by one priest/ At Old Byland was a wooden church.'
There are only some twelve churches and priests returned under Lanca-
shire, but they were better endowed apparently than those of Yorkshire. At
Manchester there were two churches (St. Mary and St. Michael), each endowed
with a carucate. 4 The church of Walton-on-the-Hill was endowed with a caru-
cate in Bootle, 6 and the church of Winwick with two carucates in Newton in
Makerfield.' 1 At Preston there were three churches. 7
A point which impresses any one studying this subject is the essentially
proprietary character of the church organization revealed by the Domesday
Book. If we reconstruct the Domesday entries under the holders of 1066 we
shall find in a number of cases that where a thegn or other lay tenant had many
holdings in a county there is frequently the record of a church or a priest at one of
them only, and that at the place where the tenant lived. We generally find also
that the church or priest was associated in the Domesday entry with the incidents
of the demesne, and in some cases it is expressly stated that the church or priest
was on the demesne. This will give the reason why in so many instances the
churches adjoin the manor houses at the present day, and are sometimes a con-
siderable distance from the present village. I have already discussed this point
as regards the entries for Hertfordshire, but perhaps I maybe allowed to repeat
what I have written with regard to it. 8 Thus ^thelmar of Bennington, a
thegn of King Edward, had lands at Bennington, Sacombe, Layston, Ashwell,
Hinxworth, Radwell, and Bengeo, but there was only a priest on his lands
at Bennington, 1 where we know he lived, and a clerk is mentioned on his
land at Sacombe ; Whvin of Eastwick, a thegn of Earl Harold, had lands
at Hailey and Eastwick, but it was on his land at Eastwick where he lived
that we find a priest ; 10 Anschil of Ware had lands at Ware and Knebworth,
but it was on his lands at Ware where he resided that there was a priest;"
Osulf, son of Frane, had lands at Miswell in Tring, and Barwith in Studham,
but it was on his land at Studham where he lived," and where we know
that he and his wife built a church in 1064," that a priest is mentioned; Alwin
1 The churches are Appleton le Street, Barton le Street, Gilling, Hovingham, Kirkdale, and Lasting-
ham ( V. C. H. Yorks. N. R. t \, 469, 475, 483, 509, 521, 526).
2 Ibid., ii, 264 (orig. text, 323). a Ibid., 257 (orig. text, 320 ).
4 V. C. H. Lane., i, 287 (orig. text, 270). 6 Ibid., 284 (orig. text, 269 b).
Ibid., 286 (orig. text, 2696). ' Ibid., 288 (orig. text, 301 b).
5 V. C. H. Herts., iv, 291. 9 Ibid., \, 336-8 (orig. text, 141).
10 Ibid., 334-5 (orig. text, 140, 1406). n Ibid., 326-9 (orig. text, 138 , 139).
12 Ibid., 324, 325 (orig. text, 138). 13 Thorpe, Dipt. Angl., 374.
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 99
Home, a thegn of King Edward, had lands at Watton, Walkern, and Sacombe>
but there was only a priest on his lands at Walkern where he probably lived. 1
In the same way other tenants provided land for a priest at one of their hold-
ings, presumably where they lived, as, for instance, Aldred, a thegn of King
Edward, had lands at Widford, Layston, and Aspenden, but there was a priest
only on his lands at Aspenden ;- ^Elfric Blac, a man of Archbishop Stigand, had
lands at Watton, Shephall,Libury in Little Munden, Sacombe, Langport, Datch-
worth, and Throcking, but it was only on his lands at Watton that there was a
priest ; ?> Alward, a man of the same archbishop, had lands at Widford, Meesden,
and Libury, but it was only on his lands at Meesden that there was a priest ; 4
Wulfward, a man of Asgar the staller, held lands at Hormead and Wormley
with a priest on his lands at Hormead. 5 Some who held only one manor had
provided a priest, such as Anand, the housecarl of King Edward at Bengeo," or
Sailt, a man of Earl Lewin at Buckland. 7
Evidence of a similar nature is to be found throughout the greater part of
England. In Hampshire Saxi had a church at Thruxton/ which was given be-
fore 1086 toCormeilles Abbey, but none on his lands at Clatford and Empshott; "'
and Azor had a church at Upton Grey (Aoltone), 11 but none on his lands at
Littleton in Kempton, 12 and Clanville in Penton Grafton. 1:! The wealthy Saxon
thegn Cheping, whose tombstone still exists in the church of Stratfield Mortimer,
had a church on his land at Headbourne Worthy," where we know he lived, and
other churches also at Otterburn,'"' Shirley in Millbrook, 11 '' and Botlcy, 17 where he
may have had residences, but on his immense estates extending into fourteen
other vills in this county there is no record of a church. Bundi had churches
at Stratfieldsaye 18 and Warnborough, 19 but none arc recorded on his estates in
four other vills.
In Surrey Oswald, apparently the brother of Wulfwold, abbot of Chertsey,
and a large landowner in the time of Edward the Confessor who made his sub-
mission to William, held lands at that time at Wisley,-" Effingham, 21 Walkhamp-
stead orGodstone,'-- LowerTooting," MicklehanV 4 Addington,- 5 ' Pechingeorde',-
and Fetcham. 27 He lost his lands at Walkhampstead, LowerTooting, and Adding-
1 V. C. H. Herts, i, 342 (orig. text, 142). There is Saxon work here.
2 Ibid., 306, 329 (orig. text, 133 , 139). :1 Ibid., 305, 320, 321 (orig. text, 133, 133 b, 137).
4 Ibid., 306, 307, 309 (orig. text, 133/1, X 34> I 34^)- ' Mid-, 322, 342 (orig. text, 1376, 142.)
a Ibid., 334 (orig. text, 140 b). 7 Ibid., 310 (orig. text, 134 b).
' V. C. H. Hants, \, 501 (orig. text, 49). 9 Ibid., 453 (orig. text, 38^).
Ibid., 501 (orig. text, 49). ll Ibid., 482 (orig. text, 45 b). u Ibid., 484 (orig. text, 46).
3 Ibid. " 14 Ibid., 489 (orig. text, 46*). A Saxon church. 15 Ibid.
Ibid. ' 7 Ibid., 490 (orig. text, 47). 18 Ibid., 496 (orig. text, 48).
9 Ibid. - n V. C. H. Sun:, i, 328 (orig. text, 36^). - 1 Ibid., 309 (orig. text, 32*).
a Ibid., 312 (orig. text, 34). J3 Ibid., 310 (orig. text, 33). " 4 Ibid., 317 (orig. text, 35).
M Ibid., 327 (orig. text, 36 />) w Ibid. " *~ Ibid.
TOO SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCHES
ton at the Conquest, but retained the rest, and acquired further lands at Wotton '
belonging to Harold. The only land upon which there was a church was atWisley.
Cola had a church on his land at Betchworth, 2 but none on his other lands at
Thorncroft ' and Coombe. 4 Tovi had a church on his land at West Moulsey, ' but
none on his other lands at Rodsell ' in Puttenham, Esher, 7 and Farley. 8 Godtovi
had a church on his land at Titsey," but none on his lands at Tadworth. 10
In Kent the wealthy Adelwold of Eltham evidently had his chief residence
at Leeds, 11 where there was a church, but there was no church on his other lands
at Deal, 1 - Harbledown in Harrietsham, 1:i Broomfield, 14 Teston, 15 Bensted, 10 'Es-
walt', 17 Dean Court in Wcstwell, 1 " and Sandwich, 10 although there was a church
on the land he held jointly with Hugh, nephew of Herbert, at Frinstead. 20 Ulvric
had a church on his lands at Allenton,- 1 but none apparently on his lands at
Oftham -'-' or Popeshall in Coldredr 1 Osward de Norton, on the other hand, had
three churches at Norton, near Faversham,- 4 where he apparently lived, two
churches at Scllinge,""' one at Allington in Hollingbourne, 2c one at Harrietsham,"
and one at Tonge," but on six other holdings 2I there were no churches.
In Gloucestershire Wulfward Wit, a landowner in many counties, and a friend
apparently of Queen Edith, had a priest on his Jands at Salperton, but none on
his holdings in Chedworth/" Pebworth, :;j Shepton Solars, 33 Bagendon, 3 *Hatherop, : ' 3
and Winston: 10 Brictric, son of Algar, had a priest on his demesne at Fairford, 37
but no priest on his lands at Tewkesbury,"^ Thornbury, :i Old Sodbury, 40 Aven-
ing, 41 and Woollaston. 4 - On the lands of Godric there was a priest at Swindon 43
(Svintonc), but none on his lands at Amney St. Mary 44 (Omenie), Wotton near
Gloucester 43 (Uletone),Littleton, 4 "Windrush, 47 Wapley, 48 Stanley, 49 Haresfield, 60 and
Postlip. 51 On the lands of Alestan of Boscomb there was a church at Frampton
Cotterel," but none at ' Wigheiate '," Duntisbourne Rous, S4 and Badgeworth. 58
There were also others in this county, such as Lewin, ^Iworld, and Turchil, who
had lands at several places, but priests only at one of them.
In Derbyshire the celebrated Siward Barn, who joined Hereward in 1071,
held considerable estates extending into some fourteen places, 50 but it was only
1 I'. C. II. Sun:, i, 328 (orig. text, 36^). 2 Ibid., 321 (orig. text, 35^).
:i Ibid., 319 (orig. text, 35^). 4 Ibid., 328 (orig. tejct, 36^). " Ibid., 327 (orig. text, 36^).
' Ibid., 301 (orig. text, 31). ~ Ibid., 311 (orig. text, 34). K Ibid., 315 (orig. text, 34^).
Ibid., 325 6 (orig. text, 36^). 10 Ibid., 321 (orig. text, 35^). n Dom. Bk., orig. text, 29.
12 Ibid., i b.
11 //>/>/., 8.
14 yfov/. I5 y^v/., 8 ^.
10 y*/i/.
17 Ibid., 9 b.
18 Ibid., 10 b.
10 Ibid., ii. 20 Ibid.,-]b.
21 Ibid., -].
aa yfov/., 7 A.
2:1 Ibid., 9 b. '" Ibid., 10.
25 Ibid., 13 A.
26 Ibid., 29.
y*f</.
" y&iV/.,9. 2D Ibid., 8 b, g, 10.
:<l Ibid., 169.
31 y^/<y., 164.
:it yfov/., 167. :i3 /Afrf., 169.
: ' 4 Ibid.
35 yfotf., i68/>.
- Ibid., 169 *.
37 yfoV/., 163 A 38 Ibid.
39 y*iv/.
40 Ibid.
41 Ibid.
42 y*iV/. f 166*. 43 Ibid., 168.
44 y^'</., 166*.
y^tf., 167 *.
40 y&v/.
47 /AiV/., 168. y^'rf.
40 yA/.
411 y/W., i68/>.
61 Ibid., ib)b.
K f bid., 169. M Ibid.,i66/>.
54 /*/., 166*.
M Ibid,
50 V.C.H.Derb.,\
33 6 . 337. 33 8 . 34 2 , 343. 34 6 ( r 'g- text -
274-6).
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY 101
at Norbury 1 and Breadsall 2 that he had priests and churches. Gamel had
lands extending into eight vills, but only a church at Mugginton. 3 Levenot had
estates extending into eighteen vills, but only a priest on that at Eckington. 4
In Leicestershire Leofric son of Lewin had two priests at his great vill of
Melton Mowbray 5 with its nine members, where there is little doubt he had
his residence, but no priest on his lands at Stathern ; G and if, as seems probable,
he can be identified with Leofric, he had also a priest at Swepstone, 7 but no priest
on his lands at Bottesford, 8 Storworth, 9 Husband Bosworth, 10 and 'Plotelei'. 11
Alwin had a priest with a deacon on his great manor of Market Bosworth, 12 but
no priest on his lands at Sharnford, 13 Thurlaston, 14 Barton-in-the-Beans, 13 Frowles-
worth,'" East Norton, 17 and Barsby." Saxi had a priest on his lands at Huncote, 19
but none on his lands at Ayleston, 20 Frowlesworth, 21 Cosby, 22 Market Bosworth, 23
Shawell, 24 andBagworth. 25 Harding and his men heldKnaptoft, 20 where there was
a priest,in the time of King Edward the Confessor,and lands atSapcote, Hinckley,
Sibson, Shenton, Shearsby, Croft, Broughton Astley, Fenny Drayton, Bitteswell,
Swinford, Walton near Kimcote, Theddingworth, Thorpe Parva, Wanlip, Shoby,
and Walton on the Wolds, but at none of these except Bitteswell was there a
church. This holding passed to Aubrey Earl of Northumbria at the Conquest,
and was in the hands of the Crown in 1086, and during this period the conditions
remained the same. Ulf held Ratby, 21 where there was a priest, and lands in
Groby, 28 East Norton, 29 Markfield, :i and Blaby, 31 on which there was no priest.
On the other hand there are instances like that of Brixi Cild, a Kentish
nobleman who had four holdings in Surrey at three of which there were churches,
while in the same county Erding had churches at each of his three holdings.
Bolla had nine holdings in Hampshire at not one of which was there a church.
There is, however, probably enough evidence to show that in 1066 and for some
little time before it had been a common practice for thegns and others to build
churches on their demesnes near their houses.
In conclusion, it may be well to inquire what became of the smaller minsters
and parish churches of the Conquest period. Many of the former, particularly
1 Ibid., 341-2 (orig. text, 275). 2 Ibid., 343 (orig. text, 275 b).
3 Ibid., 345 (orig. text, 275^). Ibid., 348 (orig. text, 277).
5 V. C. H. Leic., \, 329 (orig. text, 235 b). Ibid., 330 (orig. text, 235 b).
~ Ibid., 320 (orig. text, 233 b). 8 Ibid., 322 (orig. text, 234). 9 Ibid., 327 (orig. text, 235).
Ibid., 328 (orig. text, 235). " Ibid., 337 (orig. text, 237).
2 Ibid., 319 (orig. text, 233). Ibid., 314 (orig. text, 232).
4 Ibid., 315-16 (orig. text, 232). " Ibid., 319 (orig. text, 233).
Ibid., 323 (orig. text, 234). " Ibid., 329 (orig. text, 235 b).
8 Ibid., 331 (orig. text, 236). Ibid., 312 (orig. text, 231 b).
Ibid. 21 Ibid. 2 * Ibid. Ibid.
4 Ibid., 337 (orig. text, 237). 2 Ibid., 338 (orig. text, 237).
8 Ibid., 312-13 (orig. text, 231 b). Ibid., 314 (orig. text, 232).
8 Ibid. M Ibid., 329 (orig. text, 235 b). 30 Ibid., 333 (orig. text, 236).
31 Ibid., 337 (orig. text, 237).
VOL. LXVI. o
102 THE CHURCHES OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY
those in Wessex, had already, in the time of Edward the Confessor and before,
been granted to monasteries and episcopal establishments both at home and
abroad. The Normans had more faith in the regular than in the secular orders
of religion. As therefore it was a recognized rule, though one not always acted
upon, that what had been given to God and the Church should not be con-
verted to secular uses, Norman lords regarded it convenient to endow the
numerous monasteries which they founded with English minsters and parish
churches and their extensive glebes.
There can be little doubt that these small minsters or colleges of priests
originally served wide areas, but as subordinate churches were built and the area
of ministration of the older church became restricted, the necessity for a com-
munity of priests ceased. The monasteries to which so many of these churches
were granted took advantage of this fact and appropriated the endowments, while
they served the churches in the least expensive manner they could devise. This
system, as is well known, led to the ordination of vicarages. When granted to
foreign monasteries the small minsters sometimes became alien priories, such,
among many others, as Boxgrove, Steyning, and Lyminster in Sussex. The
development of some of these churches is illustrated by the visitation of the
Dean of Salisbury of his churches in 1220. Thus we find Heytesbury in Wiltshire,
probably a borough minster in the time of Domesday, had been constituted,
like many others, a college of four secular canons in 1165, and within its ancient
parish had then been built the dependent chapels of Tetherington, Knook with
a wooden church, Hill Deverell and Honingsham with stone churches. The
mother church of Sonning, probably a minster in 1066, had nine churches or
chapels built in its ancient parish, two of which, Erlegh St. Bartholomew and
Arborfield, were of wood. The mother churches of Mere in Wiltshire and
Godalming in Surrey had respectively three and five dependent chapels.
The parish churches of East Anglia, which in the time of Edward the Con-
fessor had been in the hands of groups of freemen, passed with the lands of such
groups to single Norman owners, and thus in many instances went to endow
the monasteries.
The church organization in England immediately before and after the Con-
quest reflected the struggle between the seculars and regulars. Before the
Conquest the country wavered between the two opinions, but afterwards the
regulars held the power, and the secular priests, whether incumbents of parish
churches or members of communities, were forced to relinquish much of their
endowments to increase the wealth of the monks. 1
1 I am indebted to Mr. J. H. Round, M.A., LL.D., for reading the proofs of this paper, and kindly
making some suggestions and corrections ; and to Mr. C. R. Peers, M.A., for notes as to Saxon work
still surviving in some of the churches referred to.
tCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI, PI..ATK
Blc.ck kindly lent by the Editor* of the Burlington Ma|!axine
THE MASS OF ST. GILES
III. The Abbey of Saint-Denis and its Ancient J^reasnres.
By Sir W. MARTIN CONWAY, F.S.A.
Read 4th February, 1915.
THE authorities relied upon for the following account of the Abbey Church
and treasures of St.-Denis are in the first instance the three well-known published
volumes :
Jacques Doublet : Histoire de . . . S. Denys. Paris, 1625. 4to.
S. G. Millet: Le Tresor Sacre . . . de Sainct-Denis (4 me ed.). Paris,
1645. i2mo.
Michel Felibien: Histoire de . . . Saint-Denys. Paris, 1706. fol.
I shall cite these frequently by the initial letters, D, M, and F.
Besides these books are also such of the inventories of the treasures, made
at different dates, as have been preserved. The oldest existing inventory is
dated 22 Janvier 1504 (1505, n. s.). This has been published in extenso from the
manuscript in the Bibliotheque nationale(f. fr. 18766) by Monsieur H. Omont in
Memoires de la Societe de I' Histoire de Paris, etc., tome xxviii (Paris, 1902, 8vo),
pp. 166-99. I shall cite this as 'Inv. 1505'. Monsieur Omont evidently con-
siders it to be an original and complete document ; but a careful comparison of
it with the inventory next to be mentioned proves it to be merely an abstract,
the omissions in which are important and sometimes misleading. For example,
the item no. 199 begins ' joygnant ledict autel ' ; now the last altar mentioned
is ' le grant autel ', but the altar intended to be referred to is ' the altar of the
relics' or 'of Saint-Denis', which had been mentioned in the complete in-
ventory though passed over in the abstract. There are several other like
obscurities due to abbreviation or omission. 1 According to Millet (p. 83) an
inventory was made in 1534, whilst Felibien (pp. 460, 464) refers to others of
the years 1576, 1581, 1598, and 1634. Of these only the last mentioned exists,
actually in three manuscript copies, two in the Bibliotheque nationale (f. fr. 4611
and 18765) and one in the Archives nationales (LL 1327). The example examined
by me is the MS. f. fr. 4611, the leaves of which are numbered ; I shall refer to
this as 'Inv. 1634' followed by the number of the leaf. The corresponding
1 Vide p. in below.
o a
104 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
leaf in MS. f. fr. 18765 can be found by adding one to the figure. There is
also an inventory made in the year 1739, likewise printed in full by Monsieur
Omont in the publication above referred to (pp. 199-212); I shall cite this as
'Inv. 1739'.
It is necessary to say a word or two more about the inventory of 1634.
This obviously incorporates in full the complete inventory from which the ab-
stract was made in 1505 which Monsieur Omont printed. The order in which
the objects are enumerated is the same, and so for the most part are the actual
words employed, but the later document is much fuller and has besides many
additions made in the year 1634, describing changes in the condition of particular
objects, damage done to them, losses of stones, or actual complete destruction
undergone in the intervening 130 years. Hence the inventory of 1634 * s
the really important document, which deserves to be studied in much more
detail than I was able to attain during a short visit to Paris. It catalogues
practically every stone of any value in each of the wonderful treasures
which belonged to St.-Denis at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The
earliest writing to give any account of St.-Denis is an anonymous manuscript
in the Biblioth6que nationale, Paris (no. 12710), entitled Descriptio qnaliter
Karolus Magnus clavum et coronam domini a Constantinopoii Aquisgmni dctulcrit
qualiterque Karolns Kahus Imcc ad sanctum Dyonisium retulerit. It was com-
posed and written at St.-Denis before noo and probably even before the First
Crusade. 1
Besides these texts there are the five large engravings included by Felibien in
his volume. Four of these (pi. Ill and IV) depict the contents of the four armoires
in which the treasure was displayed throughout the eighteenth century. Each
object is distinguished by a letter on Felibien's plates, which I shall cite thus, e.g.
' F. pi. iii M/ Other representations of treasures once belonging to St.-Denis
have been preserved. Thus there is an engraving of ' L'escriptouere monsr.
Sainct Denis ' facing p. 23 in the Palaeograpliia Gmeca of Bernard de Montfaucon
(Paris, 1708, in-fol). There are also coloured facsimiles of three important lost
objects amongst the drawings which belonged to Peiresc and are now in the
Cabinet des Estampes ; while in the same collection is a most important
drawing of ' 1'Escrain Charlemaigne '. This and the Peiresc drawings, which
will be referred to in their place, have been admirably reproduced in colour in
the following work : J. Guibert, Les Dessins du Cabinet Peiresc, etc. Paris,
1910. 4to. 2
1 See the text in G. Rauschen, Legendc Karls d. Gr., Leipzig, 1890, and Neue Untcrsuchungeti
fiber die Descriptio, etc., in Hist. Jahrb. der GOrres-Gesellschaft, vol. xv, Miinchen, 1894, p. 257.
* A vague and almost valueless account of some of the treasures is given by Thomas Platter the
younger of Basle, who visited St.-Denis in 1599. It is included in his Description de Paris, printed in
the Mc'moires de la Socic'te historiqiic de Paris (vol. xxiii, 1896, p. 218).
LCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LA VI, rtATE 111
Fig. I. Contents of Armoirc I
Fig. 2. Contents of Armoire II
THE TREASURE OF ST. DENIS
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 105
Finally, and in some respects most important of all, is the remarkable
picture (one of two wings of a late fifteenth-century altar-piece representing
incidents in the legend of St. Giles) formerly in the Dudley Collection, on the
sale of which collection one wing was purchased by the National Gallery ; it
will not here concern us. The other, the important wing for us, now belongs to
Mrs. Stewart Mackenzie (pi. II). It is curious that no careful study of it has ever
been made. The painter's name is not known. He was probably a north-
French or south-Netherlandish master, who worked in France, and, like the
Maitre de Moulins, shows the influence of Hugo van der Goes. The subject
of the wing in question is ' St. Giles saying Mass ', and the painter has chosen
to show him as officiating in the great church of St.-Denis, with Charles
Martel l kneeling beside him at the glorious altar of which we shall hereafter
have much to say. The picture, therefore, is of extraordinary historical impor-
tance, because the altar in question was of great beauty and fame, and this is
not only the single representation of it that exists, but is the only record of
the aspect of the great Royal Abbey of France in the time of its splendour, as
it were photographed in colour in actual use, before civil wars, reformations,
and revolutions had swept it and so many other wonderful medieval treasures
off the face of the earth.
Viollet-le-Duc knew of the existence of this picture, but never saw it, and
relied upon an inaccurate drawing of it which is printed in his Dictionnaire
de I' Architecture;- He states that the altar in question is the Matutinal altar
of St. Denis and that the cross above it was Suger's, and he invents a chasse
and introduces it under the canopy behind the altar. I shall show that the
altar is not the Matutinal altar, whilst others have long ago proved that the
cross was not Suger's. St. Louis's chasse, moreover, lay above and not beneath
the canopy. If Viollet-le-Duc had put himself to the inconvenience of crossing
the Channel to see the picture, which was easily accessible in Lord Dudley's
house, it is safe to assert that he would have -restored the chevet of the church
differently, and that he would not have put the monument of Dagobert together
exactly as was done, omitting the deep recess or hollow moulding which should
divide the sculptured background from the framing archivolt. The head of the
1 The following is the account of the incident taken out of Caxton's edition of the Golden Legend :
' King Charles heard speak of the renown of him (St. Giles) and implored him that he might see
him. And he received him much honourably, and he prayed him to pray for him, among other things
because he had done a sin so foul & villainous that he durst not be shriven thereof to him, nor to any
other. And on the Sunday after, as Saint Giles said mass and prayed for the King, the Angel of our
Lord appeared to him and laid upon the altar a cedule wherein the sin of the King was written by
order, and that it was pardoned him by the prayers of Saint Giles, so that he were thereof repentant
and abstained him from doing it any more.'
2 Article ' Autel ', vol. ii, p. 26.
io6 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
figure of Queen Nanthilde would likewise not have needed to be wholly in-
vented by the sculptor Geoffroy-Dechaume in 1862.
Before beginning the detailed description of such of the treasures of St.-
Denis as survive, or of which representations exist, it will conduce to clearness
if we first of all consider the ancient arrangement of the church itself and the
place occupied by some of the more important objects. And first let us reply to
the question, How many principal altars were there in the axis of the church, and
what were their positions ? In the seventeenth century there were only two, as
shown in F6libien's plan, and so Viollet-le-Duc restored them ; but in the time of
Suger and down to the year 1610 there were three, and only one of them, the altar
of St. Denis, occupied the position of either of the restored altars. Thus, in
1529, when Cardinal de Bourbon came to take possession of St.-Denis as its
Abbot, and was received by the clergy, he 'fit trois stations en entrant dans
1 eglise, la premiere devant 1'autel matutinal, ou reposait le saint Sacrement, la
seconde devant le grand autel, et la troisieme a 1'autel de Saint Denis ' (F., p. 383).
Doublet says that the Matutinal altar is so called because of the High Mass
which was celebrated there immediately after Prime. He says there were four
High Masses celebrated every day: the first at the altar of the Martyrs (St.-
Denis), the second at the Matutinal altar, the third in the Chapel of Our Lady
(chanted by the novices), the fourth, the great Mass of the day, at the ' Maistre
Autel '. Each of these altars stood within its own enclosure-screens and was the
centre of a number of precious objects placed in relation to it. We shall more
easily avoid confusion, therefore, if we take each enclosure and its altar in turn and
discover how each was decorated and by what treasures it was accompanied,
before proceeding to consider the treasures themselves individually in chrono-
logical sequence.
The choir was entered from the nave through a screen, on the ' frontispiece '
of which, says Doublet (p. 286), was the legend of St. Denis ' industrieusement
taillez et bien representez ' in stone, but at what date he does not say. Above
it was one of Suger's crucifixes, a wooden one, between images of the Virgin
and St. John, whilst on the gallery of it was planted, likewise by Suger, a
pnlpitnm whence the Gospel was read. This pnlpitnm was made up out of old
materials, which appear formerly to have covered the whole gallery, and con-
sisted of tablets of ivory sculptured with figures (presumably like the ivory
throne at Ravenna) mixed with animals made of copper. The whole thing was
ruined by the Huguenots at a later date. The pulpit presented to Aix-la-
Chapelle Cathedral by the Emperor Heinrich II before 1014 may give some
idea as to how these decorative panels were arranged.
\Vithin the choir the central object was the eagle lectern of bronze. It
1AEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI, PLATE IV
Fig. I. Contents of Armoirc III
Fig. 2. Contents of Armoire IV
THE TREASURE OF ST. DENIS
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 107
was adorned with figures of the four Evangelists and others. Dagobert
captured it at Poitiers and presented it to St.-Denis, and Suger had it gilded.
The altar of this part of the building was the Matutinal altar. It was also
called the altar of the Trinity and the Choir altar, and in the time of Suger
'1'Autel Sainct'. 1 Its position can be fixed with some accuracy. In Fe"libien's
plan the position (A A) of Charles the Bald's tomb is plainly marked. 2 It is
sometimes described as being beneath and sometimes in front of the altar of
the Trinity, so that this altar must have stood approximately in a line with the
east end of the stalls. Moreover, the altar was attached to the iron screen
which here closed the choir, and no doubt was fixed to the two great arcading
piers against which the stalls end. Again, we are told 3 that the Matutinal altar
was under a beam of wood which was at the east end of the choir and on which
at one time stood the gold cross of St. Eloy. The altar itself was built by Suger
of black marble and embellished with sculptures in white marble representing
the martyrdom of St. Denis. Upon it was an image of the Trinity in silver-gilt,
which was destroyed in the time of the Armagnacs in the reign of Charles VII.
A silver gilt retable for the altar on this site had been given by Robert, Abbot
of Corbie ; Suger preserved it and enriched it with gems. 4 Further, to the old
altar, which Suger thus replaced, certain relics had been attached by Charles
the Bald. Suger reset these in what appears to have been a portable altar of
porphyry, described as framed in a chassis of wood, ' et ce chassis remply d'or
fin ' and set with gems. This portable altar is later on found in the Treasury.
The other fittings and treasures belonging to the altar are enumerated in the
inventory of 1505 (nos. 162-84).''
Immediately behind and belonging to it was an elaborate structure con-
sisting of a square column of copper-gilt supporting a wooden cross, covered
with gold, and a unicorn's (narwhal's) horn 6| ft. long with a silver crown round
it. From this cross, or a jutting bracket, there hung an openwork lantern of
silver-gilt, containing a round cup of gold set with stones, and in it a smaller round
box, likewise of gold, and set with many stones, which was the ciborium to hold
the Host. These gold boxes were stolen in 1601 and the thief never discovered.
There hung from the roof down in front of this altar a silver basin, six lamps,
and a ' nef '. A piece of wall behind this altar supported the chasse of St. Denis
of Corinth. It was of copper-gilt garnished with embossed images and capitals
1 D., P . 24, A.
- Platter, in 1599, says that the bronze tomb of Charles the Bald was in the middle of the choir;
those of Clodomir, Charles Martel, and a son of Dagobert were to the right, those of Hugues Capet
and Othon to the left. These were of white marble. He noted eleven other royal tombs farther back.
3 M., p. 71. D., pp. 245, 1247 ; ., p. 174.
6 More fully in the Inv. 1634, pp. 220-33. * ^., p. 428.
V
io8 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
of silver-gilt and set with stones, probably a thirteenth-century work. Beside
this altar was a wooden chest containing two chalices and patens, a spoon
pierced with many holes, described as ' of ancient fashion ', to which we shall
recur, two silver basins, a ' byberon ' with a lion's head, two silver candlesticks,
two censers of silver, a silver pax, some minor implements, and a finely bound
MS. of the Gospels.
East of the choir-screen and Trinity altar was an open square space beneath
the crossing, and this was given up to the monuments of kings and the opening
to the royal vault. We are not concerned with these monuments except in so
far as what we learn about them throws light on other matters. Immediately
behind the Trinity altar St. Louis was buried in a stone coffin between the
graves of his father Louis VIII and Philip Augustus. 1 His body only remained
there till 1298, when, after his canonization, it was taken up and put into a
chasse, but the tomb with the silver effigy upon it remained till the precious
metal was stripped off by the Armagnacs or the English in the days of Charles
VII. 2 Other tombs in that wretched time were treated in the same fashion, so
that the two remaining near this altar were mere anonymous wrecks in i5O5. 3
At the east side of the crossing was another iron screen, perhaps led up to by
some steps which, however, were farther east than the steps made in 1610 and
shown on Fdibien's plan, because these are recorded to have partly covered
the tomb of the wife of St. Louis.
We thus come to the enclosure which contained the High altar, the
' Maistrc Autel ' or ' grand autel ' as it is sometimes called, the altar of St. Peter
and St. Paul, as was its correct designation. We possess numerous descriptions
of it, and it is this and no other that is depicted in the picture of the Mass of
St. Giles. But that picture proves that its position about the year 1500, doubt-
less its original position, was directly in a line with or even a little west of the
centre of Dagobert's monument, whereas in 1610 it was moved somewhat to the
east of it as marked on Fe"libien's plan, where the restored altar now stands.
It is related 4 that when Pope Stephen II visited France in the year 754 to
appeal to Pepin for protection against the Lombards, one day during his stay
at St.-Denis kneeling before this altar he had a vision of ' the good shepherd
Monseigneur St. Peter, and the master and doctor of the Gentiles Mon-
seigneur St. Paul' and also of St. Denis who was splendidly clad, and of his two
fellow saints, and he heard and reported word for word their conversation and
even their gestures, but unfortunately the passage is too long to be copied
1 F., p. 555. 2 D., p. 1240.
3 Inv. 1505, nos. 185, 186, where there is a mistake. St. Louis was not buried ' devant ' (where
lay Charles the Bald) but ' derriere ' the Matutinal altar.
4 D., p. 182.
'
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 109
here. The upshot was that the Pope, who had been suffering from illness, was
forthwith restored to health and next day consecrated this altar to the honour
of the two saints ; and thereat he crowned Pepin king and anointed his sons
Charlemagne and Carloman. In memory of this very important event, which
led to such great future developments as the revival of the Empire of the West
and the solid foundation of the temporal power of the Popes, Pepin gave two life-
sized figures in gold of St. Peter and St. Paul and two fine porphyry columns for
them to stand on, which were placed close to the back angles of the altar
('joignant les deux boutz du derriere dudict autel', Inv. 1505). If the columns
do not appear in the St. Giles picture, though the gold figures had before then
been destroyed, it is because they were hidden by the curtain. The altar was
of black and white marble and stood on four white marble columns, on one of
which were the letters M. P. V. I II I. Dagobert was buried beneath it, 1 though
his monument was to the south where St. Louis afterwards reconstructed it, and
it is the reconstructed monument that appears in our picture, the prominent
standing figure on the left being Queen Nanthilde, Dagobert's second wife, who
was buried with or near him.
Suger himself has described for us the splendid decorations of this altar in
his day. He relates how there was in front of the altar a very precious altar-
frontal of gold (seen above the altar as a retable in our picture (pi. 1 1 and XI)), given
by Charles the Bald, which alone did not seem to him fine enough to make the
altar as splendid as he wished it to be. So he encased it (as Angilbert encased
the still existing altar at Milan) with three more golden sides, one with figures
in relief of a singular and admirable sort, but all enriched with precious stones,
so that about this altar nothing was seen except gold and jewels. It was made
to appear still more sumptuous by the golden jewelled table itself and by the
precious treasures placed upon it, when Mass was celebrated there on days of
solemnity. There were the fine gold candlesticks, weighing twenty marks,
enriched with jacinths, emeralds, garnets, and other sorts of gems given by King
Louis le Gros ; also the great cross of gold made by St. Eloy, Bishop of Noyon,
with many other smaller crosses, and above all these was that very precious
treasure named ' 1'Escrin de Charlemagne ' (pi. X), given by his grandson, the
Emperor Charles the Bald. All these objects were enriched with so many jewels
that they produced an admirable and ravishing effect. If one adds to all this
the two great golden images of St. Peter and St. Paul, of the height of a man,
which were given by King Pepin and placed on two columns of porphyry at
the sides of this altar, it must be admitted that it was altogether resplendent and
majestic. So that Abbot Suger said that when he looked at it, with all its
1 D., p. 1196, 'Son corps gist sous le Maistre Autel, qui est des lors du premier bastiment de
1'eglise.'
VOL. LXVI. p
i io THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
fittings, he was so ravished by the sight as to imagine himself not on this earth,
but near Paradise ; and some inhabitants of Jerusalem, who came to France and
saw these rare magnificences of St.-Denis, told him that they surpassed the
treasures of the temple of St. Sophia of Constantinople which they had seen.
As for the gold encasement of the altar, that also had disappeared by 1500,
except the frontal, which was used as a retable, and two of Suger's panels, hidden
in the picture perhaps by the embroidered frontal. Millet (p. 40) relates that
there used to be six ' great tables of gold ' belonging to St.-Denis, one given by
Dagobert, one by Charles the Bald, and four by Suger. Of these, he says only
the second remained in his time. The others, as well as Pepin's two gold
images, Louis le Gros's candlesticks, the image of the Trinity belonging to the
Matutinal altar, Suger's great cross, and many other treasures, were destroyed
in the troublous times of Charles VI and VII ' ravies par les Anglois ', he says,
though Felibien tells another story.
One other feature shown in our picture connected with the High altar
remains to be considered : the four columns surmounted by figures of angels
holding candlesticks, which columns support the rods for the curtains enclosing
the altar on three sides. They are mentioned (no. 191) in the inventory of 1505,
where it is stated that the columns are of latten and the angels of copper-gilt.
Evidently they belong to about the time of St. Louis, during whose days so
much was done in the way of rebuilding and decorating the church. 1
Behind the High altar in our picture rises a metallic vaulted structure which
was the platform that supported the chasse of St. Louis. At first sight it seems
to be a canopy resting on six columns, but it is important to observe that there
are only four, the two arches on either long side being separated by cusps, not
by columns. The cusp on the south side can be plainly seen. This structure
is thus described in the inventory of 1505 (no. 192): 'Au derriere dudict autel
(the High altar) quatre coulompnes de laton de fonte, et sur icelles ung entable-
ment aussi de laton dore d'or de painctre: et sur icelles columpnes et en-
tablement ung coffre de bahu d'ancienne facon, fort caducque, rompu dessus,
plus par caducquet que par force, et dedans icellui le corps de monseigneur
saint Loys, roy de France.' The following important passage from the inven-
tory of 1634 (f. 259*), which I could not entirely decipher, was kindly copied out
for me by Monsieur J. J. Marquet de Vasselot of the Louvre : ' Au derriere dud.
autel quatre colomnes de fonte et dessus icelles un entablement aussy de laitton
dor6 d'or de peintre, garny tout allentour de fleurs de lys placquds ; quatre
angeles aux quatre coings, tenans chascun un chandellier aussy de laiton, Tun
1 In this connexion a remark of Rohault de Fleury (La Messe, ii, p. 38) may be cited : ' Lorsqu'on
renon^a aux ciboria en France leur souvenir fut conserve par quatre colonnes placees aux angles de
1'autel sans couronnement, mais reliees par des tringles pour les rideaux,'
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES in
des chandelliers rompu, et estoient au derriere du dit entablement; 1'an m. ni c .
mi." douze et six [sic] fut cy present ce tabernacle assis ; Charles de France Roy
size [sic] le donna, Pierre Rozette le fist et acheva ; et a este" par lesd. relligieux
diet et declare que les susd. quatre colomns de laiton et les quatre angeles furent
desmolis lors du couronnement de la royne en six cent dix, et furent vendus
pour reparer la demolition qui en avoit este" faicte.
' Dessus le diet entablement un coffre de bahut d'environ deux pieds et demy
de long et un pied de large, couvert de cuir bande de fer et seme de petits clouds,
fermant & clef et sceUe" sur le bou de la clef d'un seel de cire || (fol. 260) et dedans
icelluy coffre les ossemens du corps Monsieur S' Louis, ledit coffre for ancien
et caducque rompu dessus a force plus que par caducete". Dessus ledt coffre un
tapis seme de fleurs de lys.' 1
St. Louis's much venerated remains had a very chequered history. When
he died in Tunis in 1270, the flesh was boiled off his bones in a cauldron of wine
and water. 2 The flesh was taken to Monreale in Sicily and there buried, whilst
the bones were wrapped in scented silk and brought with the heart to France.
On the 22nd of May, 1271, the bones were buried in St.-Denis in a stone coffin
behind the altar of the Trinity and adjacent to the tombs of Louis VIII and
Philip Augustus. St. Louis had prescribed that his grave should be quite plain,
but his son ' luy fit dresser un tombcau magnifique ou 1'or et 1'argent estoient
ce qu'il y avoit de moins considere ', says Felibien (p. 249) in his vague fashion.
Doublet (p. 1240), whom Felibien despised as a writer, more accurately states that
the tomb was covered with silver, which was carried off later on by the English
and Armagnacs in the time of Charles VI.
In 1297 St. Louis was canonized, and in the following year, on the twenty-
eighth anniversary of his death, his bones were taken up out of their grave and
with great ceremony put into a chasse which Millet (p. 76) was mistaken in
describing as of gold. This chasse was set behind and above the High altar.
Seven years later, in 1305, the skull of St. Louis, except the jaw-bone, was
given to the Sainte Chapelle, at the request of Jeanne d'Evreux, in exchange
for a reliquary in the shape of a chapel containing specimens from all the relics
in the Sainte Chapelle. The jaw-bone, retained at St.-Denis, was in the fourteenth
century set in a special reliquary, of which an engraving is included in Fdibien's
1 It is evident that the bulk of this passage is copied from a much older inventory, the passage
about the changes made in 1610 alone referring to later conditions. It will be observed that the
passage in the 1505 inventory is an inaccurate abbreviation of the original as embodied in the
inventory of 1634.
8 Felibien, p. 247. This was a way they had in those days. Our Henry V's body was likewise
dismembered and boiled, and only the bones and, I believe, the heart brought to Westminster Abbey.
So at least Felibien states.
P 2
ii2 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
plates (F. pi. iii c). Later on at different times other fragments of St. Louis's
bones were parted with as gifts or in exchange.
In 1368 Charles V gave money to cover the chasse of St. Louis with gold,
so that obviously it cannot have been of gold to start with. Apparently what
was done, however, was to begin making an entirely new gold chasse. This,
according to the inventory of 1634, was made by Juivre Vogette and was not
finished until 1392, when Charles VI brought it to St.-Denis and saw the relics
moved into it. 1 At the same time the Dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Touraine
gave the jewels they were wearing to be fastened on to the chasse, whilst the
king also gave 1,000 francs to pay for making the tabernacle above described.
The gold chasse only lasted twenty-five years. In 1418, in the evil days of
the English wars, the gold was melted down and made into coin for the needs
of the government, and the relics remained in the iron-bound box. The fort
caduque condition of this box in 1505 has been noted above. Finally Cardinal
de Bourbon, who was Abbot of St.-Denis (1529-57), had a new silver-gilt chasse
made in 1557 which, after being restored in 1657, lasted till the Revolution and
is engraved by Felibien (pi. v A). This chasse stood (I suppose after the choir-
rearrangement in i6io)on a pillar of wood with a copper base behind the High
altar. But in 1633 the royal commissioners thought that 'this position was not
decent ', so they had the chasse removed into the Treasury, till a more honourable
place should be prepared. It seems, however, thenceforward to have remained
in the Treasury. It was there at all events in 1739.
The alterations in the church, made in preparation for the coronation of
Marie de Medicis, changed the whole aspect of the Maitre Autel and all that
lay eastward of it. Unfortunately Viollet-le-Duc reconstructed the interior as
thus changed, not as originally planned by Suger and represented in our picture.
The best succinct account of what was done in 1610 is given by Millet (p. 71), who
relates how the Matutinal altar ' fut demoly et transporte au lieu ou il est main-
tenant, servant de grand autel, car le grand autel qui estoit pour lors fut aussi
demoly et n'a point este restably depuis ; mais les materiaux d'iceluy, qui estoient
de marbre, ont este employez en la fabrique du bel autel des corps saincts, qui
est au chevet. Fut aussi ostee la closture de fer qui fermoit le chceur par en
haut, et le separoit d'avec cctte grande place, qui est soubs le milieu de la grande
croisee entre le maistre autel et le mesme chceur, dans laquelle on voit tant de
sepultures de Rois anciennes et modernes '. New stone stairs were also made on
either side of the Maitre Autel by which to ascend to the chevet.
It is the church thus altered that is represented on Felibien's plan, and was
reconstructed by Viollet-le-Duc. It is not difficult to imagine how injurious all
these changes must have been to the old church ; but they pleased the people
1 F., p. 306. He gives the date 1393, but the MS. inventory says 1392.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 113
who made them. Marie de Medicis was majestically crowned before the new
High altar on May 13, 1610. The herald mounted to the gallery of the Jube",
cried aloud 'largesse!' and cast down numbers of silver medals, with the likeness
of the queen on one side and on the other a crown and emblems, whilst gold
pieces were distributed among the courtiers and ambassadors. Great prepara-
tions had been made, and decorations set up for the triumphal entry of the king
and queen into Paris. But before this could happen all the glory and rejoicings
were turned into sadness by the murder of Henri IV on the day after his queen's
coronation. His body in due course was brought to St.-Denis, and there lay till
it and the bodies of all the kings were torn from their graves by the mad Revo-
lutionary mob, who likewise destroyed every destructible feature of the great
church, so that for years it lay abandoned like a ruin and open to the sky. The
history of its restoration can be read in the admirable handbook by MM. Paul
Vitry and Gaston Briere, entitled L'Eglisc abbatiale de Saint-Denis ct ses Tom-
beatix (Paris, 1908).
The inventory of 1634 (f. 260* et seq.} enables us, with the help of other
authorities and of our picture, to form an accurate idea of the arrangements that
existed behind the Maitre Autel prior to 1610, and they are very important for
a proper understanding of our subject. All authorities make frequent reference
to a vault existing behind the Maitre Autel and under the pavement in front of
the altar of Saint-Denis or of the relics. 1 Doublet (p. 1196) in describing the
tomb of Dagobert writes : ' Son corps gist sous le Maistre Autel, qui est des lors
du premier bastiment de 1'Iiglise de Sainct Denys, avec le caveau des Saincts
Martyrs, vis a vis d'iceluy, ou reposoient leurs saincts et sacrez corps/ Else-
where (p. 250) he describes it as '1'ancien caveau ou le Roy Dagobert avoit mis
iccux corps saincts '. 2 He also tells us (p. 252) that when Suger had made his
great crucifix of gold he set it up 'au lieu et endroit ou avoient repose les corps
de S. Denys et de ses compagnons par longucs annees, afin que la mcmoire n'en
fust perdue, et que 1'on honorast tousjours ce sainct licuV' Finally (p. 286)
1 Thus Inv. 1634, f. 26o r , begins the paragraph corresponding to Item 193 in the printed Inv. 1505
thus : ' Soubs une voulte ayant entree derriere ledict grant autel, ung crucifix,' etc. Inv. 1634, f. s6i r
(corresponding to Item 195, Inv. 1505), says : ' Dessus la dicte voulte dessus le pavement devant 1'autel
des corps saints . . . au dessus de la porte de la dicte voulte un pilier,' etc., i.e. the great cross of Suger.
Again, Inv. 1634, f. 267", continues ' au dessus de la voulte devant declaree ', the altar of St. Denis (which
Inv. 1505 omits), so that the vault was under the altar of St. Denis and therefore under the chevet.
2 On the history of the burying-place of St. Denis, and on the chasse or tomb made for his bones
by St. Eloy, see G. Bapst in Revue archeol., viii (1886), p. 306.
3 Rigord, a monk of St.-Denis, in his biography of Philip Augustus, refers to the raising of the
bones of St. Denis on the gth of June, 1053, before which time they had lain ' reclusa in alia cryptula
auro et gemmis extrinsecus decorata in qua duabus seris etiam Christi Domini clavus et corona simul
asservabantur'. See Mabillon, Ann. ord. S. Bencd., iv, Paris, 1707, p. 538. It has, however, been
ii4 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
Doublet, in reference to the crucifix that spoke to Dagobert, says that Suger
set it up on ' la cave basse et Chapelle de S. Demetre martyr, derriere le Maistre
Autel, ou autresfois avoient repos les corps des Saincts martyrs '. This is the
only mention I have anywhere found of a chapel of St. Demetrius. Felibien
says nothing about it, and his plan affords no assistance.
The inventory of 1505 (no. 193) likewise describes the Talking Crucifix as
being in a vault 'derriere ledict grant autel', and indicates (no. 194) an armoire
as up against the door of the said vault, outside it on the left (' joygnant 1'huys de
ladicte voute a coste senestre par dehors '). Finally, over the portal of the same
vault the inventories of 1505 and 1634 locate (nos. 195-8) the great cross of Suger.
From all this it is clear, I think, that the vault so often referred to is no
other than the existing crypt under the chevet, in which are the coffins of
Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and other royal personages. That vault, at the
time when our picture was painted, was entered by the door depicted in the
middle of its west end and immediately behind the Maitre Autel. At present
the entrance to it is at its south-west corner, immediately behind the monument
of Dagobert. The only reason for hesitating to accept the evidence of the pic-
ture on this point is that it does not show any trace of the cross of Suger, which
must have been standing above the entrance when the picture was painted, and
ought to appear in it. One must conclude that the artist simply left it out. It
he had known how much that cross would interest posterity he would have given
himself the needful extra trouble involved in depicting it. Clearly the front wall
of the crypt under the chevet stood somewhat farther back, eastward, than now.
The ascent to it was made, not by steps corresponding in position to the present
stone staircases, but by a steep wooden staircase, which can be perceived in the
picture leading up to a wooden door in the wooden screen which enclosed the
chevet along its west front. The said door admitted into a kind of wooden porch,
and that to the chevet. Before leaving the picture we may finally note how it
shows the apse-walls, above the great arcade, to be hung with tapestries, the
hanging of the church with such on the occasion of great ceremonials being
often mentioned in contemporary descriptions.
The inventories give detailed information, where the picture fails us, as to
the arrangements on the upper level within the chevet. Here was the altar
called of Saint Denis, or of the Martyrs, or of the Relics. We do not know
exactly where it stood because, in 1628, it was entirely rebuilt, partly out of
materials taken from the old Maitre Autel, and it was set up in a new position,
at the extreme east end of the apse, close against the arcade piers. Suger's
altar, however, stood well out away from these piers, for it had the tabernacle
suspected that the above statement may be a later addition to support the authenticity of the Nail and
Thorn relics.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 115
covering the chasses of the martyrs behind it and the great ' Cuve de porphyre ',
which Dagobert gave, behind the tabernacle. The inventory of 1505 (no. 227)
describes the chapel of St. Eustace as being on the left of the altar of St. Denis.
This chapel still exists ; it is on the north side of the most westerly part of the
chevet. The altar can scarcely have been level with that. Viollet-le-Duc set
up his Autel des Reliques in the centre encircled by the apse, and this was
no doubt approximately the correct original position. His restoration of the
altar and the tabernacle behind it, 1 made in accordance with Doublet's descrip-
tion, is praised by Labarte for its general form ; 2 but he adds that the decorative
details are all incorrect, as is shown by the minute description of them given in
the inventory of 1634 (f- 267'). On the left side of the altar was an armoire,
on the right side three armoires in a row, all containing treasures. In front of
it was an eagle lectern and a coffer containing a chalice and so forth for use at
the altar. When the new altar was made in 1628 the ' Cuve de porphyre ' was
moved into the chapel of St. Hilaire. Before 1739 it was put into the chapel
of Notre-Dame-la-Blanche, where it was used for the blessing of holy water
on Easter and Whitsun eves. In 1791 it was sent with the throne of Dagobert
and other objects to the Cabinet des Medailles ; and there it can still be seen
on the ground floor just facing a person entering from the street.
As nothing remains, either of the altar of St. Denis, or of the retable given
by Pepin, or of the tabernacle behind it and the chasses it contained, it is not
necessary for us to consider them here in detail. 3 Suffice it to say that the
tabernacle was in the form of a building with central nave and lower aisles,
containing chasses under the roofs, and the actual coffins of St. Denis, St. Rusticus,
and St. Eleutherius in the basement beneath and extending in part also under
the altar. The tabernacle and altar were constructed by Suger; the retable
used was one that had been given by Pepin. The altar and reliquaries were
consecrated with great ceremony in the presence of royalties, archbishops,
bishops, and all the hierarchies, and they existed in splendour to the joy of
many generations till the evil days of the Huguenot wars. In 1567 the altar
was dreadfully damaged, 'sacrilege", pille et desrob6', says Doublet, only certain
movable parts of the front of it having been taken away in time and hidden.
But for that caution, he says, nothing would have been left. In 1627 it was
decided to make a new altar and reliquary, in place of the old which was entirely
taken away. The new altar was set up at the very end of the chevet against
a wall, the three chasses being put into a niche contrived in the wall about six
feet above the floor and behind the altar. 4 Of course this in turn was utterly
destroyed in the Revolution.
' Did. de f Architecture, T. ii, p. 25. * Arts indnstriels, T. i, p. 412 note.
1 The full description is in Doublet, pp. 248, 289. 4 F., p. 447.
ii6 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
Fastened against the two most easterly piers in the chevet were two im-
portant relics. One was the pastoral staff of St. Denis. The other was the
Oriflamme. 'Against a pillar in the corner, on the left side, a standard of
"cendal", 1 very dilapidated, twisted round a staff covered with copper-gilt with
a longish iron point at the top end, which the said monks say is the Oriflamme '
(Inv. 1505, no. 201).
The Oriflamme was, in fact, a red silk flag on a gilt staff; those were the
essential colours according to Doublet, who wrote a chapter on it (p. 299).
Guillaume Guyart, a poet of the thirteenth century, thus describes it :
L'oriflamme est une banniere
Aucun poi plus forte que quimple,
De cendal roujoyans et simple,
Sans pourctraiture d'autre affaire.
Fe"libien says that it had the form of an old-fashioned banner or gonfalon,
with three points or tails ending in green tassels. Much has been written about
this flag, but the central fact in connexion with it seems to be that it was the
flag, not of the kings of France, but of St. Denis. A Merovingian king gave
Le Vexin to the abbey. By the ninth century it had been enfeoffed to a family
of counts, and the Count of the Vexin was called the premier vassal of St. Denis,
and as such carried the flag of St. Denis. When the Vexin was reunited to the
royal domain under Philip I, the king became a kind of honorary feudatory of
St. Denis, and so thenceforward adopted the Oriflamme. It was customary for the
king, before going to war, to come in state to the abbey and take the flag from the
shrine of the Saints, to whom it was returned with equal ceremony when the
war was over. Charlemagne was fabled to have borne it. Philip Augustus
certainly took it in 1190. St. Louis fetched it away to both his crusades. King
after king carried it to the wars. All through the fourteenth century they fought
beneath it. Last of all, Charles VI, after flying it in the Civil wars, whereby
it seems to have lost its luck, came to St.-Denis for it on the eve of Agincourt,
at which battle the bearer of it was slain. On this occasion we read nothing
of any ceremonial return of it to St.-Denis. Its prestige was gone. No king
ever bore it to the wars again. The kings of France adopted a new flag, ' la
cornette blanche ', and the old magic banner passed into oblivion. The last
mention of it is in the inventory of I594- 2
With the contents of the ten chapels round the chevet, each of which con-
tained in a chasse the body of a saint, and of the other chapels in different parts
of the edifice we need not be concerned at any length. In Millet's days (p. 81)
the chasses remaining were two of copper (St. Hippolyte's and one of an Inno-
1 ' Cendal ' was a silk fabric. * F., p. 335.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 117
cent), the rest of wood painted and gilt, made by the Cardinal of Lorraine to
replace the wrecks. Originally, he says inaccurately, all were of silver-gilt
except two, and some were enriched with many jewels, but the Huguenots in
1562 and 1567 robbed and destroyed them. The inventory of 1505 (nos. 227 and
later) contains a list of the treasures at that time in the chapels. They include
four silver-gilt and seven copper-gilt chasses, only one of the latter being said
to be enamelled, ten reliquaries (some evidently very fine), nineteen silver chalices
and patens, three precious statuettes of the Virgin, and various silver lamps,
candelabra, ivory and other pyxes, crucifixes, altar frontals, and other objects,
beside several boxes of precious fragments fallen from chasses, and the like.
In the chapel of the Abbot were seven mitres, four fine pontifical rings, and three
crosiers. Finally (no. 321), in the last chapel in the nave there was a wooden
monument ' and on it the figure of a man in armour, the whole very decayed
and damaged, but once covered with copper-gilt, enamels, and jewels ' the
finest and richest tomb in the church and beneath it, on the pavement, a long
coffer of wood, unnailed and open, containing the bones of Alphonse, Count of
Eu, ' fils de Jehan de Basme, roy de Jherusalem et empereur de Constantinoble '
evidently a Limoges monument resembling that of William de Valence in
Westminster Abbey. Of enamel work on such tombs splendid fragments remain
at St.-Denis, from the tombs of the children of St. Louis. 1 These tombs were
originally set up in the choir of the abbey of Royaumont, but have been removed
to St.-Denis in recent times. They are examples of the best work of their day.
It is evident that the Limoges enamellers were much employed by St. Louis
for chasses and other fine objects given by him to the abbey, none of which
have survived. The plaques from the tombs of his children may, however, be
taken to represent the kind of work of which they were composed. A small
Limoges chasse, of copper enamelled and gilt, of thirteenth-century date, pre-
served in the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre, 2 certainly belonged to St.-Denis,
but I cannot identify it in the inventories. It may well enough have come from
one of the chapels. Another existing Limoges chasse will be referred to later.
Having thus briefly considered the arrangement and contents of the abbey
church of St.-Denis in the days of its splendour, let us now turn our attention
to some of the individual treasures, whether placed permanently in the church
or generally kept in the Treasury. It will be convenient to treat them in their
chronological order. The most ancient still existing object, which belonged to
St.-Denis, is probably the broken fragment of an alabaster vase preserved in
1 See plates in V.-le-Duc's Diet, du Mobilicr, t. ii, p. 220.
- See the Catalogue of Orfevrerie, etc., in the Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre by Monsieur
J. J. Marquet de Vasselot, no. 64.
VOL. LXVI. Q
n8 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
the Cabinet des Medailles. It was already broken when engraved by Felibicn, 1
and a further fragment has parted company from it since. The vase was evi-
dently Egyptian, perhaps of Saite days, or even later. It had a slightly tapering
body and a flat shoulder with two handles. It is a portion of the upper part
that remains with parts of the handles. Neck and base are gone. It was fabled
to have been one of the vessels used at Cana for the miracle of turning water
into wine. Several so-called Cana vases still exist in ancient ecclesiastical
treasuries. There is one of alabaster in Ouedlinburg Cathedral, a wedding
present to the Empress Theophanu, wife of Otto II. Its broken-off handle is
said to be preserved as a relic at Cologne or Aix-la-Chapelle. There is a por-
phyry Cana vase in Santa Maria in Porto at Ravenna, and a porphyry fragment
at Hildesheim ; one of pottery is at Mittelzell in Reichenau. Best of all is an
Egyptian vase of grey granite inscribed with the name of Artaxerxes in the
Treasury of St. Mark at Venice. This was not the only Cana vase at Venice,
for San Niccol6 of the Lido claimed to possess one. There is yet another of
alabaster in the Jewish gallery in the Louvre from Port-Royal, and a porphyry
example with two masks in relief in Angers Museum (from the cathedral), which
King Rene brought from the convent of St. Paul at Marseilles. These do not
exhaust the list, but they are those I have personally come in contact with. All
are genuine antiques, and several are of hard stones, probably Egyptian in origin.
The alabaster examples are likewise probably Egyptian. 2
It might have been suspected that the vase of Egyptian porphyry, which
Suger set so splendidly with the head and wings of an eagle (pi. XVI I, fig. 2), would
likewise be called a Cana vase, but Suger himself says nothing about it. The
hard material and the finish of the workmanship excited his admiration. This
vase in the Galerie dApollon at the Louvre always attracts attention. There is
something compelling about its aspect and it has been admired from that day
to this. It is, however, the setting rather than the vase itself that receives the
praise. We could easily make another such porphyry vase, but who now could
design for it an eagle's head and wings like Suger's ?
The great ' Cuve de porphyre ', 3 now in the Cabinet des Medailles, which
Suger placed behind the altar of St. Denis i,n the chevet of his church, is evi-
dently an antique bath. No doubt it was made in Alexandria in early imperial
days. Some wealthy Roman we may believe brought it to Gaul to furnish the
1 F., pi. i R ; D., p. 347 ; M., p. 112. F.'s engraving shows it upside down.
1 For a list of so-called Cana vases and remarks on them see F. de Mely in Monuments el
Mc'moires (Piot), vol. x. The Reichenau vase is mentioned early in the tenth century, and is the first
to be recorded. Many Cana vases were merely ' Vases de la Cene', i.e. Byzantine chalices inscribed
with the formula for the benediction of wine. According to the legend six vases were used for the
miracle.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 221 ; Inv. 1634, f. 320 ; Inv. 1739, no. 107 ; M., p. 64.
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AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES
119
bath-room of a stately palace. Thence it appears to have passed into the baptistry
at Poitiers, where it was used as a font. St. Martin of Tours is said to have
been baptized in it by St. Hilary. When Dagobert captured and looted Poitiers
this was one of the fine things he carried away. 1 He presented it to St-
Denis and there five centuries later Suger found it. Like all such great
porphyry basins it is of very simple form the size and shape of a modern bath
rounded at both ends. Except for two imitation round handles carved on the
front, the visible parts of the bath are quite plain. The lip is conveniently
moulded for comfort of entry, and that is all ; but the workmanship is excellent
and the preservation perfect.
Fig. i. Sardonyx vase, called ' La coupe des Ptolcmces '.
Far more important than the foregoing objects, which are rather of manu-
facture than of art, is the splendid two-handled cantharus of agate, generally
known as the ' Coupe des Ptolemees ', now one of the greatest treasures in the
Cabinet des Medailles (fig. i). 2 It is engraved by Felibien on a large scale in the
fine setting of gold and jewels with which Suger endowed it, but this was stolen
and melted down in 1804, only the vase itself being recovered. The vase is so
1 Thomas Platter records having seen at St.- Denis in 1599: 'une cuvette en jaspe dans laquelle
le roi Dagobert se serait lave et qui sert maintenant pour 1'eau benite ; sur les bords ont dte sculptees
des tetes de dieux paTens.' I can find no other mention of this vessel.
2 Inv. 1505, no. 69; Inv. 1634, f. 169'; Inv. 1739, no. 70 ; D., p. 342 ; M., p. 109; F., pi. iii F and
pi. vi. E. Babelon, Cat. des Camc'es, p. 201.
Q 2
120 THE ABBEY <>F SAINT-DENIS
well known that we may deal with it briefly. The surface is covered with figures
wrought in high relief representing Bacchic scenes and emblems. Its date may
be about the first or even the second century, A. D., but some think it Hellenistic.
The dating of objects of this class is uncertain, as few exist for comparison.
The Farnese Tazza at Naples is the most splendid, and is probably Alexandrian
work of late Hellenistic date. The Gonzaga vase at Brunswick is attributed to
the age of Augustus. The beautiful ewer of St. Martin at St. Maurice d'Agaune
belongs to about the same period. All these cameo-vases of sardonyx are en-
riched with figure-decoration. The Hamilton vase, now in the Wyndham-Cook
collection, is another splendid example of such work in precious stone, but,
except for two satyrs' heads, its embellishment is of foliation. It is doubtfully
called Hellenistic. The beautiful Waddesdon vase in the British Museum is
likewise decorated with foliation cut in cameo, but it is of later date and has even
been set down to the fourth century A.D., though, in my opinion, that is at least
a century too late. The inscription on the foot of the ' Coupe des Ptolemees ',
added by Suger, states that it was presented by Charles III, who has been
wrongly assumed to be Charles the Simple. Seeing that Suger himself in his
own writings calls Charles the Bald Charles III, and as Charles the Bald gave
many treasures of great value to St. Denis, whereas Charles the Simple is not
otherwise known to have given any, it is practically certain that Charles the Bald
was the donor. 1 How he came by it we shall probably never know, but we may
guess that it had belonged previously to Charlemagne. On the occasion of
their coronation the queens of France, says Millet (p. no), 'prennent 1'ablution
en ce calice, apres la saincte communion'.
The golden sceptre, 2 called the sceptre of Dagobert, raises questions no
longer answerable. Doublet describes it in detail, and Felibien's engraving
helps us to picture it. He notes that some antiquaries of his day thought it
to have been a consular staff. On the top was a golden group of Ganymede
carried by an eagle, each of whose wings was set with four emeralds and a garnet
surrounded by eight pearls. This was planted on a globe held by a hand, with
likewise a little branch garnished with pearls, enamels, and coral. The hand was
at the end of a golden rod, also enamelled and set with stones. Probably the
summit group and perhaps other parts of this sceptre were antique, but it is
unlikely that we shall ever know more about it.
The bronze throne of Dagobert, on which the kings of France were crowned,
was repaired and used for Napoleon and is still in existence one of the most
1 Suger, referring to Charles the Bald's tomb, writes : ' Karolus imperator tertiusqui eidem altari
subiacet gloriose sepultus ', loc. cit. t p. 202.
2 Inv. 1505, 00.87 ' ' nv - T 6S4' f- J76 T ; Inv. 1739 no. 32 ; F., pi. ii Q; D., p. 368.
iRCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE VI
iraudon, /\iris
THE BOWL OF CIIOSROES
Crystals and coloured glasses set in gold (d. 28} cm.)
Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1915
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 121
interesting pieces of furniture that have come to us from antiquity (pi. V, fig. 2).'
St. Eloy was said to have made it, but this is no longer believed. St. Eloy did make
two chairs for Dagobert, as his eighth-century biographer clearly records, but
they appear to have been a pair, and one of them was certainly of gold and set
with gems. There is no reason why the chair from St.-Denis in the Cabinet des
Medailles must be one of these, though Suger thought it was. Modern archaeo-
logists are of opinion that it is more ancient, and that it is a Roman Curule
Chair, of the folding X type, which maintained itself from the days of ancient
Egypt down to the sixteenth century. On ivory diptychs of the sixth century
consuls are seated in such chairs as this, which brings us down to a date not far
removed from Dagobert. Of course it originally had no back-piece and only
the lower, narrow member of the arms. Suger added the upper members with
foliated scrolls and the back-piece, all finely cast in bronze, and an authoritative
example of the kind of bronze casting that was done at St.-Denis in the twelfth
century. As for the rough clamps and other coarse mends, they were the work
of some common blacksmith, botching the thing together for Napoleon's
coronation.
The famous bowl of Chosroes II, Sassanian king of Persia (A.D. 590-628), is
another precious object so well known as to call only for brief mention here
(pi. VI). Charles the Bald is said to have given it to St.-Denis. The bowl is of
gold ; the medallions of crystal, and red and green coloured glass are set in it
a jour. The large central medallion is finely cut into a cameo of Chosroes seated
on his throne, and it is scarcely necessary to remark that, in the Middle Ages,
this was believed to be a likeness of Solomon in all his glory. 2
Five relics were said to have belonged to St. Denis himself two staves, a
ring, a chalice, and an inkstand. Of the two staves, we have seen that one was
attached to a pillar in the chevet behind the altar of the Saint/ 1 This was the
top end only of his pastoral staff, or, as Millet says, ' le crosson qui n'estoit que
de bois, maintenant est couvert d'or, enrichi d'emaux et de pierreries, et de 48
perles orientales '. Fdibien's print shows it as a most peculiarly shaped, wide
opened crook, with a fleur-de-lys stuck on at the end. The decoration may not
date from before the time of Suger, and the fleur-de-lys looks like a yet later
addition. Dublin Museum possesses several examples of the staves of Irish
saints thus embellished.
The other staff is called the walking-stick of St. Denis. 4 This was quite as
elaborately mounted ; it was inscribed ' Baculus Beati Dionysii Areopagitae '.
1 At St. Denis it was also used daily by the celebrant at Mass at the High altar.
1 Inv. 1505, no. 76; Inv. 1634, f. 174'; Inv. 1739, no. 76; D., p, 342 ; M., p. 128; F., pi. JVM.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 202 ; Inv. 1739, no. 63 ; F., pi. iii z ; M., p. 99.
4 Inv. 1505, no. 53; Inv. 1634, f. 163" ; D., p. 346; M., p. 100.
122 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
Neither of these relics survives, and we can gather little from Felibien's en-
graving ; but the splendidly mounted fragment of the staff of St. Peter in the
cathedral of Limburg-on-the-Lahn is an existing example of the way such relics
were treated towards the end of the tenth century. 1
As for St. Denis's inkstand, we can do no more than reproduce the engraving
(pl. VII, fig. i) of it inserted by B. de Montfaucon in his Palacograpliia Graeca
(Paris, 1708, p. 23), and add a translation 2 of the description with which he
accompanied it. The object itself may have been at least as old as the fifth
century of our era.
In the treasury of the monastery of Saint-Denis in France there is an inkstand of the
most remote antiquity, for the use, once upon a time, as they think, of Saint Denis, the
first bishop of Paris. It is a tablet of ebony, of the shape and size here depicted. From the
middle of the lowest, which is also the narrower part of the tablet, there stands out a case
constructed with four holes for putting in four reed-pens ; since the holes are bigger than
would be necessary for putting in quill-pens. At the top, which is broader, the tablet is
faced on both sides with silver-plate, about a thumb's breadth, ornamented with birds and
other figures. Likewise the top of the case is enclosed with a silver plate, where the four
holes are. And in the same way the bottom of the case, which is narrower, is faced with a
silver plate ornamented with figures. The four edges of the case are held from top to bottom
by four little plates of silver which are smaller and held on by silver nails, as you can see
in the engraving. The lower part of the case is covered with blackish leather ornamented
with designs. The vessel for the ink is of wood, likewise covered with blackish leather,
and edged round the top with a silver plate, and it contains another vessel of bronze for re-
ceiving the ink. The original lid of that has long ago perished ; but the one now remain-
ing, substituted several centuries ago, is different both in material and shape and is already
worn away and damaged by age. On each side of the wooden tablet there are rings for
passing a cord or strap through, by which the whole contrivance used to be hung up. On
the upper part of the tablet in an unornamented round space there projects a movable ring
of brass, made up of four semicircles, from which the ink-vessel is suspended.
To this rather verbose description there is little to add. The engraving
seems to be accurate, but it is possible that the decoration may have been refined
by the engraver. The ornament at the top presents a singular resemblance to
that of a gilt bronze brooch of which two examples exist in the Mayence Museum,
one of them engraved with runes attributed to the fifth or sixth century. The
clamps which hold the cord-rings closely resemble a strap-fastening from Char-
nay, now in the Musee de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which is probably of the
fifth century, so that that may be the approximate date for ' L'escriptouere
mons r . sainct Denis' of the 1505 inventory/
1 E. Aus'm Weerth : Das Siegeskrenz, etc. Bonn, 1866, with coloured plate.
* For which I have to thank Prof. R. S. Conway, of Manchester University.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 52 ; Inv. 1634, f. i63 T . According to the latter the silver mountings were gilt.
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AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 123
In theGalerie d'Apollon is a well-known paten (pi. VI 1 1, fig. i)made of a disc of
green serpentine set in a border of gold and gems. 1 Eight golden dolphins were
inlaid in the serpentine, whereof one had been already lost in 1634 and another has
fallen out since. The inventory of 1634 also notes the stones gone from the setting.
Felibien falls into an error in grouping this paten with the chalice of Suger. All
the earlier authorities clearly state that it belonged with the ' Coupe des Ptole-
mees '. It is always considered to have been of Carolingian date, yet I have no
doubt but that it was, in fact, made in the East, perhaps at Byzantium, about
the time of Justinian. The probability is that both the splendid agate chalice
and this paten came together as gifts from some Eastern emperor to Charle-
magne or some other king of the Franks. Such gifts were constantly coming
from quite early days and are frequently recorded. The chalice most likely
belonged to the imperial treasure, which by the sixth century retained almost
a monopoly of such objects. Treasures of that kind, if carried off as loot by
barbarian chieftains, soon met an untimely end by rough usage. Only in the
ancient world were there hands deft enough to preserve them through such
troublous times as the fifth to the ninth centuries. Probably it was to Charle-
magne himself that both chalice and paten were sent, and Charles the Bald gave
both together to the abbey of St.-Denis. The gold dolphins are a common
Early Christian decorative feature, descending from an ancient Greek tradition.
Constantine the Great gave a gold lamp to St. Peter's, which was adorned with
figures of dolphins. A dolphin is engraved on the back of the top stone of the
Iicrin de Charlemagne, the other side of which bears a Greek monogram. There
is a Byzantine intaglio of a dolphin in the Cabinet des Medailles (no. 340), and
instances might be multiplied. The border, moreover, is of early date. There
are no pastes but only stones, and these are set in plain, closely-fitting box
mounts. The heart-shaped designs are of Eastern form, similar to those on the
little gold chalice of Gourdon in the Cabinet des Medailles, which was clearly
made by an Eastern craftsman. The arrangement of the red cylindrical stones
round the outer edge with a ring of gold between each is paralleled - in the
Bowl of Chosroes and the golden fibula with three tails found at Nagy Mihaly
in Hungary, now in the Hofmuseum at Vienna, a fine example of East Roman
work of about the fifth century (pi. VIII, fig. 2). The absence of all filigree and
enamel, the plainness of the chatons, the strong design, the lack of exactness in
symmetry all these features point to a date as early as the sixth or even the
1 Inv. 1505, no. 69; Inv. 1634, f. 169'; Inv. 1739, no. 57 ; F., pi. iii R.
1 The well-known gold plaque from Siberia, which is in the Hermitage and represents an eagle
with displayed wings and raised tail, may have had rows of such stones along the tail where only the
grooves and rings remain. It is attributed to about the third to fifth century A. D. probably fifth.
i2 4 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
fifth century, and to the Eastern Empire as the place of manufacture for the
St.-Denis paten. 1
The earliest object of Merovingian make of which we receive a hint, unless
the inkstand of St.-Denis be Western, is a gold spoon 2 'of ancient fashion'
pierced with many holes, and used as a strainer over a chalice. We have no
representation of the spoon, but its recorded aspect of antiquity suggests that
it may have been one of the perforated spoons which were not uncommonly used
by Anglo-Saxons and Franks in the sixth and seventh centuries for some un-
known purpose, and have been found several times in association with crystal
balls. One of silver, set with garnets, was found at Chatham/ 1 others came from
Sarre, Bifrons, Sibertswold, and Stodmarsh, all in Kent ; and yet others from
Crundale, Hunts., and Chessell Down, I.W. These are all of the sixth century.
Somewhat later is a fine silver example in Prag Museum from Svetec. 4 Ger-
many has yielded one, and four were found in France (Dept. Aisne) by Moreau,
whereof two are in the Muse"e de Saint-Germain. A spoon of this character might
easily have been given to St.-Denis in the time of Dagobert, and thus survived
down to the Revolution. A perforated spoon of early date is figured by Rohault
de Fleury.' 1 Two silver examples are, or were, in the Barberini collection.
Theophilus, in the eleventh century, describes how such spoons should be made,
and that is not the last of them. The St.-Denis spoon, therefore, need not neces-
sarily go back to the time of Dagobert.
Characteristic works in precious metals of Dagobert's day are those which
were attributed to St. Eloy and artists contemporary with him. It should be re-
membered that all through the dark ages, approximately from the sixth to the
end of the tenth centuries, Orfevrerie was the leading art. As a rule, work in
jewellery and the precious metals is a minor art, employing the hands of crafts-
men of a rank subordinate to that of artists in architecture, sculpture, or painting.
But at the time with which we are dealing it was not so. Architects, sculptors,
and painters were the minor artists; goldsmiths were the great artists. Just as
the thirteenth century was the great age of architecture, and the fifteenth and
sixteenth of painting, so the period from the seventh to the eleventh century was
a great age of Orfevrerie. Some of the leading men of the day were goldsmiths,
and such was St. Eloy.
He was born about 588 near Limoges, and received his training in the work-
shop of Abbon, the local coiner and goldsmith of that city. Having favourably
1 I follow Riegl in attributing the finest work of this kind not to barbarian but to imperial artificers.
2 Inv. 1505, no. 175; Inv. 1634, f. 231" ; Inv. 1739, no. 105.
3 Nemo, p. 2 ; Akermann, pi. 33, and I'. C. II. Kent.
4 Baron de Baye, in Bull. Mon., 1907, who cites the examples that follow.
5 La Messe, iv, pi. 339, but this is not of barbarian make.
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AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 125
impressed Clotaire II, he was appointed by him head of his Mint, and was
made Treasurer by Dagobert. Like other studious or artistic persons of
those days, he was impelled to seek a quiet life in a monastery, but he was dragged
forth into affairs again in 640 and appointed bishop of Noyon. He was famed
as a preacher. He made missionary journeys. He died in 663. Whether living
as an official, as a monk, as a bishop, or as a statesman, his main work and interest
in life was the designing and making of splendid works of Orfevrerie chasses,
altar-frontals, tombs, chalices, and the like. Just as Rubens might perform the
functions of a diplomatist, while remaining always and above everything a
painter, so the Bishop of Noyon, while satisfactorily episcopating, remained
essentially an artist, and, what is more, the greatest Western artist of his day.
Dagobert, of course, had the chief claim on his services and gave to St.-Denis
several works by the splendid minister-goldsmith.
Principal amongst these by universal repute was the magnificent cross
always known as 'the Cross of St. Eloy'. Many descriptions and one painting
of it have come down to us (pi. II). 1 Doublet says this cross was of the height of a
man. The inventory of 1 739 states that it was six feet high or thereabouts. In the
midst of the cross was an agate cameo, assuredly antique. At the bottom, under
a glass, was a small enamelled reliquary containing a piece of the True Cross
which may have resembled the early Byzantine Beresford-Hopc reliquary in
the Victoria and Albert Museum. There were numerous precious stones on it,
and all the ground on the front and back of it was inlaid with glass mosaic of
various colours (like the chasse at St.-Maurice d'Agaune), as well as with pieces
of mother-of-pearl. The metal of it was gold and silver, except for a certain
attached repoussee copper-gilt plaque with the images of St. Denis and two
angels which was fastened at the foot of the back of the cross. This cross was
made to stand above the High altar, and there it was placed by Dagobert and
left by Suger, who describes it as ' illam ammirabilem sancti Eligii crucem '. It
was still there in 1505, according to the inventory, in which it is briefly described
as ' une grant croix d'or, les bordures d'argent, 2 nominee la croix sainct Eloy ',
and it is depicted in this position over the retable of Charles the Bald in the
painting of the ' Mass of St. Giles '. 3 In the days of Doublet and Millet (seven-
teenth century) the cross of St. Eloy had been moved and was over the place
1 Inv. 1505, no. 189; Inv. 1634, f. 252'; Inv. 1739, no. 100. A long description is printed in
Labarte, t. i, p. 247. The earliest mention of it is by the eighth-century author of the Gcsta Dagoberti,
cited by Labarte, who already records that St. Eloy was its maker, so that the attribution of it to him
is much more than a mere tradition.
8 Possibly the silver border is the obviously Gothic addition seen in the picture.
1 Inv. 1505, no. 15: ' Une grant croix d'or garnie de plusieurs pierres et perles', was the rather
similar cross of Charlemagne. It was valued at 2,705 6cus 8 sols, the cross of St. Eloy at 2,291 ecus ;
so that the cross of Charlemagne was the more valuable of the two.
VOL. I.XVI. R
V
126 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
where the Matutinal altar had stood. It was on a great beam painted blue and
dotted with gold fleurs-de-lys which Doublet says was ' au bout du Choeur tirant
vers le maistre autel ', and which Millet describes as ' cette longue piece de bois
azure"e et semee de fleurs de lys qui traverse le choeur par le bout des chaires'. 1
I n the inventory of 1 739 it is stated to be standing ' on the grille of the choir '.
The picture of the Mass of St. Giles, which now belongs to Mrs. Stewart
Mackenzie, and was kindly lent by her to the Society for the meeting, enables
us to fill out the written descriptions of this cross. It is, however, surprising
to find that the cross shown is very far short of 6 ft. high or of the height
of a man. We are forced to conclude that a stem, hidden behind the retable,
accounted for a considerable fraction of the total. It will be observed that the
cross is not actually on the top of the retable but just behind it, so that the
existence of such a stem is implied. In other respects the description and
the picture are in fair agreement. In the middle of the crossing is a kind
of quatrefoil medallion with a cameo head in the centre. The ground is evi-
dently inlaid with flat stones, and the small white cruciform spaces may be
filled with mother-of-pearl. At the foot is the little frame that contained the
small cross inscribed ' de cruce dfti '. There are large jewels at intervals down
the front, and there is a string of pearls set all round the inlaid field.
St. Eloy made a splendid tomb for St.-Denis and several chasses for the
abbey, but these need not detain us, as there is too little known about them. A
piece of his handiwork almost came down to our time. This was a jade gondola
which he mounted in gold and pastes. It was one of the small number of the
treasures of St.-Denis that escaped the Revolution and was placed in what should
have been the security of the Cabinet des Medailles. But in 1804 robbers got
at it and some other precious objects, and it has never been seen since. There
is indeed in the Cabinet des Medailles a jade gondola (no. 374) which claims to be
this one, but is of altogether different form.- De Linas, by the help of Fe'libien's
engraving and the detailed description in the inventory of 1634, succeeded in
making a restoration of it, which is here reproduced (pi. IX, fig. i). It must
be admitted to be rather difficult to see in the reconstruction the great beauty
which beholders seem to have united to find in the vase itself. It was set and
rimmed with gold and adorned with sapphires, garnets, plasmas, and seventy
oriental pearls. The nature of the stone puzzled all the old writers, who did not
know jade, and this may have had something to do with its prestige. Felibien
seems to have been the first to call it jade. Though made by St. Eloy, this
gondola was not given to St.-Denis by Dagobert in the seventh century, but by
Suger in the twelfth. It had been part of the royal treasure till Louis le Gros
1 D., pp. 288, 333 ; M., pp. 40, 71 ; F., p. 174.
* Babelon's Cat. des Camees, no. 374. See De Linas, Saint liloi, p. 60.
\RCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE IX
Fig. i. Gondola attributed to St. Eloy
Fig. 2. Navettc in shape ot an eagle, with gold mountings : reproduced, by permission,
from Guibert, Le* Dessins (in Cabinet Peiresc
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 127
pawned it. Ten years later he allowed Suger to redeem it and present it to
St.-Denis. 1 Suger describes it thus : ' Quod vas tarn pro pretiosi lapidis quali-
tate quam integra sui quantitate mirificum, inclusorio sancti Eligii opere constat
esse ornatum, quod omnium aurificum iudicio pretiosissimum aestimatur.'
Little need be said about the silver-gilt reliquary of the shoulder of John
Baptist, another of Dagobert's gifts to St.-Denis. 2 The engraving shows an
obviously Gothic reliquary. All the authorities, however, refer to it as an
ancient (Byzantine) casket which the Emperor Heraclius sent as a gift to
Dagobert. The inventory of 1739 knows enough to describe the style of it as
Gothic, and yet continues : ' ledit reliquaire a te donne a 1'abbaye par le roy
Dagobert.' Millet leaves it doubtful whether it was the reliquary or only the
relic that Heraclius sent. Thus we have no account of what the Byzantine
reliquary was like, or when and why it was replaced by the one engraved.
OnFdibien's plates(i and ii,our pi. 1 1 1) there are representations of two eagles
with spread wings set with gems. One is attached to the nail-reliquary, the other
is an independent ornament and was believed to be the mantle-clasp of Dagobert.
The latter is frequently mentioned. 3 Doublet describes it as ' an eagle, very rich,
of gold embellished with fine sapphires, rubies, and other jewels '. The inventory
of 1 739 specially mentions one big sapphire which Millet says was on the stomach
of the bird and was one of the finest sapphires ever seen. As for the other eagle
attached to the chasse, it may be the silver-gilt eagle set with stones of the
inventory of 1505 (no. 38). Millet (p. 125) also refers to a silver-gilt eagle set
with stones, 'qui a aussi servy d'agraffe a quelque manteau royal'. Both eagles, he
adds, were of about the size of a skylark. It is evident that these eagle-clasps are a
later development of the same type as the two bronze-gilt brooches in the Cluny
Museum from Valence d'Agen, and the similar gold brooch from Ravenna
which belongs to the German Museum at Nuremberg. 4 Authorities are divided
in the attribution of them to Byzantine or Gothic craftsmen. It is evident, how-
ever, that the type was admired by the rich men of the new peoples, Ostrogoths,
Visigoths, and the rest, and that it continued to be made down to the days of
Dagobert and perhaps even later.
The last gift to St.-Denis of the time of Dagobert that calls for brief mention
is the pair of bracelets that belonged to his queen Nanthilde. Doublet describes
them (p. 245) as ' so rare and exquisite as not to be compared with any other '.
Suger attached one of them to the middle of the cross of Charlemagne and the
1 Inv. 1505, no. 74 ; Inv. 1634, f. 172* ; Inv. 1739, no. 87 bis ; F., p. 175 and pi. iv cc ; D., p. 344 ;
M., p. 131.
Inv. 1505, no. 22 ; Inv. 1634, f. 144" ; Inv. 1739, no. 21 ; F., pi. ii E; D., pp. 172,335 ; M., p. 94.
1 Inv. 1505, no. 31 ; Inv. 1634, f. i5o v ; Inv. 1739, no. 33; F., pi. ii R ; D., pp. 173, 348 ; M.,p. 125.
They are generally assigned to the fifth century.
R 2
128 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
other to the reliquary of the head of St. Denis. They had disappeared before
the time of the earliest inventory.
Another pair of bracelets of great value was given to St.-Denis by Pepin,
the next royal donor with whom we have to concern ourselves. These had
belonged to Waifar (Doublet calls him Gayfier), Duke of Aquitaine, with whom
Pepin waged a war of life and death from 760 to 768. Aquitaine had enjoyed
relative tranquillity for many years, so that the arts had been able to flourish
there, notably in the city of Limoges, where St. Eloy learnt his craft. In the
last year of Pepin's life, 768, he finally overthrew and slew Waifar after utterly
devastating his whole country. Pepin took the splendid bracelets from him and
caused them to be attached behind the High altar of St.-Denis on the front of
the Martyrium, which we discussed at length above. 1 They were called, says
Doublet, ' les Pierres Gaifieres '. Suger took them away from this place (when
he moved the bodies of the saints) and fixed them over the arms of the crucifix
on the great cross which he set up as aforesaid. Pepin's other important gifts
were the above-mentioned gold figures of SS. Peter and Paul on the porphyry
columns, and a splendid square retable covered with gold and jewels, which
Suger appears to have placed over the altar of St.-Denis in the chevet. 2
A number of precious objects said to have belonged to Charlemagne was
included in the list of the treasures of St.-Denis ; they were not, however, gifts
of the great Emperor, but were presented by Charles the Bald. Finest among
them was the famous ' Escrin de Charlemagne ', of which Felibien has preserved
an unsatisfactory representation/' Fortunately a good, large-scale, coloured draw-
ing of it exists in the Cabinet des Estampes (pi. X). It has been reproduced by
Monsieur J. Guibert in the book above cited, where he shows that the drawing
was made after the 3oth of September, 1791, and shortly before the destruction of
the Iicrin in the public mint. In form it was a kind of upright scaffolding, shaped
like the facade of a church, and resembling in a general way the arcaded framing
which decorates the pages of the Eusebian canons at the beginning of Carlo-
vingian manuscript gospels. The inventory of 1505 says it was of silver-gilt ;
that of 1739 describes it as all of gold, covered with pearls and precious stones.
In Felibien's engraving it is shown with a Gothic base, an addition made in the
time of Abbot Philippe dc Villette (1363-1398), including a sort of long box with
crystal windows to display the relics within. On the top of this box is a row
of great jewels running all along the foot of the facade. The lower story of it
is an arcading of four round arches, from the summit of each of which depends a
crown, made of jewels strung together. Higher up is a second arcading with
1 .D., pp. 289, 1202. 2 D., p. 289 ; Viollet-le-Duc, Diet. Arch., ii, p. 23.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 4 ; Inv. 1634, f. 24 V ; Inv. 1739, no. 67 ; D., p. 335 ; M., p. 101 ; F., pi. ivc.
VRCHAEOLOCIA
VOL. LA VI fLATE A
THE 'ESCRIN DE CHARLEMAGNE'
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES
129
various pendent devices in jewels ; whilst within the pediment above are yet
more such devices. At the top of all is an antique gem surrounded by eight
jewels ; this is the small portion that still exists, from which alone we can gain
some idea of the character of the whole work. It was enriched with an extra-
ordinary multitude of precious stones, each being separately described and
valued in the inventory of 1634.
The centre of the surviving top member is a very fine beryl or aquamarine
with an intaglio portrait of Julia, daughter of Titus (fig. 2), one of the best glyptic
Photo : GiriiHtion, 1'iiris.
Fig. 2. Intaglio of Julia, daughter of Titus : from the ' Escrin de Charlemagne '.
portraits in the world, signed with the name of the artist, Euodos. It was set
face downwards on a foil of gold which caused the head to appear like a relief.
It is not unlikely that this gem, which must have belonged to the Roman
imperial treasure, was sent to Charlemagne as a gift from the Byzantine court.
A confirmation of this supposition is supplied by the uppermost of the sur-
rounding jewels, one side of which is engraved with a dolphin, the other with
a Byzantine monogram of the letters A M G X (perhaps for 'Ay/a
i 3 o THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
But if the stones are of Byzantine provenance, the setting- is Western.
Each gem is held by a band of metal soldered within a stout ring of the same,
and from the extremity of each springs a little metal stem and calyx ' holding
a fine oriental pearl, pinned through on to it. The workmanship may be called
rough, but is highly decorative, and implies for the whole ecrin a splendour
of effect which is not easily re-created even by an instructed imagination.
Among the treasures gathered together by Charlemagne and deposited by
him at Aix-la-Chapelle were the following famous relics : part of the Crown of
Thorns (including eight thorns), one holy nail, one piece of the cross, the
sudarium of Christ, the swaddling clothes of Christ, the Virgin's shift, and the
arm of St. Simeon. Charles the Bald is related, in the Descriptio above cited,
to have given the first three and ' alia quoque multa ' to St.-Denis. The sudarium
was deposited at Compiegne. The gift of the nail and crown was recorded
on his tomb. Holy nails are not uncommon relics, but whereas there should
not be more than four of them at most, upwards of thirty are still preserved at
Monza, Rome, Venice, Nuremberg, Prague, and so forth. They may have been
multiplied, like the key relics of St. Peter's chains, by being copied out of ordinary
iron with a little fragment of some master-relic welded into them. 2 Constantine
was said to have had two of the true nails. It was related that one of them
was wrought into the bit for his horse and the other affixed to his helmet. Both
Carpentras and Milan claim to possess the former, while the latter is said to
exist within the splendid crown at Monza. Millet states that Charlemagne
obtained his nail as a gift from Constantine V. At St.-Denis it had a chequered
history. 3 What the original case that contained it was like is not recorded, but
it may have been of the form of the beautiful tenth-century nail-reliquary still
preserved in the cathedral at Treves. It was at any rate small, for Charles VI
(c. 1397) gave a bigger reliquary in which, on a silver-gilt base, were gold figures
of Charlemagne and St. Louis holding the old reliquary, whilst other gold figures
kneeling represented himself, his queen, and his eldest son. This, however,
did not survive the troublous times, so that in 1642 a new one was made, and
this it is that Felibien's print depicts. He likewise tells a capital story about
how, in the year 1233, one day when relics were being venerated by the populace
and the nail was held out to a poor woman to be kissed, it fell into her lap, and
she went off with it, feeling something heavy and hoping it was gold. She
hurried home and found only a bit of iron to which she attached no consequence.
1 According to Molinier these pearl-settings point to the fourteenth-century restoration, when the
box was added at the foot.
2 An admirable essay on nail relics is included in an article by C. de Linas in Le Beffroi,vo\. iii
(1866 70), p. 32. It contains special reference to the St.-Denis nail.
3 Inv. 1505, nos. 21, 203; Inv. 1634, ff. i43 r ,29i v ; I nv. 1739, no. 3; F., p. 228, pi. iv D ; M., p. 86.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 131
Meanwhile the loss of the nail had been observed. The abbey doors were
locked too late and every one was searched, of course with no result. How the
relic was recovered is too long a tale to set down here and must be sought in
the pages of Felibien.
The third important treasure at St.-Denis which belonged to Charlemagne
was a famous cross, said to have come out of the emperor's private chapel.
There can be no doubt that it was the work of his day or even before, so that
the tradition that assigns it to him is quite credible. It was one of the gifts of
Charles the Bald. This is not the cross of St. Eloy above referred to and so
carefully depicted over the High altar in the painting of the Mass of St. Giles.
The inventory of 1534 minutely describes the cross of Charlemagne, and
Felibien likewise gives an engraving of it. 1 The inventory of 1505 is very vague
about it, but implies that then it was in the Treasury. The manuscript inventory
of 1634 is full of detail, and De Linas carefully studied it. Doublet describes it as
adorned in the middle by a very fine oriental amethyst hollowed out within like
a cup, and enriched with emeralds, sapphires, garnets, and pearls, containing also
many holy relics. He also states that Charles the Bald had it set up between
his tomb and the Matutinal altar, and that in the midst of it was fastened one
of the bracelets of Queen Nanthilde, but here he is only citing the statement of
Suger himself. 2 The inventories inform us that this cross was 2\ ft. high, and
the arms 2\ ft. in span ; and they highly prize the amethyst, which is plainly seen
as a large one in Felibien's engraving. De Linas cleverly shows that the ground
of Charlemagne's cross was covered with green pastes and garnets set within
circular metal cloisons, the green pastes being circular and the garnets filling
up the interstices between the circles. This appears to conform closely with
what we see as the ground of the cross of St. Eloy. We must therefore con-
clude that the crosses of Charlemagne and St. Eloy were work of the same school
and perhaps even of about the same date.
Charles the Bald was said to have given another gold cross which Felibien
caused to be engraved/ 1 The arrangement of the jewels on this cross resembles
that on Charlemagne's, but its four ends break out into large fleurs-dc-lys, and
the whole has a less convincingly early aspect. It was called the Cross of
1 Inv. 1505, no. 15; Inv. 1634, f. 8f ; Inv. 1739, no. 66; F., p. 174 and pi. iv H ; D., pp. 245, 335 ;
M., p. 88; De Linas, St. Eloi, p. 67.
* Loc. cit., p. 203 : ' Crucem etiam mirabilem quantitatis suae, quae superposita est inter altare et
tumulum eiusdem Karoli, in cuiusmedio fama retinuit confixum nobilissimum monile Nantildis reginae
uxoris Dagoberti regis ecclesiae fundatoris, aliud vero in frontem sancti Dionysii (tamen huic minori
nullum aequipollere peritissimi artifices testantur) erigi fecimus, maxime ob reverentiam sanctissimae
boiae ferreae, quae, in carcere Glaucini sacratissimo collo beati Dionysii innexa, cultum et venerationem
tarn a nobis quam ab omnibus promeruit.'
3 Inv. 1505, no. 16; Inv. 1634, f. 93"; Inv. 1739, no. 18; F., pi. ii u ; D., p. 335 ; M., p. 88.
132 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
St. Laurence, because the substance of it was made of two bars of the gridiron
of his martyrdom. At a late date it was changed into a processional cross by
the addition of a socket of silver-gilt to fit it to a staff. It was decorated with
cabochon sapphires, garnets (some hollowed out, others pointed), pearls, and
enamels. The presence of enamels shows that this cross can scarcely date from
the time of Charles the Bald.
The monks of St.-Denis believed themselves to possess the royal insignia
of Charlemagne, including a crown, sword, spurs, hand of justice, and sceptre.
Modern critics have decided that all of these objects are of later date, but I am
inclined to doubt the attribution of part at any rate of the sword to as late a date
as the twelfth century (pl.V, fig. i). Doubtless it has been subjected in the process
of time to many restorations and repairs. The blade may be, as is claimed, medie-
val, and the grip modern, but the pommel finds no corresponding neighbours
so far as I can discover amongst objects of the twelfth century. It was therefore
with no little pleasure that I met with a different interpretation of it given by
Monsieur Dieulafoy in his LArt antique dc la Perse (vol. v, p. 164). He calls
attention to the pair of attached wings and the ornament rising above them, and
points out how they reproduce in their form, their disposition, their style, and
their most minute details the emblematic wings which surmount the tiara of the
latest Sassanian kings. The central ornament is a mixed solar and lunar emblem.
' La broderie, les cntrelacs formes par les oiseaux, la forme, et surtout la dis-
position si particuliere des ailes, et 1'aspect de la garde elle-meme, accusent une
filiation perse sassanide incontestable/ He does not think the actual workman-
ship oriental, but holds that it was done in the West by some Western craftsman
imitating a Sassanian original of about A. D. 640. With the pommel go necessarily
the quillons, so that, if M. Dieulafoy is right, the sword in its original condition
may have been made for or belonged to Charlemagne, and may be the sword
named ' Joyeuse V as was reputed at St.-Denis. It should be added that the
grip of the hilt was remade for the coronation of Napoleon, and the blade is
asserted to be of the same modern date. A drawing in the Gagniere Collection
shows the whole in its original state. The blue velvet and fleurs-de-lys were
added to the scabbard in 1824 for Charles X's coronation. The reset gems may
have belonged to the original. The inventory of 1505 includes three other
swords. 2 Of these, one was said to have been carried by St. Louis on his first
Crusade; another belonged to Charles VII ; the third had the name of Arch-
bishop Turpin attached to it. None of them exists at the present day ; neither
does the sword of Jeanne d'Arc, which Doublet (p. 347) and Millet (p. 134)
mention.
1 Nos. in, 112, 113, 114.
" Inv. 1505, no. in; Inv. 1739, no. 80; D., pp. 347, 371; M., p. 126; F., pi. iv R ; Galerie
d'Apollon, Cat., no. 16.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 133
The remaining objects at St-Denis traditionally associated with Charle-
magne were all of later date. They included a set of ivory chessmen and chess-
board, a crown, spurs, hand of justice, and sceptre. We shall deal with them
later. It was not Charlemagne himself but his grandson, Charles the Bald, who
presented to St.-Denis the various treasures which may have belonged to the
great Emperor. He also gave the bowl of Chosroes, the ' Coupe des Ptolemees ',
and a so-called unicorn's horn. The tusk of the male narwhal whale, or sea-
unicorn, generally figured among medieval relics as a unicorn's. Such tusks
may be from 6 ft. to 10 ft. in length. The fabulous unicorn, however, was be-
lieved to be a native of India. It was depicted with the body of a horse, the tail
of a lion, and a long straight horn growing out of the middle of the forehead.
It was employed as an emblem of chastity. The belief in the efficacy of these
tusks as an antidote to poison lingered on into the seventeenth century, when
one of them, brought home from Spitzbergen in 1615, was sent out to India with
the merchant fleet next year and offered for sale at a high price to Shah Jehan
and others. But the scientific spirit was already abroad and they would not
purchase it, because it failed to save the life of a poor fellow who was poisoned
for the experiment ! The St.-Denis tusk was 6 ft. 7 in. long, and was fabled to
have been sent to Charlemagne by ' Aaron, King of Persia ', about the year 807.
We have seen above how it was fixed over the Matutinal altar in the time
of Suger. 1 Doublet states that in his day it was in the Chapel of St. Louis. He
writes a whole chapter (xliii) to disprove the statement of some sceptics that
no such beast as a unicorn exists. It is full of entertainment. Incidentally he
rives a list of unicorn relics known to him. St.-Denis likewise possessed
some elephants' teeth, the claw of a griffin, and other curiosities, regarded as
semi-relics.
Charles the Bald was also said to have given a copper-gilt lantern set with
thirty-five crystals, which disappeared between 1505 and I73Q. 2 In 1505 it is
simply called a lantern. Doublet says it belonged to Malchus, that it was of a
very old-fashioned type, and that the light shone dimly through the crystals.
He observes that it shows the mark of St. Peter's sword, Malchus having held
up the lantern to defend himself, but the sword glanced off one of the crystals
and took away his ear. Both he and Millet say it was called the lantern of
Judas. At the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford is a bronze lantern of about the
twelfth century, set with twenty-five crystals, which may give some idea of what
the other was like.
We cannot delay over most of Charles the Bald's other recorded gifts his
crown, the rich altar-tables, the horn of Roland, a great vase of amber, a large
1 Originally it was placed among the candles over the altar of the Trinity.
2 Inv. 1505, no. 209; D., pp. 320, 324 ; M., p. 134.
VOL. LXVI. s
134 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
silver bowl plated with gold, seven silver lamps (to burn in memory of certain
relations and friends), and seven great silver candelabra because nothing of
special interest is recorded about them and they have utterly vanished. Many
of them may have been of later date. 1
One great treasure, however, the great golden altar-frontal unquestionably,
I think, given to St.-Denis by Charles the Bald, and utterly destroyed in the Re-
volution is, in part at any rate, depicted with care in the painting of the Mass of
St. Giles, where it is seen as a retable above the Maitre Autel (pi. X I). The small
scale of the picture made it impossible to depict every stone, so that the artist
was constrained to some simplification of the great masses of jewels with which
the gold plaques were set, and of which we can read the tale, stone by stone, in
the inventory of 1634, or m Doublet's pages. * The means thus placed at our
disposal enable us to reconstitute the frontal with tolerable accuracy and even
to feel something of its splendour and beauty. When it was made it was by no
means a unique gift to a church which a powerful king or wealthy bishop de-
lighted to honour. The ninth-century gold altar-casing in the Cathedral of
St. Ambrose at Milan is the only surviving contemporary example of this kind
of work, but in the great days of Orfevrerie Europe had many such to show.
In the nature of things few of them could survive; still it is rather tantalizing
to remember that the grandfathers of plenty of people still living might have
beheld this frontal of Charles the Bald, and yet that the only representation of
it has to be sought in the background of a small painting of the fifteenth century.
I have seen it stated that the frontal was originally a triptych, and that it was
made into the form in which we see it by Suger. Such was not the case. Suger
left it in the main as he found it. Some repair or addition may have been made
to the original frame, but nothing more. It is likewise wrongly stated that Suger
made a retable of it. This was not so. He continued to use it as a frontal, and
added three other sides. 3
In 1505 it was used as a retable, and so it appears in the picture of the Mass
of St. Giles, to which we must now refer. We see that the face of it was an
expanse of gold embossed with designs and figures, and richly set with gems.
The main division is into three panels side by side, each surmounted by a round
arch supported on pilasters. There are wonderful masses of jewels in the span-
drils. Five-sixths of the central panel are visible and about two-thirds of the
See D., p. 1258, for a list of Charles the Bald's reputed gifts to St.-Denis.
Inv. 1505, no. 188; Inv. 1634, f. 239'; Inv. 1739, no. 103 ; D., p. 330 ; Labarte, p. 369.
Suger, loc. at., p. 196 : ' Principale igitur beati Dionysii altare, cui tantum anterior a Karolo
Calvo imperatore tertio speciosa et preciosa habebatur, quis eidem ad monasticum propositum oblati
fuimus, ornatum iri acceleravimus, et utrique later! aureas apponendo tabulas, quartum etiam preciosio-
rem, ut totum circumquaque altare appareret aureum, attoliendo circumcingi fecimus.' The frame or
border containing enamel must have been added by Suger.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 135
left, whilst only the top of the right appears above the head of the officiating
priest.
The central panel contains a figure of Christ enthroned, surrounded by a
mandorla of a figure-of-eight shape, the upper lobe being much larger than the
lower. A similar mandorla is found on a fine ivory, once in the Odiot Collection
and now in the Berlin Museum, which presents other features of agreement with
our altar-piece, so that there is no doubt but that both came from the same
school and were of about the same date. The ivory (Goldschmidt, no. 23) is
assigned to the so-called Ada Group ; that is to say, it belongs to the group of
ivories that resemble a number of manuscripts made for Carlovingian emperors
in some workshop maintained by them. 1 The Christ of the Berlin ivory is
beardless, and is blessing after the Greek manner, a sufficient indication of where
the influence came from that affected the carver. In the vacant space by either
shoulder is a six-winged seraph, and the like is seen on the altar-piece outside
the closer fitting mandorla. The central gold-repousse panel of the binding of
St. Emmeran's Gospels at Munich shows Christ in a similar mandorla surrounded
by eight-rayed stars. The repousse plates in question probably belonged to the
original binding of the manuscript when it was given by Charles the Bald in the
first instance to St.-Denis, and they may even have been wrought at St.-Denis.
The binding was redecorated at Ratisbon after Emperor Arnould had taken it
away from St.-Denis and presented it to St. Emmeran's Abbey. 2 A comparison
should also be made with the central panel of the frontal of the golden altar in
the church of St. Ambrose at Milan.
The painting shows a rich setting of jewels, but it is only when we read the
detailed description of the inventory that we realize the wealth of jewels actually
employed, far more numerous than the painter could possibly reproduce on the
scale of his work. Even at the risk of some prolixity it may be well to set down
what is related about a small portion of the work. The cross in the hand of
Christ was set with garnets, plasmas, amethysts, and pearls and with a fine
aquamarine like an eye. There were twenty-eight garnets in the nimbus as
well as three large sapphires, four plasmas, and sixteen very fine pearls ; also on
the cross of the nimbus were eight garnets, two plasmas, and two knobs set with
garnets, also eighteen more pearls. The border of the robe was garnished with
1 Another, somewhat later, ivory of the same school, which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum
(Graeven, no. 63), has a similar type of mandorla with symbols of the Evangelists in the corners like
the Berlin ivory. Christ in a similar mandorla with Evangelists' symbols in the angles occupies one
of the four corners of a Carlovingian ivory belonging to a binding now in Cluny Museum (Michel, fig.
446). Here the ground of the mandorla is covered with six-rayed stars, much as the crosslets must have
been dotted about on the retable.
* See reproductions of the ivories and Munich binding with some notes on them by the present
writer in the Burlington Magazine, March, 1915.
s 2
136 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
twenty-two garnets, thirteen plasmas, and thirteen pearls. The edge of the throne
had twelve garnets, seventeen sapphires, nine plasmas, and twenty-nine pearls.
On the binding of the book held in the left hand was a great jewel called a
' strin ' surrounded by twenty-four pearls, with four sapphires at the corners, four
plasmas, two garnets, and the edges set with garnets. On the background
around . the figure were seven heart-shaped settings of garnets with two larger
ones artfully shaped, also twelve crosslets of garnets with a pearl to each, and
chalcedonies at each side of the hands. There were likewise an alpha and an
omega, each of six plasmas, six garnets, and six pearls. The footstool con-
tained one great and four smaller garnets, two sapphires, eighteen plasmas, and
fifteen pearls. The mandorla held two hundred and three pearls, thirteen plasmas,
and at the top of it a big hollowed aquamarine and a fine sapphire. Over this
was a tablet with a similar aquamarine, surrounded by twenty-two large, rough
pearls, sapphires in the four corners, seven plasmas, four garnets, and a fine
engraved chrysolite gem, and so forth. It is hardly necessary to continue the
enumeration, which, for the whole altar-piece, fills twenty-seven folio pages in
the manuscript inventory.
The two side panels resembled one another. The lower part was filled by
an arcade of three round arches with a saint holding a book in his left hand
under each. They had jewelled nimbi and there was a jewelled star over the
head of each. There were also twenty-four jewelled crosslets on the background
around them (a Carlovingian feature which can be paralleled from the ivory).
Above these arches were two angels and between them a pendent crown adorned
with three rows of pearls. The jewelled chains from which the crowns seemed
to hang, like the crowns of Guarrazar, were held by a hand under the top of the
great encompassing arch, and of course these great arches and the pilasters
below them were likewise a mass of jewels. Enough has perhaps been said to
give the reader some notion of the matchless splendour of this wonderful work,
which the French Revolutionists broke up into its component parts of stones and
gold. 1
We shall probably never know the name of the artist who presided over
the making of this wonderful work, but trie-question as to where it was made
may not remain unanswerable. It was perhaps in the abbey of St. Denis
itself. Labarte (p. 368) points out that a school of goldsmiths of high repute
existed in Carlovingian days within the abbey. A letter of Abbot Loup de
Ferrieres of the first half of the ninth century expresses his gratitude for the
admission to this school of two of his young monks. Carlovingian goldsmiths,
in fact, rivalled their contemporaries at Constantinople, so that the Patriarch of
1 The golden altar-frontal in Cluny Museum, which the Emperor Heinrich II presented to Basle
Cathedral, is a later development of the same arcaded type as the frontal of Charles the Bald.
ARCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XTI
Photo :' Girandon, Paris
Fig. i. Cameo of Augustus (lit. 8-3 cm.)
mounted in silver-gilt with jewels
I'hvto : (jimiidon, /'art's
Fig. 2. Golden spur : i2th century
(1. 17 cm.)
rhoto : Girantiiit, 1'aris
Fig. 3. Lapis lazuli plaque, inlait
with guld (lit. 8-3 cm.)
1'halo: (,'iranitoii, I'ai-is
Fig. 4. Clasp : called the clasp of St. Louis (lit. 18-7 cm.) Fig. 5. Ivory chessman
Pulilixlini hv Hie Sotirtv at Antiauarits of London, IQI.S
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 137
Grado, for instance, obtained precious pieces of work for his church both from
the Eastern capital and from Carlovingian workshops.
A charming fragment of jewellery * in the Cabinet des Medailles (no. 234)
was taken off the reliquary of the head of Saint-Hilaire, made in 1606, where it
was fastened below the neck in the middle of the orphrey of the collar of the
cope. Of course it came from some much earlier work, the nature of which is
not recorded. It consists of a beautifully carved sardonyx cameo of Augustus,
of the best Roman days, set in a wreath of jewels, simply but most effectively held
together (pi. XII, fig. i). The six large stones, rubies alternating with sapphires,
are separated by little groups of irregularly shaped pearls, three in each group.
The great stones are held by claws. Few pieces of ancient jewellery exceed this
fragment in simple but very subtle charm. Every time I see it in the Cabinet
des Medailles it seems to me more beautiful than before. The setting has been
so much tampered with that it is difficult to date it. It may be as late as the
thirteenth century.
The tenth century is the approximate date of a fine crystal ewer - preserved
in the Louvre among the treasures of Mussulman art to which it properly belongs
(pi. XIII, fig. 2). Charles the Bald is said to have given it to St.-Denis, but it can
scarcely have existed in his day. In the British Museum is a crystal reliquary
said to have belonged to Charles the Bald, but that is absolutely plain work
which might have been produced in the ninth century when Egyptian and Syrian
craftsmen were perhaps just beginning to tackle the difficult problem of crystal-
carving. The St.-Denis ewer is the work of a practised workman of Fatimite
days, living probably in Cairo not earlier than the tenth century, nor much later.
It retains its gold lid and the chain attaching it to the handle. It is cut, handle
and all, out of a single block of crystal. Three crystal ewers of this type and
date are known. The second is in the Treasury of St. Mark at Venice ; the third
in the Victoria and Albert Museum. At Berlin is the cast of another which was
once at Cologne but is now lost. The date of all these ewers is about the tenth
century and they came from one centre. The Venice example is securely dated
between the years 975 and 996. Its handle is surmounted by the figure of a
recumbent ibex ; another such ibex has been partly broken off both from the
Louvre and the London specimens. The Arabic inscription, which Millet noticed,
on the St.-Denis ewer, means ' Peace and content to the donor '. Parroquets
and foliation have been laboriously carved with the wheel on the body of the
1 Probably Inv. 1505, no. 34 ; Inv. 1614, f. 155" ; Inv. 1739, no. 17 ; D., p. 339 ; M., p. 103 ; F.,
pi. ii A, pp. 430, 538.
1 F., pi. iv c ; D., pp. 342, 1258 ; M., p. 128. The entries in the inventory of 1505 are too vague
to admit of identification. See also G. Migeon, Manuel d'art mitsulman, p. 373. It was fabled to have
come from Solomon's temple.
138 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
jug in relief. No European artist could have made anything like it at the time
or for some centuries after.
The Louvre 1 possesses a magnificent gold Boite d'^vangeliaire (pi. XIV),
which was in the Treasury of St.-Denis in Doublet's time, who thus (p. 346)
describes it : ' Un riche livre en parchemin, couvert d'or a petits rameaux d'or
a filets torts, avec plusieurs beaux esmaux d'applique, et images d'argent dor6
bien industrieusement enlevees de demie bosse, entaille"es dedans ledit esmail
d'applique. Ce livre enrichy de presmes d'esmeraudes, de saphirs, amatistes,
grenats, cassidoines, agathes, aulnisses, et quantite de perles d'Escosse et
d'Orient.' The centre of the front is occupied by a repousse group of the Cruci-
fixion surmounted by a round arch. The sides and spandrils of this arch are later
restorations and include some of the Palermo enamel buttons, the like of which
are on the sardonyx vase. In the corners of the cover are four splendid trans-
lucent enamels of the emblems of the Evangelists. The rest of the area is covered
with filigree, jewels, and eight pieces of enamel set like jewels but evidently not
made for their present positions. This binding is usually described as French,
but merely because no one knows where it was made. Other enamels of the
same character as those on this book-cover are the following :
A book-cover in the treasury of Milan Cathedral.
A book-cover in the library at Munich (Cim. 57).
The cross of Velletri.
Enamels on the St. Andrew reliquary at Treves.
The Soltykoff cross in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A Portatile at Conques (eleventh century).
All these works are of late tenth- or early eleventh-century date. It is claimed
that the enamels that adorn them were made in Lorraine, in Burgundy, in Italy,
in France, as the case may be. The enamels are all similar, and, except for their
subjects, resemble Byzantine work. The only possible conclusion seems to be
that they were all made by itinerant Byzantine craftsmen, who had come West
and were working for Western patrons and carrying out Western designs. There
is no indication of the existence at this time of any settled atelier in western
Europe where work of this kind was produced. It appears here and there
sporadically, and was produced not at one centre but by one group of crafts-
men, wherever any of them happened to be employed. 2
1 Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 13.
2 Other manuscripts and book-covers in the Bibliotheque Nationale which once belonged to
St.-Denis are the following:
fonds lat. 2630 ; St. Hilary on the Trinity. MS. of the seventh century,
fonds lat. 256; Gospels. MS. of the seventh century,
fonds lat. 7899; Terence. MS. of the ninth-tenth centuries,
fonds lat. 2 ; The Bible of Charles the Bald.
fonds 131.9387 ; Gospels of the ninth century. Binding of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
fonds lat. 9436; Missal of the eleventh century. Binding, one side eleventh -twelfth centuries,
the other fifteenth century.
10
5\
y
bo
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 139
After Charles the Bald we have to wait a long time, till well into the twelfth
century, before we hear of another royal donor of works of art to the abbey, and
then the pair of gold candlesticks presented by Louis VI were so small a matter
compared with the immense gifts of the great Suger, who in fact had them made
respectable according to his ideas by the addition of jewels to them, that we need
not delay over them but can turn at once to the work of the great Abbot-Minister
himself. He was elected Abbot of St.-Denis in 1122, and retained that office till
his death in 1151, that is to say during the reigns of his masters Louis VI and
Louis VII. With his great works as a builder we are not now concerned, nor
with his influence on the artists of his day in the matter of the subjects treated
by them, an influence recently emphasized by Professor E. Male in a valuable
article in the Revue de I' Art.' What concerns us here is merely the group of
works in the precious metals which Suger caused to be made and which he
presented to St.-Denis. Fortunately he himself wrote an account of his doings,
to which we have already more than once referred, so that the authenticity of
what conies down from him admits of no question. 2
He relates that, when his rebuilding operations were completed, he took in
hand the provision of ornaments for the church. He provided the new and
splendid shrine for St. Denis in the chevet ; he marked the saint's old resting-
place by erecting a high cross over the entrance to the crypt ; he added gold
sides and back to the High altar-frontal of Charles the Bald ; he had Louis VI's
candelabra set with gems. Then he took the Matutinal altar in hand. He re-
stored its porphyry table set with relics and jewels and equipped it with a cross,
ciborium, etc. He remade Charles the Bald's seven silver lamps to hang before
it, and he likewise remade his seven silver candelabra. He set up the cross of
Charlemagne near by. He remade the choir-stalls and restored the pulpitum,
the eagle lectern, and Dagobert's throne. He filled the windows with stained
glass, much of which was soon copied at Chartres and elsewhere. Finally he
presented for use in the church a series of magnificent vases to which we must
presently refer in detail.
Much of the above work has already received our attention, but a word must
be said about the great cross which Suger set up over the entrance to the crypt.
This has recently been made the subject of careful study by Prof. E. Male in the
article in the Revue de I'Art* to which reference has already been made, and the
reader is referred to it for much interesting detail. This cross on its pillar was
about seven metres in height. The cross was covered with gold ; the crucifix
1 February, 1914.
1 See CEuvres de Suger, ed. Lecoy de la Marche ; Paris, 1867.
! February, 1914, p. 93; D., p. 251 ; Inv. 1505, nos. 195-8; Inv. 1634, ff. 26' 267".
140 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
fastened to it was of gold, and the wounds were rubies. The pillar was square
and covered on its four sides with enamelled copper plates, seventeen enamels on
each face, viz. eight pairs of types and antitypes and one larger subject. These
enamels and the other parts of the work were made by Godefroy de Claire of
Huy in the Lower Lorraine of those days, and his assistants, in all sometimes
five sometimes seven in number. It occupied them for two years, and was
finished in the year 1147. At the base of the pillar were seated figures in the
round of the four Evangelists writing, with their emblems behind them, whilst
at the top of it, on the faces of the square capital, were four half-length figures
of the elements. We cannot now behold any part of the original work, but there
fortunately exists an interesting replica of the base and capital in the form of
the foot of a cross now in St. Omer Museum, which probably belonged to the
abbey of St.-Bertin (pi. VII, fig. 2). This small reproduction, 30 cm. in height, was
itself likewise made in the workshop of Godefroy de Claire. Its column, how-
ever, is short, and only contains one enamel subject on each face. Suger's cross
was destroyed in the religious troubles of the sixteenth century.
This great cross of Suger was not the only one given by him to St.-Denis.
Doublet mentions two others, of which note must be taken, though nothing of
either survives. The first (p. 286) was erected on the choir-screen between figures
of the Virgin and St. John. This was of wood. It was the great Rood of the
Church. The second (p. 288) is more puzzling, because Doublet says that it stood
in his day over the High altar, and that it was of gold and was the cross to which
Suger's gold crucifix was attached, so that he seems to imply that it was a part
of the great cross made by Godefroy de Claire. Millet (p. 40) again had the same
idea. He says that in his day Suger's cross 'est e"levee sur le grand autel, au
dessus de la table d'or ', etc. But he was not quite satisfied about it, for he con-
tinues, this cross, 'although very beautiful and all sown with jewels, is never-
theless much diminished from its ancient splendour, and it seems that what one
beholds now is only the back of this cross and that the gold crucifix was on the
other face, which crucifix, notwithstanding the anathemas of Pope Eugenius, was
not spared during the troubles of the league ' and so forth a clear reference
therefore to a survival of part at any rate of Suger's great cross. The
inventory of 1739 (no. 101) is more particular, and states that this gold cross,
placed above the retable of the High altar, was about 6 ft. high, and was adorned
with many sapphires, jacinths, and garnets; further that it stood on a foot
of gilt-bronze adorned with grapes and ears of corn, from which protruded a
kind of cross with leaves from which the ciborium depended. Inscriptions on
this cross stated that it was given by Suger. This reference, however, to the
suspended ciborium sets us on what is probably the right track.
Suger did in fact set up yet another cross behind the Matutinal altar, of
RCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XIV
l*oto; Girstndox, /bn>
GOLDEN COVER OF GOSPELS FROM ST.-DENIS (39x320111.)
Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1915
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 141
which the inventory of 1505 (no. 162) l gives us a detailed, if rather puzzling,
description. It was a wooden cross covered with thin gold and standing on a
pommel of gilt copper. It had a ' baston ' of gilt copper and was adorned with
jewels. It stood on a square column and included some figures and so forth.
Nothing is said about the attachment of a crucifix to it. Surely this must have
been the cross that was set over the new High altar in 1610 when the Matutinal
altar was moved from its original position and made up to serve for the High
altar. Doublet and Millet were wrong in believing that the cross they described
ever formed part of Suger's great cross, which was utterly destroyed at the
time of the religious wars. This was one of Suger's crosses, but not the
great one.
The High altar possessed the rich gold frontal of Charles the Bald, but its
two ends and back were not adorned. Many of the wealthy churches of Europe
at this time could boast High altars completely enclosed in gold, like the famous
altar still existing in Sant'Ambrogio at Milan. Suger, ambitious that St.-Denis
should rival in magnificence even St. Sophia at Constantinople, was not likely
to be satisfied with a mere frontal of gold. He accordingly, as has already been
stated above, provided for it two ends and a back of similar magnificence, as he
himself describes in the passage already quoted. The back did not survive the
troubles of the fourteenth century, but, when the inventory of 1505 was made,
Charles the Bald's frontal was, as we have seen, still existing and used as a retable,
while the two end panels of Suger's altar were now joined together and used as a
frontal. If we could lift the brocaded frontal in the picture of the Mass of St.Giles
we should see them, or at least the locked doors that enclosed them. 2 Each of
these ends was covered with an embossed gold plate, evidently made to agree
in design with the frontal of Charles the Bald. The design consisted of an arcade
of three arches below and a circular medallion above each arch. The roundels
contained the Annunciation, Visitation, and Nativity on one end and the Agnus
Dei between two censing angels on the other. Under the arcades were the
Virgin and Child and two prophets on one end and St. Denis and his two com-
panions on the other with the figure of a king. The roundels and the arcades
were set with jewels, and the whole was framed within a border of foliation, gems,
and enamel. What a pity that the fifteenth-century painter did not show us some
of this.
We thus come in due sequence to the precious vessels given by Suger to
St.-Denis, whereof a certain number still exist. They include two important
chalices with patens, St. Eloy's gondola, Queen Eleanor's vase, an agate ewer,
some crystal vessels, and the porphyry vase mounted as an eagle. We have
already discussed St. Eloy's gondola and need not return to it. Two beautiful
1 Inv. 1634, f. 220 T . 2 Inv. 1505, no. 187; Inv. 1634, f. 234'.
VOL. LXVI. T
i 4 2 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
bottles, one of crystal, the other of beryl, are engraved by Felibien (F., ii L),
but are not known to exist. Perhaps they were among the objects not described
in detail acquired by Suger from Thibaud, Count of Blois, which he had obtained
from Roger, King of Sicily. The beryl vase was faceted all over into a multi-
tude of sharp points, while the other had a design cut on the surface after the
manner of the Fatimite crystal vases described above. A 'tasse de voirre
cristallin, faict par deriors a poinctes', No. 77 in the inventory of 1505, is stated
in the inventory of 1634 (f. 175') to have been broken to pieces by ' Queen Mary
of England' (i. e. Henrietta Maria) when she was visiting the Treasury, but the
pieces were saved. 1
Queen Eleanor's vase and the agate ewer both exist in tolerable preser-
vation in the Louvre. Queen Eleanor's vase, 2 the wedding present she gave to
her first husband, Louis VII (it will be remembered that she afterwards married
Henry II of England), is a very beautiful and unusual-looking object (pi. XV,
fig. 2). Her grandfather had received the crystal bowl from one Mitadolus, who
may have been an emir of Spain. It is pitted all over with little hollows, like
the surface of honeycomb. It may be antique or it may be Fatimite work of
the tenth or eleventh century. In any case it was Suger who had it so finely
mounted and caused it to be thus inscribed :
Hoc vas sponsa dedit Anor Regi Ludovico,
Mitadolus avo, mihi Rex, Sanctisque Sugerus.
When engraved by Felibien it still retained its cover. Some details, no longer
existing, can be supplied from the inventories, which state that the setting is of
gold, jewels, and pearls, and specially mention two red jaspers ' on one of
which is engraved an idol, and on the other the head of a man '. These were
doubtless antique gems. The blue enamel medallions with fleurs-de-lys are
a late substitute for some lost jewels.
Suger's ewer (pi. XIII, fig. i), which is in the Louvre, was for holding the
sacramental wine. r> It consists of an antique sardonyx jug and handle cut out of
one piece of stone and mounted for Suger. A rather similar, but unmounted
antique jug, called the Vase of Mithridates, is likewise in the Louvre, and there
are others in the Venice treasury and elsewhere. The date of all of them is
uncertain. Such precious vessels were made from Hellenistic times down, and
1 Henrietta Maria was married to Charles I in 1625.
2 Inv. 1505, no. 75; Inv. 1634, f. 173'; Inv. 1739, no. 85; F., pi. iv z ; D., p. 344; M., p. 130;
Labarte, Arts indus., i, p. 410, pi. 32 (coloured plate) ; Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 21.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 27; Inv. 1634, f. 148*; Inv. 1739,00.69; F., pi. iv E ; D., p. 343; M., p. 129;
Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 19.
^RCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XV
: tliramlon, I'aris
Fig. i. Silver-gilt statuette of Our Lady and Child
(ht. 69 cm.)
Fig. 2. Queen Eleanor's vase, ruck crystal and silver-gilt
(lit. 3) cm.)
riiblished by the Society of Antiquaiits of London, 1915
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 143
continued to be made in Sassanian Persia and in Constantinople, but few of
them have any feature that can give a chronological clue. The setting of
Suger's ewer has an oriental aspect. It is of silver-gilt. As Suger had the
following couplet inscribed upon it :
Dum libare Deo gemmis debemus et auro,
Hoc ego Sugerius offero vas Domino,
there can be little doubt that the mounting was actually done at St.-Denis.
The chalice of Suger (pi. XVI, fig. i) is one of the tantalizing treasures which
survived the perils of the Revolution only to fall a victim to robbers in 1804.
Marion deMersan 1 states that it and two other objects of value were smuggled
over to England within a plaster bust of the Laocoon and sold to Mr. Townley,
who is supposed to have bequeathed it or them to the British Museum.
Unfortunately the story seems to be untrue, and the objects in question have
vanished. By great good luck, however, Suger's chalice attracted the attention
of that remarkable antiquary Peiresc of Aix-en- Provence. He had a careful
coloured drawing (pi. XVI, fig. i) made of it in 1633, which still exists in the
Cabinet des Estampes and has been reproduced in facsimile in Monsieur
Guibert's book. 2 Felibien, as above noted, made the mistake of associating
with this chalice the early Byzantine paten already described. Suger was
delighted with this cup and has left a description of it : he says that it was made
of the same material as his ewer : ' Comparavimus etiam praefati altaris offtciis
sardio et onice, quo uno usque adeo sardii rubor a nigredine onichini proprie-
tatem variando discriminat, ut altera in alteram proprietatem usurpare inniti
aestimetur.' a The agate cup was evidently made of a beautiful stone. It was
fluted externally. The lip was framed in a broad silver-gilt rim carrying twelve
large stones separated from one another by pairs of pearls in a manner charac-
teristic of all the settings made for Suger. The cup stood on a massive silver-
gilt knob supported by a wide spreading base. Knob and lip were held together
by two handles, round the outside of which pearls and jewels were set as in the
case of several Byzantine chalices of about the same date preserved in the
Treasury of St. Mark at Venice. Round the lowest part of the stem is a series
of medallions, five in number, 'garnis de cinq demies images de demie bosse et
entre iceux ronds six grenats (which the drawing omits), et au dessous desdits
ronds ioignant cinq peridos ' (D., p. 345).
In order to give to the 'Coupe des Ptolemees' a form acceptable as a chalice,
Suger had a stem and base made for it. These were melted down by the
1 Hist, du Cab. des Medailles, p. 166. 2 Loc. cit., pi. iii, p. 27.
3 Inv 1505, no. 71 ; Inv. 1634, f. 170* ; Inv. 1739, no. 57 ; D., pp. 247, 345 ; M., p. 109 ; F., pi. iii R.
T 2
144 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
thieves of 1804, but Felibien's engravings and an independent drawing preserve
a record of its character. Their general effect is similar though they disagree in
details. 1 The mounting was evidently similar in style to others made for the
same abbot. The following dedication was inscribed on the base :
Hoc vas Christe tibi . . . mente dicavit
Tertius in Francos . . . regmine Karlus.
The chalice, paten, and burettes which were said to have belonged to
St. Denis himself have all disappeared, but Peiresc obtained a good coloured
drawing of the chalice (pi. XVI, fig. 3), which Monsieur Guibert has reproduced. 2
The chalice itself was sold by auction in Messidor of the year VI and has not since
been heard of. It is hardly likely that the crystal bowl and knob have ceased to
exist. The former was evidently of Fatimite workmanship of the tenth or
eleventh century. It was adorned with foliation cut no doubt with the wheel.
The silver-gilt setting is clearly of about the twelfth century and made in western
Europe, but not by the St.-Denis artists. Broad bands of decorated silver
set with gems form both the lip and the base of the actual bowl, and these are
united by four narrow bands of metal, apparently plain, and firmly attached to
them, but not hinged at the ends, as was the Byzantine fashion. The two handles
are similarly attached above and below. The decoration seems to have been
more delicate than that done by St.-Denis workmen. Some cut stones are
employed as well as numerous cabochons of various colours.
The Louvre possesses another crystal chalice, with a stem and foot of the
same substance, preserved among the treasures of Mussulman art. The foot has,
carved on its surface, a series of bouquetins evidently of Fatimite workmanship,
whilst a simple arabesque design of curved lines covering the bowl need not
necessarily have been engraved in the East. Monsieur Migeon 3 attributes the
foot to the tenth century, and the cup and mount uniting them to an unesti-
mated later date. He also says that this chalice belonged to St.-Denis, but
as he appears to have confused it with Queen Eleanor's vase this statement may
be an error. I cannot elsewhere find any record of this chalice among St.-Denis
treasur:
Reference has already been made to the porphyry vase mounted in silver-
gilt as an eagle (pi. XVII, fig. 2). 4 The mount is a work of genius and speaks for
itself. It bears an inscription in raised letters round the neck of the vase :
1 R. de Fleury (La Messe, iv, pi. 296) attempted to harmonize them.
2 Loc. ct(., pi. vii, p. 27. Inv. 1505, no. 62; Inv. 1634, f. i66 r ; Inv. 1739, no. 58; D., p. 346; M.,
p. 99; F., pi. iii s.
3 Manuel d'art musulman, ii, p. 374, fig. 323.
4 Inv. 1505, no. 28; Inv. 1634, f. 149'; Inv. 1739, no. 89; D., p. 343; M., p. 129; F., pi. iv EE.
ARCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LX VI PLATE AVI
Fig. i. The Chalice of Abbot Suger
Fig. 2. Agate phial F'g- 3- Chalice: called 'the Chalice of St. Denis 1
Reproduced, by permission, from Guibcrt, Les Dessins du Cabinet Peirtsc
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 145
Includi gemmis lapis iste meretur et auro ;
Marmor erat, sed in his marmore carior est.
The supports on which it stands are formed by the tail and two feet of the bird,
each of the latter grasping a round-topped lump. Similar supports of birds'
feet and tails are depicted, as Monsieur Guibert has pointed out, 1 beneath another
object depicted in a coloured drawing in the Peiresc collection (pi. IX, fig. 2),
where Suger's eagle also finds place. It is impossible not to conclude that both
mounts were made by Suger's goldsmiths. This lost object seems to have been an
antique vase cut out of agate or some other precious substance. It is rather low
and wide in form, having a bird's head at each end, one with a ring in its beak,
and with a lion's head carved in relief on the middle of one side. Peiresc's artist,
Daniel Rabel, must have come across it somewhere and drawn it for his em-
ployer, but no record of it has been found. Even if it was not the property of
St.-Denis it was probably mounted in the abbey workshop in Suger's time.
The invaluable Peiresc 2 has likewise preserved for us the likeness of yet
another beautiful little object which passed from centuries of repose in the
Treasury of St.-Denis to the fatal auction of ' Messidor an VI ', and has not
since been recorded, though it also can scarcely have passed out of existence. It
is a slender agate phial, to which has been added a delicate rim and a gracefully
proportioned foot, both in silver-gilt and set with little stones. The setting is not
in the style of Suger's goldsmiths, but appears to be of thirteenth-century date,
so far as the drawing enables the formation of an opinion (pi. XVI, fig. 2).
The ceremony of the coronation of the kings of France took place at Reims ;
the custody of the coronation insignia belonged to the abbey of St.-Denis and
was a privilege jealously prized." These included the crown, sceptre, hand of
justice, sword, spurs, camisole, mantle and clasp, tunic, dalmatic, and shoes. Of
course this privilege was a custom of slow growth. It seems to have begun
with the deposit of the crown only. The oldest crown that the abbey claimed
to possess was Charlemagne's, which is described as a closed imperial crown.
This, of course, was merely a legendary attribution. A considerable number of
early crowns still exist, most of them belonging to the wonderful find of Visi-
gothic crowns at Guarrazar, one being at Madrid and the others in the Cluny
Museum. These crowns had evidently been dedicated in a church. If some of
them were merely votive crowns, others appear to have been made for use ; but
all alike were adapted for suspension over altars. Monza still retains the crown
given by Theodelinde, whilst the crown of Agilulf was only melted down in
Paris in 1804 and we possess an engraving of it. There is also the ninth-century
1 Loc. cit., p. 52, pi. x, xi.
2 Guibert, he. cit., pi. viii ; F., pi. iii N; Inv. 1505, no. 70 ; Inv. 1634, f. 170*; Inv. 1739, no. 53.
s Doublet, p. 366.
146 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
so-called Iron crown at Monza, which may give us some idea of what Charle-
magne's crown may have been like. The Iron crown probably belonged to
Berengar and was made to be worn. It consists of six curved gold plates
hinged together, and the only use of the hinging must have been to enable the
circlet to fit a human head. The iron ring is, I think, obviously an addition,
made to hold the plates rigidly in a circular form when the crown was dedicated
to be hung over an altar and no longer needed to be flexible. The gold crown,
in fact, was the original thing and the iron ring was a purely subordinate feature
added later for practical purposes. It was only afterwards that the idea occurred
to some genius, who observed the iron ring and not the necessity for it, that the
gold and jewelled crown was a mere decoration and setting for the iron ring,
which therefore he concluded must have been an exceedingly precious relic,
ergo one of the crucifixion nails. A little consideration will show that if the
iron ring had been the original feature, no one would have made a decoration
for it out of hinged plates, for the hinges would have been both a useless and
even a troublesome feature. Nothing, in fact, is less like a decorative addition
to a ring of iron than these gold and jewelled plates, which obviously were
intended for no such purpose. The iron ring exists to support them, not they
to decorate it.
The ' Escrin de Charlemagne' shows a number of jewelled representations
of pendant crowns as one of its decorative features. Other pendant crowns are
shown on the altar-frontal of Charles the Bald, and they are a very common
contemporary decorative feature in Carlovingian and earlier manuscript
illustrations and other works of art. From these and many other statements
derived from ancient documents we can conclude that the dedication of royal
crowns in churches was customary from a very early time, and as St.-Denis was
closely connected with the kings of France from the time of Dagobert onward,
it is not surprising that the abbey should have received the custody of the crowns
of many kings till the custom grew to be a right.
The golden tenth-century statue of St. Foy at Conques wears a fine jewelled
crown divided into many segments and obviously representing a hinged band.
It is, moreover, closed above by four wide ribs with a fleur-de-lys between each
pair ; but we cannot safely argue from this that contemporary royal crowns in
western Europe were of that form. In any case it differs widely from the
St.-Denis crowns.
Four notable jewelled crowns of the eleventh century still exist; the imperial
crown of Conrad II at Vienna, a crown of the Empress Gisela on the head of
a virgin at Essen, the Empress Kunigunde's crown at Munich, and a gold crown
on the head of the Oswald reliquary at Hildesheim. The imperial crown of
Conrad (later fabled to have been Charlemagne's) is arched over from front to
CN
t'fj
O
00
60
ul
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 147
back with a fine decorated piece which springs from a splendid vertical cross
over the brow. The wide circlet of the crown is of eight hinged plates. The
Gisela crown is surmounted by four fleurs-de-lys, and the circlet is in one piece.
The crown of St. Kunigunde is of four segments, which may once have been
hinged but are now rigid. The crown of St. Oswald, which, like that of the
Essen virgin, may have been made from the first to be used on the reliquary
only, is likewise rigid, but the design of it naturally falls within eight segments.
Thus in the eleventh century we meet with crowns approximating in form to
those of St.-Denis. The crowns worn by the figures of kings on the twelfth-
century chasse of Charlemagne in the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle closely
resemble the Gisela crown at Essen, and their design shows memory of hinges,
whilst the crown worn by the image of Charlemagne is closed above by four
slender ribs surmounted by a little cross but no orb. I conclude therefore that
the oldest of the St.-Denis crowns is not likely to have been made long, if at all,
before the twelfth century. I have avoided adding the evidence of miniatures
because we can seldom be sure whether a painter is recording fact or fancy.
Felibien states (p. 275) that, at least down to the fourteenth century, it re-
mained the custom at St. Denis to suspend the crowns before the altar on solemn
feast-days. It is curious that Suger makes no reference to this usage, but he may
have taken it as a matter of course. 1 For each of the later kings of France two
crowns were made, one of gold, the other of silver-gilt, but the usages connected
with these do not fall within the scope of my present subject, nor do those con-
nected with funeral crowns, of which St.-Denis seems to have received a
considerable number.
For the reasons given above, and notwithstanding all traditions to the con-
trary, it is safe to assert that none of the seven crowns recorded in the inventory
of 1505 as in the custody of the abbey 2 was of earlier date than the twelfth cen-
tury, perhaps none earlier than the thirteenth. Only three of them were im-
portant. The fuller inventory of 1634 names them. They were the crown of
Charlemagne (no. i), the crown of St. Louis (no. 2), and La Sainte Couronne
(no. 205). The first and second are summarily depicted in the engravings in
Felibien, whilst the third appears on the head of the Emperor in the picture of
the Mass of St. Giles. 3 This third crown, La Sainte Couronne, had ceased to exist
1 On crowns for suspension, see references in the index of Labarte's Arts indnstriels.
1 Nos. i, 2, 92, 93, 104, 129, and 205.
1 The crown of Charlemagne : Inv. 1505, no. i ; Inv. 1634, f. 2 r ; Inv. 1739, no. 72 ; D., p. 367 ;
M., p. 122 ; F., pi. iv H ; Labarte, Arts indus., i, p. 366.
The crown of St. Louis : Inv. 1505, no. 2 ; Inv. 1634, f. io r ; Inv. 1739, no. 55 ; D., p. 367 ; M.,
p. 122 ; F., pi. iii p.
La Sainte Couronne: Inv. 1505, no. 205; Inv. 1634, f. 293". I have sometimes suspected that
this crown was intended in some of the references to the crown of Charlemagne.
148 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
before Doublet, Millet, and Fe"libien wrote, and before the inventory of 1739, by
all of whom the other two crowns are mentioned. Doublet, however, describes
an important crown which at first sight does not seem to be mentioned in the
early inventories. He says (p. 367) :
' Charles le Chauve ... a aussi donnd sa Couronne d'or, a quatre couplieres, enrichic
de gros balais cabochons, de grandes et exquises esmeraudes, de tres-beaux saphirs, de
tres-excellens rubis, et de tres-belles perles orientales, pour laquelle enrichir davantage le
Roy Jean donna un beau gros balay cabochon de grand prix, qu'il voulut estre attache" au
faiste d'icelle, au bout de la fleur de Lys qui faisoit la closture et fermeture. Ceste tant
riche Couronne, qui avoit servy a couronner tous les Roys de France depuis ledit Charles le
Chauve iusques au Roy Henri le Grand, fut prise par la miserable ligue . . . Tor de laquelle
fut fondu et les riches pierres precieuses dispersees a diverses personnes de grande qualiteV
This crown of Charles the Bald, therefore, was in existence when the in-
ventory of 1505 was made, and like La Sainte Couronne had ceased to exist before
Doublet wrote. It was obviously the most important crown in the custody of
the abbey, and could not have been overlooked by the inventorists. It seems
to follow that the crown called Charles the Bald's and La Sainte Couronne were
one and the same. The following is the brief description of La Sainte Couronne
from the inventory of 1505 (no. 205) : ' Une couronne, nomme'e la sainte Couronne,
a quatre fleurons, les deux couvers par derriere d'argent dor6 pour les renforcer,
garnis sur le tour d'icelle, au milieu de devant, d'un gros ballay cabochon rond,
pers6 au long, pesant deux cens quatre vingtz douze carratz, et soubz iceluy en
son chaton ung sendal, et dedans le sendal des espines et dez cheveulz de Notre
Seigneur.' The same is described at much greater length in the inventory
of 1634.
It seems curious that Doublet should not mention the important relics of the
hair of our Lord and the thorns of his crown included under the great gem in
his crown of Charles the Bald, if that were identical with La Sainte Couronne ;
moreover, what makes matters worse is that he and all the later writers do
mention these identical relics as included in the crown of St. Louis. One of two
conclusions seems certain : either that both crowns contained similar relics, or
that when La Sainte Couronne was destroyed the relics were saved and trans-
ferred to the crown of St. Lo.uis. The inventory of 1634 would no doubt tell us
if both crowns contained similar relics, for it supplies a very minute description
of all three, describing the crown of Charlemagne in 16 folio pages, the crown
of St. Louis in 12, and La Sainte Couronne in 11. Unfortunately when the
manuscript was in my hands I did not know of this difficulty, and there being
little time at my disposal, I did not make the necessary examination of this part
of the text.
St. Louis, as is well known, became possessed of the relic called the Crown
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 149
of Thorns and built La Sainte Chapelle to enshrine it He detached many thorns
from it and gave them away or exchanged them for other relics. Nothing there-
fore would seem more probable than that he should have mounted some of them
in the crown of France. But St. Denis is known to have possessed some thorn-
relics long before the days of St. Louis. Both Charles the Bald and Philip
Augustus presented thorns to the abbey. The gift by the former has been
referred to above, and was recorded in the first four lines of the inscription on
his grave : l
Imperio Karolus Calvus rcgnoque potitus
Gallorum, iacet hac sub brevitate situs :
Plurima cum villis, cum Clavo cumque Corona,
Ecclesie vivus huic dedit ille bona.
William de Nangis, cited by Doublet (p. 1259), also records that Charles the
Bald took from the treasury at Aix-la-Chapelle and gave to St.-Denis ' sacro-
sanctum unum Clavum [the nail-relic] . . . partemque spineae Coronae Domi-
nicae'. The thorn given by Philip Augustus was probably included in his
tablet-reliquary and need not concern us. It is thus at any rate possible that
a crown attributed to Charles the Bald, even if it were older than St. Louis,
might have contained one or more thorn-relics. At all events the picture of the
Mass of St. Giles shows La Sainte Couronne closed a I'lmperiale, as was the
crown called Charles the Bald's, whilst the other two crowns are depicted open in
the engravings of Felibien. The inventory of 1634 shows that all three crowns
were otherwise alike, consisting of a wide band of metal from which rise four
fleurons at four equidistant points. Under each fleuron was a great jewel, whilst
vertically above this jewel were two other jewels in a line in the case of the first
two crowns, but three in La Sainte Couronne, as shown in the picture of the
Mass of St. Giles ; whilst in other respects, as far as the small scale admitted,
the crown in the picture agrees with the description of La Sainte Couronne in
the inventory of 1634.
It only remains to add that on Good Friday La Sainte Couronne was placed
on the head of the ancient wooden crucifix, which is said to have miraculously
spoken to Dagobert or another, and the holy nail was attached to one of its feet,
and it was venerated there where it hung in the crypt behind the High altar.
This was done year after year till the Huguenots burnt the crucifix in 1567 and
destroyed the crown. The use of La Sainte Couronne on this occasion, in con-
junction with the nail, strongly confirms the conclusion that it actually contained
a thorn-relic, as the early inventories assert. Yet when this crown had been
1 Inv. 1505, no. 161 ; F., p. 554; D., p. 1257.
VOL. LXVI. U
150 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
destroyed the crown called of St. Louis continued to exist, and this is what
Doublet (p. 367) wrote about it :
' Le glorieux Roy Sainct Louys a donne sa Couronne d'or, tres-exquise, enrichie de
toupasses, saphirs, rubis, esmeraudes et de tres-belles perles orientales, mais principalement
d'un tres-beau" et tres-excellent gros ruby balay cabochon (estime plus de trente mil escus)
perc6 de long et soubs iceluy en son chaton d'or est escrit, De capillis Domini : De sfinis
Domini' 1
With the other regalia sceptres, swords, spurs, and the like we can deal
more briefly. Though some of those existing were attributed to Charlemagne,
none were of earlier date than the twelfth century. To the sceptre called Dago-
bert's reference has already been made. The sceptre in the Galerie d'Apollon
(Cat. no. 149), which is surmounted by a figure of Charlemagne, dates from the
time of Charles V and will be referred to in its place. The inventory of 1505
mentions a third (no. 88). Felibien only engraves one other (F., pi. i N), and that
is part of the set made for the coronation of Henri IV at Chartres when the
ancient set was packed away for fear of marauders.
Hands of justice resembled the top members of contemporary hand-
reliquaries, mounted at the end of a long rod. Felibien engraves two: St.
Louis' (F., pi. iii K) and Henri I V's (F., pi. i N). The inventory of 1505 includes four. 2
All have disappeared ; one attributed to St. Louis was of silver on a silver-gilt
rod; two were of ivory, each on a wooden staff gilt. The fourth was like these,
and the ivory hand remaining in the Louvre (Cat. no. 17) is believed to have be-
longed to it and to have been remounted for use at the coronation of Napoleon,
when its silver-gilt setting and staff were added, as well as three antique gems,
and, at the foot of the handle, some jewels in what is said to be a tenth-century
setting, but if ancient in design evidently quite modern in execution (pi. XVII,
fig. i). The Louvre hand, however, cannot be the one described by Doublet
(p. 368). That was of unicorn ivory, so they said, and it was ' garnie au doigt,
proche du petit doigt, d'un aneau d'or enrichy d'un beau saphir'. One does not
see how a ring could be applied to the existing hand. Doublet's account of the
circles of jewellery below the hand is not inconsistent with a resetting of one
of them to form the existing adornment. The staff is evidently modern, and the
ivory hand is modern also.
The spurs 3 of gold (pi. XII, fig. 2), set with garnets and fleurs-de-lys, with
modelled buckles, are preserved in the Galerie d'Apollon (Cat. no. 18). They are
1 Thomas Platter writes that the crown of St. Louis, which he saw in 1599, was of pure gold and
diamonds, and included one very precious stone said by some to have belonged to Charles IX.
2 Nos. 89, 91, 109, and 115.
J Inv. 1505, no. 117; Inv. 1634, f. 205'; Inv. 1739, no. 80; F., pi. iv R ; D., pp. 347, 371; M.,
p. 127.
ARCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XVIII
Fhtito : Gtraitd:>n, Paris
Fig. i. Back of copper enamelled chassc (ht. 19-2 cm.)
Fig. 2. Sardonyx vase : mounted in silver-gilt, with jewels and ornaments (1. 21 cm.)
Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1915
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 151
of twelfth-century date, restored at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It
was the Duke of Burgundy's function at the coronation to attach them to the
king's feet and immediately take them off again.
Of mantle-clasps, most of them probably royal, the inventory of 1505
mentions eight, not counting the two Merovingian eagle-clasps already de-
scribed. One of these is called the clasp of Charlemagne, one was M-shaped,
three carried figures in the round, one had embossed figures, and two were
lozenge-shaped, adorned with jewels, one being of great value. Two lozenge-
shaped clasps were summarily engraved by Fdlibien, who said that the larger
of them (F., pi. iii G) belonged to St. Louis, and described the smaller (F., pi. iv i)
as adorned with splendid rubies, diamonds, and large pearls. A lozenge-shaped
clasp of remarkable beauty which belonged to St.-Denis is preserved in the
Louvre (pi. XII, fig. 4). It is called the clasp of St. Louis, but the attribution
cannot be accepted. This clasp can only be one of three of the above : the
clasp called Charlemagne's, the clasp of St. Louis, and the smaller very precious
clasp ; but as the clasp of Charlemagne is not described and is not referred to
by our other authorities it has to be dismissed. Of the remaining two fleur-de-
lys clasps the larger J and simpler is the one attributed in old days to St. Louis.
The latest inventory says that it was of silver-gilt, enamelled, and set with
jewels. Felibien's engraving shows the plate to be much larger than the
fleur-de-lys. The other 2 is by far the finer. It can be recognized by observing
that the plate is only slightly larger than the jewelled fleur-de-lys. The three
writers agree that this was the coronation clasp, and it is evident that this is
the beautiful object that is still to be seen in the Galerie d'Apollon (Cat. no. 120)
perhaps the finest example of medieval Orfevrerie in existence. It is of the
same school and about of the same date as the scarcely less splendid jewelled
clasp in the Cluny Museum which is attributed to the fourteenth century. In
no case can the Louvre clasp be the one assigned to St. Louis, and its modern
appellation is erroneous.
The monks of St.-Denis pointed with pride to a set of ivory chessmen 3 in
their Treasury which they believed had belonged to Charlemagne. Among these
chessmen was a specially large piece carved into the likeness of an elephant, on
which a king and other persons are riding (pi. XII, fig. 5). Millet describes all
the chessmen as of large size, and says that under the biggest of them were
certain Arabic letters, showing that they came from the East. Doublet records
that they were a palm in height, but that the chess-table and some of the men
had been lost in process of time. Sixteen of the pieces were sent to the Cabinet
. 1505, no. 42 ; Inv. 1634, f. 159* ; Inv. 1739, no. 47 ; F., pi. iii c.
Inv. 1505, no. 127; Inv. 1634, f. 207"; Inv. 1739, no. 75; I)., p. 371 ; M., p. 125 ; F., pi. iv i..
Inv. 1505, nos. 101, 102 ; Inv. 1634, f. i86 r ; D., p. 342 ; M., p. 314.
u 2
152 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
des Medailles in 1793, but only one of these can now be identified. Fortunately
this is the elephant, and we are still able to read beneath it the name of the
carver, lusuf al Nahili, cut in Cufic characters. The height of the group is 16 cm.
It is clear that the work was done in India, for it is quite plainly an Indian king
who rides on the beast, and the workmanship is evidently Indian and much later
in date than the time of Charlemagne. It really dates from about the time of
the Crusades and was probably brought to France then. There are two other
twelfth-century chessmen in the Cabinet des Medailles, representing a king and
queen, but they are of Western make and never belonged to St.-Denis. 1
After Suger the next recorded magnificent patron of the abbey was Philip
Augustus (1180-1223). His gifts were mainly of treasures looted from Constan-
tinople, when it was captured by so-called Crusaders in 1204. These objects
are set down as gifts to the King of France from Baldwin, Emperor of Constan-
tinople. The list is given by Felibien (p. 215) and included 'many relics taken
from the Imperial chapel, such as a large piece of the true cross, some of our
Lord's hairs and of his swaddling-clothes, one of the thorns of his crown, part
of his purple robe, a rib of St. Philip and one of his teeth. The holy wood was
enclosed in a gold cross set with jewels and the other holy relics were in a gold
reliquary.' The genuineness of these relics was attested by a letter from the
Emperor Baldwin, sealed with a gold seal. The silver-gilt reliquary with a gold
front, called the ' Oratory of Philip Augustus', was still at St.-Denis in Fclibien's
time and is engraved by him. 2 It contained twelve crystal phials with the relics
in them, beside quite a number of special little little gold reliquaries, all long
gone to the melting-pot. It is evident from Doublet's description that the
engraving does not represent the piece in its original condition. As we see it,
it is like a building with Gothic gable ends and on a Gothic pedestal. Probably
the long front side, or wall, which alone was of gold and richly jewelled, was
a Byzantine table-reliquary, and all the rest added at different dates in France,
but the print does not give us much information and is not easily reconciled
with the descriptions.
The golden cross," engraved on the same plate, can be more convincingly
reconstructed. It was certainly Byzantine work, but not of the usual Eastern
form with the double transverse pieces. It was two and a half feet long by two
feet wide. The piece of the true cross contained in it was a foot or a foot and
a half long. It was adorned with jewels and upwards of 800 pearls. Europe
at this time obtained by loot quite a number of fine Byzantine crosses, all, of
1 E. Babelon, Cab. des Antiques, pi. 60.
1 Inv. 1505, no. 5; Inv. 1634, f. 68" ; Inv. 1739, no. 4; D., pp. 336, 1235 ; M., p. 97; F., pi. i E.
a Inv. 1505, no. 3; Inv. 1634, f. 15'"; Inv. 1739, no. i ; D., p. 336; M., p. 86; F., pi. i A.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 153
course, claiming to contain portions of the true cross, but they were of the
double cross type. Such for instance are the magnificent tablet-cross in the
cathedral of Limburg-on-the-Lahn, the two crosses at Cologne, the cross at
St. Mark's, Venice, that in Brescia Cathedral, and others still existing, beside
several recorded, but now lost or destroyed. According to Rohault de Fleury l
there were three such true crosses in France, and only twelve in the world
altogether. The St. -Denis cross was thus an exception to the usual Byzantine
form and may have been of early date. The engraving, however, is far too
vague to ground an opinion upon.
Another of Philip Augustus's reputed gifts to St.-Denis was a beautiful
little reliquary, said not only to have been a gift to the king from Pope
Clement III, but in part to have been actually that pontiff's own handiwork.
It consisted of a little crucifix (which he was believed to have sculptured out of
a fragment of the true cross) attached to a gold cross and set in a fine gold case
under a crystal front, all suspended from a gold chain. The frame, however,
bore the arms of John, Duke of Berry, and he, rather than Philip Augustus,
must have given the case, at any rate, to St.-Denis. 3 Perhaps the whole thing
was of late fourteenth-century date as the engraving suggests.
A silver-gilt reliquary which Millet says was likewise given by Philip
Augustus was, however, plainly inscribed as the gift of King Charles V in the
year 1368. When Fe"libien had it engraved it had lost the two angels mentioned
in the inventory of i5O5. a There remained for the Revolutionary melting-pot
only a statuette of the Magdalen on a pedestal with kneeling figures of the king,
the queen, and a child.
A magnificent sardonyx gondola(pl. XVIII, fig. 2) mounted in silver-gilt with
jewels and enamels, now in the Cabinet des Mcdailles, belonged to St.-Denis,
but the donor's name is not recorded. 4 The bowl, which is probably antique, is
shaped into a number of convex segments, and the wide metal rim follows the
same form and is attached by hinged bands to the simple metal foot. The filigree
on the base is very simple ; that on the rim is of double wires. Each division
of the rim contains a large central jewel surrounded by filigree, and at each
corner is an enamel button set like a jewel. These little enamel roundels
resemble Palermo work. Molinier thinks them to be later additions made to
replace jewels. Nothing can be concluded as to the place of manufacture from
the presence of these enamels, because they were objects of commerce and used
1 Mem. sur les Instruments de la Passion, pp. 123, 124, and 303.
' Inv. 1505, no. 41 ; Inv. 1634, f. i58 v ; Inv. 1739, no. 2 ; D., p. 341 ; M., p. 89; F., pi. i B. The
inventory of 1505 knows nothing about the connexion of any popes or kings with this object.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 24 ; Inv. 1634, f. i46 v ; Inv. 1739, no. 20; D., p. 336; M., p. 96 ; F., pi. ii D.
1 Inv. 1505, no. 73; Inv. 1634, f. 172'; Inv. 1 739, no. 29 bis ; 0.^.344; M., p. 131; F., pi. iv BB ;
Babelon, Cat. des Cantces, no. 209.
154 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
everywhere by goldsmiths; otherwise we might be tempted to reason that this
vase was one of the pieces given to Suger by Thibaut, Count of Blois, who had
received them from Roger, King of Sicily. 1 Molinier assigns the setting to the
tenth century, having regard probably to the filigree on the foot. I cannot,
however, find any reason for ascribing the rim to such a date, and hold that it
was no earlier than the twelfth century. It may have been Byzantine or
Sicilian work. It may even have been made in France, but the most probable
conclusion is that this treasure also was looted from Constantinople in 1204.
Another sardonyx gondola, or rather a portion of one (for it has been broken in
half and only one fragment remains), is in the Venice treasury and no doubt
came from Constantinople. It, however, was evidently mounted or remounted
in Venice, the present setting being fine Venetian work of the thirteenth
century.
In the Galerie d'Apollon (Cat. no. 791) is a small plate of lapis lazuli
carved on both faces by a good Byzantine craftsman, which may well have come
to St.-Denis with the rest of the loot of 1204 (pi. XII, fig. 3).* On one side is a
figure of Christ, on the other of the Virgin, fine work in the usual style of the
Byzantine renaissance. The stone is set in a gold frame adorned with pearls
and jewels, and is in the form of a pax, as Doublet says.
A large embossed silver-gilt plate (pi. XIX, fig. 2), which was the cover of
a book or of a flat tablet-reliquary, is in the Galerie dApollon (Cat. no. 4).
It is not very good Byzantine work of the twelfth century, and formerly belonged
to St.-Denis. The subject of the repousse work is two of the three Maries with
the angel at the grave of Christ. In the same place (Cat. no. 3) is a smaller
plaque of the same material on which a cross is embossed, rising out of formal
foliation (pi. XIX, fig. i). This is attributed to the eleventh century. Molinier
considers that both plaques may have belonged to a single object. I cannot
recognize either plaque in the inventories, which are summary in their refer-
ences to book-covers. 3 A book which is entered under no. 96 in the inventory
of 1505, as having one cover of gold and the other of silver, is in the French
National Library (MS. lat. 9436), but I have not seen it.
St. Louis (Louis IX, 1226-1270) was a lavish patron of the church, and
St.-Denis was one of the most frequent recipients of his gifts. It is not neces-
sary to describe what is recorded about the many chasses and other pieces of
1 D., p. 247 (citing Suger).
2 Inv. 1505, no. 40 (a blue stone broken in half set in silver-gilt); Inv. 1634, f. i58 r ; Inv. 1739,
no. 46 ; D., p. 343 ; M., p. 95 ; F., pi. iii F ; Barbet de Jouy, Gemmcs, etc., pi. xi, 2.
3 Inv. 1505, no. 97, might refer to one of them. O. M. Dalton, Byzantine Art, p. 560, fig. 343,
states that the smaller plaque belonged to St.-Denis, as asserted by Laborde (Notice des llmaux, etc.,
1853, p. 380). The Louvre catalogue is silent on the matter.
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 155
church furniture given by him, because they exist no longer, and there is no
representation of them. The objects belonging to him which Felibien engraved
were for the most part of a personal character and included the clasp of his
mantle, his hand of justice, his tamarisk-wood bowl, his sword and crown, also
a little reliquary of the hand of St. Denis which he carried with him on his
travels. 1 Unfortunately none of these objects survives. The ring in the Galerie
d'Apollon, which used to be called his signet-ring, and the clasp in the same place
already referred to are both of fourteenth-century date. Only two enamelled
chasses of Limoges workmanship now remain of all the treasures of St.-Denis
approximately of the time of St. Louis (pi. XVIII, fig. i ; XX). 2 In the church
of St.-Denis as we see it to-day St. Louis will be recalled by the sculptured
monuments of his royal predecessors from Dagobert downwards, which he set up.
After many vicissitudes and no little restoration these monuments are again
standing where St. Louis set them, but the study of them is outside the scope
of the present writing. The same is true of the great stone lavabo of the monks
which stood in their cloister and was set up about the time of St. Louis. It
is now to be seen in the second court of the Ecole des Beaux- Arts surrounded
by a collection of salvaged remains of other ancient buildings.
The fourteenth century was a troublous time in France, yet during it
St.-Denis received many valuable gifts. The principal donors were the Queen
Jeanne d'Evreux, Margaret Countess of Flanders, King Charles V, John Duke
of Berry, and Abbot Guy de Monceau (1363-1398). Some of their gifts were
statuettes in the precious metals or in ivory, others were elaborate reliquaries,
also chalices and patens. 3
Few of the fourteenth-century gifts to St.-Denis still exist, but those that
have escaped the perils of the centuries and are still with us are among the finest
1 F., pi. iii G, H, K, i., M, p.
2 Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 64. A fine Limoges reliquary, which was in the Beckford and
Zouche collections, and was shown for many years in the South Kensington Museum, has now
gone to America. It was called ' the Reliquary of St. Louis ', and was said to have come from St.-
Denis. It is not identifiable with any item in the inventories.
3 Most of the following are engraved in Felibien :
Jeanne d'Evreux : Figures of the Virgin and St. John (pi. i F), and her crown (pi. iv T). See
F., p. 275.
Margaret, Countess of Flanders: A figure of St. Denis (pi. ii M), and a reliquary of St. Louis of
Toulouse (D., p. 337).
Charles V : Reliquary of 1368 (pi. ii D) ; chalice and paten (pi. iv DD) ; a retable (Inv. 1505,
no. 155) ; a silver-gilt cross (D., p. 345) ; a pax (D., p. 345); and a sceptre (pi. iv p).
Jean, Due de Berry .-Reliquary of the cross of Clement III (pi. i u) ; reliquary of St. Benedict
(pi. iv A) ; reliquary of St. Thomas (pi. iii B).
Guy de Monceau (D., p. 267) : Images of the Virgin and SS. Nicholas and Catherine (pis. i i,
and ii c, N) ; ivory Virgin ; silver-gilt crucifix and relics (D., p. 340).
Charles VI: Reliquary for the holy nail.
156 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
examples of work in the precious metals done in the Gothic style that we can any-
where behold. First among them both in date and importance is the charming
silver-gilt statuette of the Virgin (pi. XV, fig. i) 1 which stands so proudly out in the
middle of the room towards one end of the Galerie d'Apollon in situation and
surroundings perhaps the most honourable place in the whole world to-day that
could be found for a work of Gothic art of transcendent merit. It was pre-
sented by the queen in the year 1339, as an inscription on its base states. The
figure of St. John the Evangelist, which she gave at the same time, was of gold
on a base of silver-gilt (F., pi. i F) and has of course been melted down. It
held in its right hand a crystal reliquary set in gold which contained a tooth-
relic of the saint. Nothing more delightful can be conceived than the beautiful
figure of the Virgin, so elegantly poised and gracefully draped. She holds in
her right hand the most beautiful fleur-de-lys imaginable, containing relics and
set with pearls. The base on which she stands is in the likeness of a small
quadrangular building with sculpture-carrying buttresses which separate four-
teen little panels adorned with the finest enamels. These depict subjects from
the life of Christ, the figures being relieved and engraved in the silver plates
and then enhanced with brilliant translucent enamel. The work almost rivals
the famous enamelled ewer at Copenhagen, which may well have come from
the same atelier.
The sceptre of gold surmounted by a small statuette of Charlemagne
enthroned is an example of the finest work of the time of Charles V(pl. XVII,
fig. 3). 2 It originally possessed a staff which made the whole 5ft. loin. long.
Curiously enough, notwithstanding its late Gothic character, this sceptre was
reputed to have belonged to Charlemagne himself. It was probably made for
the coronation either of Charles V or his successor, to take the place of an
ancient sceptre which had fallen into disrepair. When it was decided to employ
it once more at the coronation of Napoleon, the stem was missing. Search
was made among the miscellaneous objects in the possession of the Crown/' and
another staff was found which was adapted to the sceptre and has remained
with it ever since. This was the silver-gilt staff of the precentor of St.-Denis. 4
An inscription on it stated that it was made in 1394 for the precentor, Guillaume
de Rocquemont. Precentors' batons are not common. The military band-
1 Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 150 ; Inv. 1505, no. 8 ; Inv. 1634, f. 76" ; Inv. 1739, no. 5 ; D., p. 337 ;
M., pp. 92, 95 ; F., pi. i F. Phot. Giraudon.
2 Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 149; Inv. 1505^0. 116; Inv. 1634, f. 203' ; Inv. 1739, no. 79; D., p. 368;
M., p. 123 ; F., pi. iv P.
3 Where were these odds and ends kept ? and is there any such cupboard of miscellaneous objects
still in existence? It might contain unconsidered trifles such as other fragments from the pre-Revolu-
tion Treasuries of France, which would now be of inestimable value.
4 F., pi. i K, and p. 537 ; Inv. 1739, no. 10.
D
2 I
o .
i.
e
u
>
AND ITS ANCIENT TREASURES 157
master's long staff is a modern survival of them. The Cabinet des Medailles
possesses a chalcedony bust of Constantine or some later emperor which was
mounted in the time of Charles V as the head of the staff of the precentor of
the Sainte Chapelle. One of Limoges workmanship of about 1280 was in the
Magniac sale in 1892 and is illustrated in the catalogue. Its head was some-
thing like those of two bishop's crosiers joined back to back, with a little
statuette at the top above them. Felibien's engraving shows that the top of
the St.-Denis staff was simpler, but not ungraceful.
Reference has already been made to the superb jewelled mantle-clasp in
the Galerie d'Apollon (no. 120) wrongly called the clasp of St. Louis. It is work
of the fourteenth century, and may well have been made at the same time as the
sceptre of Charlemagne for use at the same coronation.
The gold ring, 1 which used to be bravely called the signet-ring of St. Louis,
is likewise of this later date, or even of the fifteenth century. It contains a small
oblong gem with an intaglio of the standing figure of a French king. He wears
a nimbus and is identified by the letters ' S. L.' An inscription within the hoop
asserts that this was St. Louis' signet. Of course, intaglios of this delicacy were
not made in the time of St. Louis even in Byzantium. It was under the
encouragement of the four great patrons of art, Charles V and his brothers,
that the art of gem-engraving (like that of medal-making and other refined
crafts) was developed again in the West. A gem with the head of a king still
exists which belonged to Charles V and was probably made for him, perhaps
by the same hand that made this ring, which is beautifully cut and does the
maker much credit.
A pretty fragment in the Galerie d'Apollon may have belonged to a four-
teenth-century gift to St.-Denis, though nothing appears to be known about its
provenance. This is a little jewelled crown of silver-gilt which obviously be-
longed to some statuette of the Virgin, probably an ivory figure. 2 An ivory
Virgin with such a crown was amongst the gifts of Abbot Guy de Monceau, 3
and all the old writers praise its workmanship and the beauty of its crown and
of the brooch on the bosom. Each fleuron of the crown had a sapphire cut to
eight facets and set in pearls, and on the circle of it were four rubies.
The only recorded fifteenth-century gift is a clasp which belonged to Anne
de Bretagne ; it appears to have been a work of great beauty, but the engrav-
ing (F., pi. ii K) gives us no idea of it. Numerous other objects recorded
1 Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 123; Inv. 1505, no. 57; Inv. 1634, f. i65 T ; Inv. 1739, no. 54; D.,
p. 346; M., p. 106; F., pi. iii o; Barbet-de-Jouy, Gemmes, etc., pi. xi, 3; Labarte, Arts indus., i, 204.
2 Galerie d'Apollon, Cat. no. 128 ; Barbet-de-Jouy, Gemmes, etc., pi. xi.
3 Probably F., pi. ii z. Compare Inv. 1505, no. 10; Inv. 1634, f. 79"; Inv. 1739, no. 38; D.,
p. 340; M., p. 93.
VOL. LXVI. X
158 THE ABBEY OF SAINT-DENIS
in the inventories have not been mentioned in this notice because little is known
about them. We have Felibien's engravings and the words of the inventories,
but the reconstruction of what has been utterly destroyed is tedious unless some
special end is to be attained thereby. As for the works of the Renaissance and
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they interest me not at all. I there-
fore leave the examination of all questions connected with them to students
whose tastes are different from mine.
Mr. Maurice W. Brockwell has sent me the following notes on the picture of the ' Mass of
St. Giles'. It is probable that between the years 1796 and 1850 it was in Lord Bessborough's
collection, where it was attributed to Van Eyck. Viollet-le-Duc knew of it only as in the collection of
Lord - , and the print he published of it (Diet, de I' Architect., ii, p. 26) inaccurately represents
only its architectural background. Waagen (Art Treasures, 1854, vol. ii, p. 237) stated that this ' Mass
of St. Gregory' in Lord Ward's collection was 'attributed, without the slightest ground, to John Van
Eyck ; it is a good and interesting picture of the Dutch School of the latter part of the fifteenth
century'. It was lent by Lord Dudley to the Exhibition of Old Masters at Burlington House in 1871
(no. 326) as a 'Celebration of High Mass' by John Van Eyck, and it appeared there again in 1892.
The frame is said to have borne at one time a cutting from an old catalogue describing it as
'St. Thomas Aquinas performing Mass in the Abbey of St.-Denis to Louis IX of France'. On
June 25, 1892, it was included in the Dudley sale as a work of the Early Netherlandish School, when
it was purchased by the late Mr. Edward Steinkopf, father of the present owner. He lent it in the
same year, 1892, for exhibition at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, and the compiler of the catalogue
stated that it was ' possibly the work of Gerard van der Meire, who, it is believed, spent some time in
France '.
IV. Rock-cutting and Tomb-architecture in Cyprus during the Graeco-Roman
Occupation. By GEO. JEFFERY, Esq., F.S.A., Local Secretary for Cyprus.
Read iyth December, 1914.
IT has been thought, with a good deal of reason for such an opinion, that
the age of a quarry or a rock-cut tomb may be determined by the apparent
character of the tooling of surfaces. This is most easily defined in the follow-
ing way.
Bronze Age tooling of rock surfaces of a soft kind, subsequently hardened
with age, may perhaps be detected by the marks of a celt driven with a mallet,
or possibly a heavy stone. The cut of the implement is short and deep, and of
course leaves a rougher surface than the single-handed pick of iron. With the
introduction of iron tools the work of finishing surfaces as well as of cutting into
the stone seems to have been executed with single-handed picks having points
or cutting edges of variable width. At a later period came the use of the chisel-
shaped pick with serrated edge. It is doubtful whether this was used in the
Levant previous to the Byzantine or Constantinian era. The use of the chisel-
shaped pick causes a long sweeping cut on the stone, an effect also produced by
mere chopping sideways with the stone-mason's chopper. The chopper and
the chisel-pick play a great part in the finishing off of the elaborate rock-cuttings
of the Levant.
From the foregoing it will be noticed that little more than a distinction into
the two classes of work done with iron implements, and work done without iron
implements, can be attempted for chronological purposes as far as the evidence
on rock surfaces survives. The quarries and tombs of Cyprus referred to in
the following notes must be considered to belong to the iron implement class ;
in other words, to the Graeco-Roman and Byzantine history of the island.
QUARRIES.
The quarries of Cyprus as in all Levantine lands are singularly pictur-
esque. If not on so grand a scale as those of Syracuse the famous Latomia
or the imposing caverns around Jerusalem, they have quite a character of their
X 2
160 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
own. They are generally approached through a tunnel or rock arch, which in
some cases has been cut to the form of a doorway, and evidently fitted with
gates. This naturally implies that the ancients were in the custom of regulat-
ing the working of the quarry, or, as in the traditional case of Syracuse, the
enclosure may have been used much as we use the Portland quarry at the present
day for the confinement and labour of convicts.
The upper stratum or surface of rock on a quarry site is usually rejected by
the quarrymen as unsuited for building stone : it is harder and at the same time
less compact than the inner substance of the rock, and on this account the
tunnelling beneath the upper crust produces vast caverns and the curious arched
entrances common in the Cyprus quarries.
On the north coast, near Kyrenia, is a very large and imposing quarry
called Khrysokava, which is approached through a rock-cut tomb, the entrance
of which has been enlarged to the height of a man and a width of about 6 ft.
This entrance has been subsequently fitted with two massive door-posts of stone,
rebated to receive an inside door (fig. i). The tomb is about 15 ft. square, and
on the side opposite to the entrance a passage-way has been cut through into
the great quarries at the back of the ridge of rock in which the tomb is exca-
vated. At one time this tomb was probably the only entrance into the quarry
with its precipitous rock sides. This treatment of ancient tombs is common all
over the island, and the number of tombs which have been destroyed by quarry-
ing in past ages would be incalculable. The accompanying sketch-plan (fig. 2)
of the corner of the quarry of Khrysokava, Kyrenia, shows a rock-cut chapel,
formed out of a cave, with a series of arcosolium tombs cut in the cliff on the
south side. All traces of the mode of sepulture have disappeared, but the
Roman catacomb with its walled-up recess seems suggested. There are some
rude attempts at wreaths of flowers, or at least leaves, in the rock above the
niches. The appearances are certainly ancient.
The ancient instruments of the quarryman for the softer stones are repre-
sented in the well-known pictures of the Catacombs of Rome, and elsewhere.
The Fossor used a rather slender tapering pick, like a modern geological
hammer, only larger: an iron chopper, and a hammer, which are of practically
the same form in all ages. 1 The tools used at the present day in the soft stone
quarries of Cyprus are practically identical with those of antiquity.
In the modern quarries of hard stone of the Judaean and North Syrian dis-
tricts, blasting has been adopted to the exclusion of any more ancient mode of
extracting the stone. As a consequence modern masonry in that district is much
smaller in scale than the medieval and ancient type.
1 Vide Smith, Diet. Ch. Antiq. s.v.
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION
161
In a soft stone quarry, blasting would be a disadvantage ; it would prevent
the orderly flaking off of the strata, and would probably create too much small
stuff: for these reasons the primitive slow method with wedges and picks still
Fig. i. Entrance to Khrysokava Quarry.
Fig. 3. A modern quarry : Cyprus.
6 - 16 FEET. 3 METRES
Fig. 2. Plan of corner of the quarry at Khrysokava.
survives. The old quarry sites are conspicuous everywhere in Cyprus; the
modern, which are more underground, have a tendency to disappear as the caves
fall in and are overgrown. This difference depends to a great extent upon the
162 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
nature and usage of the stone. Stone on the surface of the ground is of course
much harder than that from a cave, and is usually removed in much smaller
blocks. Small surface quarries of all ages occur all over the island.
The modern quarryman of Cyprus sets about his work precisely in the way
of the ancients when the stone lies in an ordinary horizontal position. He
usually marks out a square of about 9 ft. by 9 ft. on the rock bed where two sides
at least are forming a rectangle (fig. 3). On the other two sides he cuts down
to a level where he supposes the vein of the stone to allow of cleavage, the
cutting forming a trench of about 12 in. in width. This trench of about 2 ft. in
depth will take one man a day's work. On the two sides which remained exposed
by the previous removal of stone a long incision is made with the pick at their
base, or wherever it is proposed to sever the block, and into this groove are
fixed a number of heavy iron wedges, each of them between two small iron
plates ; frequently these small plates are made out of old mule-shoes worn thin
(the mule is shod with an oval-shaped piece of iron and not a horseshoe).
Repeated blows of a sledge-hammer upon these wedges, in regular succession,
effect the cleavage in a very exact manner.
A similar system to the above is adopted in the underground quarries,
the trenches and wedges being used according to circumstances. The above
is doubtless precisely the same mode of work employed in all ages of Levantine
history since the introduction of iron implements. In such a way and with
such tools would the ancient quarryman dig out the countless rock-hewn tombs
of his period, but when these tombs were treated with the careful rock-cutting
of Roman times the tools of the building mason had to be employed.
The tools used by Levantine workmen at the present day differ but little
from what must have been used by their predecessors in all past ages.
The Acisculus of the ancient Romans is the modern Greek or Romaic
Kuspus ' (KOXTTTOS-), i. e. the adze-shaped hammer of a convenient size and weight
to be used in one hand by the quarryman or mason. As a rule this modern
form of the stone-pick is provided with two cutting edges, one about in., the
other from 2 in. to 3 in. in width, the handle being fixed in the middle. The use of
this instrument has evidently been the same in all ages. The narrow edge is
used in cutting out grooves or channels, for which purpose also an ordinary
pointed pick is used, and the wider, or what may be called the back portion of
the hammer, is used for dressing the stone surface. Such picks are the ordinary
instruments used in dressing stone for the builders, but for this purpose the
wider edge is also serrated with small teeth which produce rapidly a fairly even
1 Apparently a modern or Cypriote word. Acisculus (vide Smith, Diet. G. and R. Ant., p. 141),
' chiefly used by masons, whence in the ancient glossaries Aciscularius is translated Xoro/ioy, a stone
cutter '.
DURING THE GRAEOXROMAN OCCUPATION 163
surface. With this form of pick or chisel-hammer are formed all the mould-
ings so lavishly displayed on Levantine buildings.
The Turkish mosque and the Romaic church are equally covered with a
profusion of mouldings, but figure or floral sculpture, when attempted, is always
a miserable failure. The nature of the workman's tool naturally influences
the style and the characteristics of the architectural forms employed, and it is
not a little curious to observe that all the details of the so-called Greek ' Doric '
style can be produced by the primitive adze-shaped hammer, and without the
use of a chisel. When the ' Ionic ' style was adopted the use of a chisel was in-
volved in sculpturing the volutes and the honeysuckle ornaments. Chisel-work
was continued under the Romans until the decay of all art instincts, and the
meretricious display of conventional ornament, and, worst of all, the use of a
drill marking the indentations of an acanthus leaf, which characterize the
Byzantine style.
The use of the chisel in architectural detail has died out on two occasions
in the Levant. During the Roman period we see the most elaborate chisel-
work at Baalbek and Petra, during the Prankish occupation we again see the
splendid possibilities of the Jerusalem limestone in the south front of the church
of the Holy Sepulchre, and at a later date the equally fine carvings of the Cyprus
Latin cathedrals. The Roman art lingered for a few years under the early
Byzantine emperors, and then the drill and ' kuspus ' took the place of the mallet
and chisel ; in the same way the European art of the Levant disappeared with
the close of the fourteenth century, and once more the chisel was thrown aside.
After thirty-five years of British occupation in Cyprus the chisel is still
practically unused by the modern masons. There is of course no demand for
ornamental sculpture on Government buildings, and to the native it would be
meaningless extravagance.
TOMBS.
Up to the present no very clear attempt seems to have been made at a
chronology of the Cyprus tombs. Perhaps the following may be adopted for
the present purpose :
(1) Bronze Age. Caves and chambers.
(2) Graeco-Phoenician. Rock-hewn chambers, built tombs.
(3) Graeco-Roman. Built tombs and rock-hewn ' kokim '.
(4) Byzantine. Rock-hewn chambers (often in quarries).
Unquestionably the most ancient types of an architectural character are
the Amathus and Tamassos ' tent-shaped ' tombs. Possibly contemporary are
164 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
the tombs in what may be called the ' Treasury of Atreus ' style of construction,
such as the excellent example at Larnaca. The regular Roman tomb is of course
easily identified by details of an architectural kind, which as a rule admit of little
doubt.
In the following notes the principal object in view is to draw attention to the
presence in Cyprus of the Roman tomb of a colossal character when built of
masonry, and to the very remarkable num-
ber of rock-cut tombs of the same period
with the curious Semitic ' kokim '.
The investigation of Cyprus tomb
archaeology on a scientific basis was in-
augurated by the Society of Hellenic
Studies, in co-operation with the Univer-
sity of Cambridge, in 1887, nine years after
the British occupation of the island. The
report of the excavators at that date
(J.H.S., 1 889) states:
' (i) The sites are hopelessly mixed, tombs
separated by centuries in date constantly occur-
ring side by side ; (2) the type of a tomb affords
little or no criterion of date ; (3) it is extremely
difficult to guarantee integrity of the products ;
(4) the most certain criteria of date, coins and
Greek inscriptions, are extremely scarce; (5)
coarse Cypriot, black-glazed pottery, terra-cottas
of native manufacture, plain jewellery, etc.,
hardly admit of precise chronological division ;
.... chronological method is reduced to ab-
surdity from lack of material for forming a
judgment on any doubtful point.' 1
In referring to the ' kokim ' tombs at Poli :
' The type is marked by great regularity of plan and careful workmanship The
tombs which we opened of this third type seemed all to be of a very late date There
is at least nothing to hint that any of them are to be dated much, if at all, before the first
century B.C.'
The ' kokim ' in these examples average about 6 ft. by 2 ft. by 2 ft.
The art of rock-cutting practised in the Levant was not peculiar to any one
of the great races of antiquity. The mode of quarrying was the same for all
1 [Subsequent excavations have, however, done something to disarm the scepticism of these earlier
workers. ED.]
Fig. 4. ' Kokim ' type of tombs : Cyprus.
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION 165
before the invention of modern appliances, but as regards tombs and their con-
struction, perhaps a certain broad classification may be attempted into (i) simple
chamber tombs, and (2) ' kokim ' tombs.
(1) The simple chamber tomb is necessarily the universal and most primitive
form to be adopted by any race, and the least easy to be identified with any par-
ticular epoch, ancient or modern. Whether approached by a dromos or merely
cut in the side of a hill it has no architectural pretension as a rule, and excites
but little interest.
The simple chamber excavated in the rock with an architectural exterior,
standing free in the style of the famous tombs of Cyrene or of Syria, may be said
not to exist in Cyprus.
The graves of Greek settlers in the island were possibly of different kinds.
The Athenian custom of interment in earth graves wouldbe followed to a great
extent, but rock-cut tombs of a simple form are also found filled with the usual
Greek tomb-furniture. Roman tombs are, of course, also of the square chamber
type, either as buildings or rock-cut.
(2) The ' kokim ' variety of arrangement is found all over the island and, as
noted by the Hellenic Society's explorers in 1887, is always executed in the best
manner of rock-cutting, with accurate angles, well-shaped doorways, and clean-
cut walls and ceilings.
In Syria the ' kokim ' tomb has always been associated by archaeologists
with the Jewish race, and such tombs when known to be of the Roman period,
such as the tomb of Helena of Adiabene, are recognized as evidence of
the occupants having professed the Jewish religion. James Ferguson and
the older Palestine explorers supposed the 'kokim' to be unknown outside
Jewry, although they state that ' not a single sepulchral excavation about Jeru-
salem can be said with certainty to belong to a period anterior to the age of the
Maccabees, or, more correctly, to have been used for burial before the time of
the Romans'. 1
TAMASSOS.
Tamassos, an ancient site in a central position of the island, not far from the
more celebrated Idalium, seems to have been a place of considerable importance
in remote antiquity, but its exact era has not been defined. The ground plans
of a few Roman villas with herring-bone brickwork floors now used as thresh-
ing-floorsshow that even within the Christian period this was an important
village. Three very imposing tombs were excavated here by the Berlin Museum
1 Smith, Bib. Diet.
VOL. LXVI. Y
166 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
about the year 1890,' but unfortunately only two of them remain intact, the third
having been broken up by the peasants and removed for building material.
The two remaining tombs are almost identical in design and workmanship, and
are represented by the accompanying drawings (fig. 5). The carefully jointed
masonry of stone slabs on a rock base or platform, in forms which recall the
workmanship of a carpenter, and the small sunk panel over the door (see section)
which represents a shuttered window with a wood bolt, are all in an imitative
style of art suggestive of Greek culture. The singular treatment of the entrance
with an Ionic volute on either side, of enormous proportions, is particularly
noteworthy.
B
SCCT'ON 7nm
Fig. 5- Tomb at Tamassos : plan, section, etc.
These Tamassos tombs stand on a slight hill round which the winter torrent
of the Pidias circles in a great sweep. Not far off are the traces of primitive
shrines to Apollo and the other shadowy divinities of antiquity, their places in
some cases occupied by venerable settlements of a primitive Christianity. The
whole site wears the aspect of profound antiquity, and these important tombs
are perhaps amongst its most ancient monuments. Similar tombs exist at
Amathus. 2
The more important tombs, such as the above, are always provided with an
entrance or dromos down a staircase or inclined way. But the commonest form
of tomb, of all ages, is a square shaft sunk to a depth of about 8 ft. in the soft
tufa rock with one or more chambers at the bottom : such tombs may be counted
by tens of thousands in some parts of the island.
1 [A short account of them is in Journ. R. Inst. Brit. Architects, 3rd Ser., iii, pp. 109 ff., esp. figs. I,
z, 4, 6, 28. ED.]
2 See Cesnola, Cyprus.
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION
167
Fig. 6. Paphos: Tomb no. i. Plan at general floor-level.
Fig. 7. Paphos : Tomb no. i. Detail of rock- cut colonnade.
Y2
i68 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
PAPHOS.
On the sea-shore, near Nea Paphos, a large necropolis of an important archi-
tectural character survives. The accompanying drawings (figs. 6-8) sufficiently
explain the nature of these excavations, with their colonnaded courts, en-
trances, etc.
Open.
r
LJ
fl
"Plan. ftom.
S ccticm- ,
Fig. 8. Paphos : Tomb no. 2. Plan and section.
The presence of Greek or Doric architectural forms [to use the usual definitions of
the style] suggests an affinity with similar tombs in North Africa, or with the caves of Beni
Hassan, the tomb of St. James, near Jerusalem, and others of a similar type near Haifa.
The date when the so-called Greek Doric style of architecture with its strongly marked
characteristics of timber construction reproduced in permanent materials first originated
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION
169
has never been clearly defined. The great temples of Sicily are presumably the oldest
precursors of the Parthenon, but their origins are but conjectural. The style was widely
spread, and evidently marks the Ionian or Hellenic culture which eventually displaced
the Phoenician civilization of a rather older date. There is no reason why many of the
monuments which we associate with particular races in the Levant should not be con-
temporary or entirely independent of any chronological reference to each other; the races
which they represent developed or declined through long periods of history, and attempts
at classification are often very inadequate if not erroneous. In the present case of these
tombs at Paphos, the Phoenician or Hebrew ' kokim ' receptacles for the bodies are com-
bined with a distinctly Greek architectural character in the rock-cut colonnade.
LARNACA (KITIUM).
Larnaca takes its name from ' a tomb ' or ' the tomb ', but what particular
tomb is referred to would be difficult to determine at the present day ; certainly
it has always been a remarkable place for its tombs in all ages.
Fig. 9. Larnaca: tomb of Mycenaean type.
Kitium or Chittim, the Phoenician city on the huge mounds of which modern Larnaca
is built, was an object of scientific investigation even in the eighteenth century. Pococke
during his stay in Cyprus attempted some exploration of the site, and found Cypriot
inscriptions and other antiquities; these he published in his Description of the East, 1745.
The Italian priest, Giovanni Mariti, who passed several years in Larnaca, published an
interesting Dissertazione istorico-critica sull' antica citta di Ciiium in 1787. In his day there
were many more ancient monuments than remain at the present, and according to his plan
of the place it would appear as if there then existed two great tombs of the type of the still
existing Phaneromeni.
Larnaca possesses tombs of an important character. One a mere fragment
-is of the curious construction of the ' Treasury of Atreus ' kind : a pointed vault
built with corbel-shaped stones supporting each other, but without any arch prin-
170 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
ciple (fig. 9). This fragment (merely the inner chamber) was much knocked about
some years ago by the owner endeavouring unsuccessfully to drag out the sarco-
phagi still remaining within. This fact may perhaps suggest that in this style
of tombs the great stone coffins usually found in them were placed in situ before
the tombs were constructed over them. As an example of possibly the Myce-
naean style of tomb, this tomb at Larnaca is of an especial interest. Very
few constructions of this remote age are to be traced in the island, and certainly
none of a larger scale or superior workmanship.
^^aSSS^^^^^y^^
Scale
Fig. 10. Phaneromeni, Larnaca : plan, etc.
Architectural tombs of many different types still survive at Larnaca, but
the largest and most curious of them is certainly the so-called shrine of the
Phaneromni. As will be seen by the accompanying drawings (fig. 10), it consists
of two chambers, the outer of which was approached by a wide dromos in all
probability. The outer wall of the entrance chamber was demolished ages ago,
and within the past few years the natives have still further destroyed this portion,
and removed all trace of the dromos in building a sort of shed-church in the
space. The inner chamber is covered with the enormous monolith, which, in
spite of modern alterations, is still visible externally. The external chamber
probably was covered by two or more enormous stones cut to an arched form,
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION
resting on the side walls, one of which stones alone remains. The entrance to
the inner chamber is remarkable for a sliding stone trap-door which once existed.
The grooved slot constructed between the colossal stones of the covering is still
in existence, although now covered over by the modern additions. This tomb
and the so-called ' Prison of St. Catharine ' at Famagusta are apparently the only
examples of this curious arrangement in Cyprus surviving.
The other example of an architectural tomb at Larnaca is of a very com-
plete and elaborate kind. It consists of an outer chamber with its dronws, all
well preserved, and the inner chamber is divided between a square portion
covered by a barrel vault and a smaller or recessed space to contain the sarco-
phagus. The general design of this monument suggests the Roman period ; this
is perhaps chiefly due to the presence of the semicircular vaulted ceiling (fig. 1 1).
Fig. ii. Larnaca: tomb of Graeco-Roman type.
SALAMIS (FAMAGUSTA).
The ' Prison of St. Catharine ' (Salamis) near Famagusta is an imposing
example of a tomb of the largest type. Although it possesses a distinct archi-
tectural character, still it is difficult to classify or to date such a monument. As
will be seen by the drawings, it is partly rock-hewn and partly of immense stones
with a covering or ceiling of enormous blocks. There is very little doubt that
its builders belonged to the same epoch as the men who raised the similar curved
roofings over the Phaneromeni of Larnaca. The Famagusta example is, how-
ever, on a much larger scale, and was surmounted by an architectural exterior
of which at least some traces of the base still remain (fig. 12).
The plan of this tomb (fig. 13) is suggestive of the cross-planned examples at
Palmyra, and the evidences of an outer structure would also point to affinities
with the Palmyrene tower-tombs. Such being the case we must assume that this
172 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
fashion in monumental sepulchres belongs to a period coincident with the later
Roman Empire, when Palmyra was flourishing. The huge stonework of Baalbek,
and of other provincial ruins of the Roman Empire, has a very similar appearance
to the masonry of the great tombs of Cyprus. The colossal nature of the stones
employed in these examples at Larnaca and Famagusta may be appreciated by
examining the accompanying drawings.
OVTLINE.
Cross Sect i 'cm.
Fig. 12. St. Catharine, Salamis : sections.
The most remarkable feature of the ' Prison of St. Catharine ' is the entrance
doorway, which was laid bare from accumulations of rubbish during the past
year. The doorway and drowos were choked with earth, stones, and fallen
masonry, completely hiding the very curious arrangements of the sliding port-
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCGUPATION
173
cullis, and the original entrance. 1 This portcullis is evidently an alternative to
the ' rolling stone ' of the Roman tombs at Jerusalem.
t - a
Ky"
_f ,
5
jj
i
|
u
s
^
*
HOCK-
I
'*
(
X
i
III
-4
1
h
5;
R~V
1
!
.4
Fig. 13. Prison of St. Catharine, Salamis : plan, with conjectural restoration
of outer chamber.
A huge block of stone, on one side cut to a semicircular outline which would
appear to have been intended to carry the end of a small barrel vault, was lying
on top of the rubbish blocking the entrance, and could only be removed with
the aid of some members of the railway staff and their powerful screwjacks.
From its position, its shape, and dimensions, this curious block looked as if it had
1 Measured drawings of this tomb and its doorway were published in the Journal of Hellenic
Studies, 1883, pi. xxxiii-iv, and in the Builder of 26th May, if
VOL. LXVI. z
174 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
been thrown down into the dromos from the position it may have occupied as
the end of a small vault over the entrance. If there was such a vaulted covering
to the dromos stairway, every trace of it has vanished with the exception of this
great stone.
The chief interest in the ' Prison of St. Catharine ' tomb centres in the
exceptional preservation of its entrance door (fig. 14), or at least a great part of
the door. Tombs of the Roman Empire period in the Levant seem commonly
to have been designed with these sliding portcullis coverings to their entrances.
\ Mttra
Fig 14. Prison of St. Catharine, Salamis: detail of entrance.
In his Archaeological Researches in Palestine, Monsieur C. Ganneau figures a very
perfect example of a precisely similar portcullis door, which he seems to have
found intact at Ras-el-Ekra, near Am was, Palestine. In this case the sliding door
was i m. 60 cm. high, and had a hole in the upper part for a cord to pass through
as a means of lifting it. Within this tomb was the inscription tSx 1 TrdvTfs Xeyovaiv
marking its date.
In the tomb at Salamis the sliding portcullis has been cut through by the
tomb robbers, and when the chamber became subsequently converted into a
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION 175
Christian church the square hole of its entrance was carefully trimmed and
splayed on either side, and also the remaining fragment of the portcullis, held
in position by concrete, was splayed on its under side, and a wood door fixed
in the opening, of which the holes for the lock and hinges remain as evidence.
Many years ago James Ferguson, the author of many books on architectural
classification, wrote an article on 'Jerusalem' for Smith's Bible Dictionary. In
it he says : ' There seems no reason for doubting but that all the architectural
tombs of Jerusalem belong to the age of the Romans, like everything that has
yet been found at Petra, Baalbek, Palmyra, or Damascus, or even among the
stone cities of Hauran. Throughout Syria there is no important architectural
example which is anterior to their day ; and all the specimens which can be
called classical are strongly marked with the impress of the peculiar forms of
Roman Art.' Such a statement is true in as far as it applies to the larger and
better known monuments. A great number, if not the majority of the smaller
tombs, rock-cut or structural, belong to a much older period than the Roman
Empire : the Phoenician rock-cut necropolis near Haifa, which closely resembles
the similar tombs at Paphos, is, for example, long antecedent to the Roman
period.
The rock-cut tomb of antiquity, with its more or less inappropriate archi-
tectural decorations, is not the speciality of any particular race. Its earliest
forms are perhaps identified with the Phoenicians, but its full development, in a
colossal manner, took place under Roman influence, and in the partial rock
excavation and partial construction of such tombs as the 'Prison of St. Catharine',
Salamis. Tombs of an older date than the Roman Empire with any pretension
to architectural character are rare in Syria, Palestine, or Cyprus, but mere ex-
cavations in the rock on an imposing scale are common enough, of which several
examples on the north coast of Cyprus have been described by Mr. Hogarth in
Devia Cypria.
THE ROCK-HEWN CHAPEL OF ACHEIROPOIETOS, ON THE BYZANTINE SITE OF
LAMBOUSA, ON THE NORTH COAST OF CYPRUS.
This is a remarkable example of the transtormation of an ancient tomb into
a church of the early Byzantine period ; a block of stone remaining in the centre
of a great quarried area has been hollowed out into a Christian church, possess-
ing narthex, a Holy Well (a common accompaniment of early chapels and tombs),
and an altar of prothcsis formed as a wall niche (fig. 15).
In this church the altar viprothesis, which should liturgically be on the north
side of the Holy Table, shows that an altar of wood was placed sideways towards
2 2
176 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
the entrance, facing east in the usual way. The square chamber was probably
a pagan tomb, originally with wall niches around it for the dead. After its con-
PLAN.
Ho. i
Fig. 15. Rock-hewn chapel of Acheiropoietos : elevation, plan, and section.
version into a Christian church the narthex seems to have been added by cutting
out a chamber enclosing the doorway, with a remarkably thin stone partition
DURING THE GRAECO-ROMAN OCCUPATION 177
(about i ft. thick) now destroyed. Externally this rock-cube, containing the
tomb-church, has been left with the step-like traces of ancient quarrying, where
the stone has been levered off in layers. 1
A very similar town site (now known as Sandoukopetra, identified by
Dr. Ross in 1850 as Kermia), also on the north coast of the island, retains an
almost identical cube of stone resulting from ancient quarrying, but without any
chamber cavity within it.
Such a rock-hewn church as exists at Lambousa need not necessarily have
been formed out of a disused pagan tomb, although it of course seems suggested
by appearances. The Byzantine custom of forming churches amongst the
caverns of a quarry seems to have been very popular at certain periods of church
history in the Levant, and there are of course numerous examples of actually
rock-cut churches and chapels. The custom of intramural interment was also
at one time prevalent in the Orthodox Church, although it seems to have died
out for more than a century. The numerous little churches amongst the quar-
ries of Cyprus, which as a rule are somewhat roughly executed, taking the form
of little more than a cavern with plastered and painted ceiling and walls, have
frequently a tomb of some long forgotten worthy in the floor or just outside the
entrance. The chief reason for assuming that the Lambousa example was origin-
ally a pagan tomb would be because the entrance is sideways to the altar.
The foregoing notes have been written with the particular object in view of
drawing attention to some interesting archaeological features of the Levant, and
to the yet unexplained problems they present. The Romans were, without
doubt, the greatest patrons of the art of the quarryman and rock-cutter ever
known in the Levant. To the 'age of the Antonines' are ascribed the cul-
minating tours deforce of the Baalbek masonry, and perhaps the rock-cuttings at
Petra. But considering that in Europe there are no such colossal monuments of
the Roman Empire, we must suppose that the scale on which the Roman work
of the Levant was executed must have been due to some racial peculiarity of
the workmen employed, some special aptitude on their part for the cutting and
moving of such immense blocks of stone. It would be interesting to discover
what race possessed this faculty.
Another very curious problem remains unsolved : how were the ' kokim '
executed in the rock ? how did the workman use his tools, and what tools, within
a space measuring usually 6 ft. by 2 ft. by 2 ft? The 'kokim' are in fact the
greatest enigma in the matter. They are certainly clearly defined as Jewish by all
authorities, and seem a peculiarity of the Jews under the Roman Empire. Their
1 The magnificent Byzantine silver treasure belonging to the late Mr. Pierpont Morgan was found
within this rock-cut church (at the bottom of the well) in 1905.
178 ROCK-CUTTING AND TOMB-ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS
frequent occurrence all over Cyprus, and more especially in such a Greek
colony as Poli, is particularly interesting. If the tombs at Nea Paphos are
Semitic there is a probability that the Greek Doric ornamentation was adopted
in the same way as the Roman ' Composite ' was clumsily copied in the Adiabene
tomb, Jerusalem.
Any description of the tombs of Cyprus seems to suggest some reference
to their fate at the hands of the archaeologists and treasure-seekers of past times.
Dr. Ross, the German traveller who visited Cyprus in 1852, says :
' Although the impression that the search made by Europeans for ruins, inscriptions,
and other antiquities is directed merely to the discovery of hidden treasure, is one spread
more or less among the peoples of the East, yet I have never found this illusion so general,
so deeply rooted, and so offensive as in Cyprus. It appears to be a fact that only a few years
since persons came from Italy, relying on the evidence of old family papers, and searched
in Nicosia for treasures alleged to have been buried there. It is no less a fact that among
some of the consular agents exist the most exaggerated ideas of the treasures to be found
here, and some of these gentlemen have now and then gone out with divining rods in
search of them. One such agent, a Corsican, living at Limassol, is constantly hunting for
inscriptions at Amathus and Paphos ; he breaks up most of them understanding nothing
of their meaning under the illusion that gold is hidden in the stones.' 1
The famous Cesnola with his ' Treasure of Curium ', Ceccaldi, Lang, and
others, carried on a trade in ' Antikas ' during the latter part of the nineteenth
century which has hardly been paralleled elsewhere in the world. Cesnola
claims to have opened 2,000 tombs at Larnaca, 1,500 at Dali, and unrecorded
numbers in other parts of the island. The Cypriots were trained into considering
this a branch of industry, and antiquities from the graves were and are even
now exported like sacks of potatoes or carob beans. This trade may be
traced back to Venetian times. Lusignano in his Chorograjfia, 1572, refers to
' molte anticaglie et cose preciose nelle sepulture di essi antichi ; le quali sepol-
ture sono fatte a modo di camere sotto terra ; et non e da quattro anni, ovver sei,
che hanno trovato un Re quasi intiero '.
1 Cobham's translation.
ARCIIAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE X:
Fig. i. The Piison of St. Catharine : cast side before removal of loose stones, etc.
Fig. 2. The Prison ot St. Catharine : south end before the plinth stones were excavated
(The native is seated at the far edge of the roof stone of the small chamber)
Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1915
V. Notes on the 'Prison of Saint Catharine' at Salamis in Cyprus.
By Prof. JOHN L. MYRES, M.A., F.S.A.
Read iyth December, 1914.
THE ' Prison of Saint Catharine ' is an ancient monument on the outskirts of
the ruins of Salamis, on the east coast of Cyprus. It consists of two chambers,
of which the inner, rectangular with gable roof east-to-west and door at one end,
is cut out of a single block of limestone, and roofed with another, which projects
slightly above the modern surface of the ground. The junction of the two blocks
is about half-way up the gable roof. The outer chamber is much larger and lies
transversely to the inner, with its long axis north and south, and the inner chamber
door in the middle of its west wall. Nearly opposite in the east wall is the outer
entrance, approached from ground-level by a descent of rough steps, between
walls of large squared masonry, now much damaged. The walls of the outer
chamber consist of enormous upright slabs, crowned by a massive cornice, of a
wide cavetto between two fillets, of which the upper projects considerably be-
yond the lower. On this cornice rests a semicircular vault of very large stones,
the largest of which are set on end and occupy as much as a third of the vault.
Within, they are carefully dressed, like the wall surfaces, but outside they were
left rough, and have suffered further damage from exposure. They were not,
however, intended to be seen, for there are remains of an outer casing of massive
squared masonry, consisting of a cornice below, of the same profile as that of the
vaulted chamber ; and over this a plinth of three courses, the upper and lower
plain, the middle bearing a simple cyma moulding, convex above. One course
of the wall face is traceable still above the plinth, about half-way up the vault.
The ends of the vault above the cornice are filled with rough walling, mostly
recent, but including a number of stones from the plinth. A breach in the north
wall serves as an entrance now, with a modern flight of steps. The building is
now buried up to the level of the cornice and the great roof-slab, in a low mound;
but the natural ground-level is only about a metre lower.
i8o NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
The ' Prison of Saint Catharine ' has been repeatedly discussed by travellers.
Pococke described it in his Travels (London, 1745, ii, p. 215) as ' a chapel . . . and
there seems to have been a tomb in it ', but the first detailed account of it is that
of Max Ohnefalsch-Richter, dated April, 1883, and translated from the German
by Mr. C. D. Cobham in the Journal of Hellenic Studies (London, 1883), iv,
pp. 112-16, pis. xxxiii-iv; the only published plans before those given by
Mr. Jeffery in the present volume of Archaeologia. Other references, summarized
by Ohnefalsch-Richter, are as follows: L. Ross, ArcJtacologische Zeitung, 1851,
p. 328, 'a Phoenician tomb'; Ungerand Kotschy, Die Insel Cyfiern, Vienna, 1865,
P- 533> ' a Cyclopean well-temple'; L.P. di Cesnola, Cyprus (p. 171, German edition,
1879), ' a Phoenician tomb ' ; A. P. di Cesnola, Salaminia, London, 1882, p. 2, ' part
of the ancient wall, bounding the interior area of the harbour '.
Ohnefalsch-Richter (p. 1 15) believed the building 'to belong to a "Temenos"
which was in communication with one of the principal gates in the western wall
of Salamis'; the 'purpose and use of the building 'he believed to have been
'(i) a spring or well house, (2) a temple or sanctuary, perhaps also a tomb, (3) a
treasure house, and place of refuge in time of war or trouble'. He found the
principal entrance 'all but filled up with earth and stones, among them a large
one ', marked P in his plan, 'which once decorated the portal' (p. 1 13). This stone
is described as bearing ' an ornament of semilunar shape on a square ground '.
In his reconstruction (I.e., fig. 7) it is conjecturally replaced. He noted that the
lintel of the door was ' evidently hollowed out with reference to some mechanism
for closing the door from within ', and in the belief that this door ' could be closed
only from within' (p. 115), he inferred that 'the inmates then must have been
watching a treasure ... or barricading themselves from an enemy', and that the
building 'was not a tomb only. Dead men cannot close a door' (p. 116); but he
adds, 'what this mechanism was, I do not pretend to have discovered'. Though
he quotes the stone groove for a portcullis in the doorway of the Phaneromni
Chapel at Larnaca, he does not seem to have noticed the portcullis stone at
St. Catharine's, and represents its lower edge, in his section of the doorway, as
part of the outer lintel. He shows the late end walls in the state in which they
are now ; the present entrance and staircase were in use (p. 1 14) though the stair-
case is not indicated in his plan; and the ' well ' seen by Unger and Kotschy in 1861
was ' covered with earth in 1883 '. It is described (p. 1 13) as ' of square form, built
round with well-cut stones of different sizes '. In 1913 this ' well ' was again quite
covered with earth, which has raised the floor some inches above its level in
1883. Both in 1861 and in 1883, this 'well' was of more account than now.
Unger and Kotschy took the temperature of the water(io Raumur)and believed
AT SALAM1S IN CYPRUS 181
that 'the building was purposely erected over the spring'. Ohnefalsch-Richter
'pointed out the same fact concerning the ancient tomb called " Hagia Phane-
rome"ni" near Larnaca' (p. 113), and thought that at St. Catharine's 'the spot
was no doubt chosen as well for the excellent spring as for the natural sandstone
rock which crops up here like an island, and out of which the inner chamber was
hewn' (p. 115).
Both these conjectures rest on defective observation. In the first place, the
spring is deficient, or at most seasonal. In November 1913, after exceptionally
early and heavy autumn rains, the floor, though muddy, was not flooded ; the
peasants had nothing to say about an ' excellent spring ', and there really does
not seem to be more water than would accumulate from surface drainage into
so large a cavity. Further, the natural rock of the neighbourhood is not sand-
stone but a shelly limestone, and though the limestone of the escarpment beyond
Enkomi, about two miles westward, is massive enough to yield great blocks like
those of St. Catharine's, it ought not to be assumed that this thick bed underlies
this part of the plateau ; there has certainly been a good deal of weathering and
solution, and the nearest exposures, in tomb shafts farther south and south-west,
show a thinner bedded rock of inferior quality. The large cubical mass of lime-
stone containing a late chamber- tomb, a few yards south of St. Catharine's, proves
nothing either way, for although, in 1913, we cleared its back wall to the level of
the loculi of the tomb, about ten feet from the surface, we unfortunately did not
probe the soft rubbish which still lay below us, to determine the relation of the
tomb-block to that on which it stood. At the Phaneromeni Chapel, on the other
hand, where the tomb-block has been completely exposed, it is certain that whereas
the cavity in which it stands is excavated in a ferruginous breccia, the monolithic
inner chamber and the remaining half of the roof of the other arc of a massive
limestone very like that of St. Catharine's, and that these great blocks must
have been quarried elsewhere and transported for some distance. And in the
shaft which was sunk in 1913 immediately outside the north-west angle of the
large chamber, we found under the original level, two metres below the present
mound-surface, nothing but an undisturbed marl, like that which underlies the
thick limestone in the escarpment at Enkomi.
The monument has been used for a long while as a chapel and a gap in the
north end serves as the modern entrance (pi. XXII, fig. i). It has an annual
festival ; the winter drainage-water on the floor was formerly believed to be
a spring ; the thorn-bushes near it are sacred to St. Catharine, and must not be
harmed ; and in 1913 I found one small bush covered with rags, such as one sees
about saints' tombs in the Near East. About a quarter of a mile away to the west
VOL. LXVI. A 3
182 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
is a more ancient sanctuary, completely destroyed, except a few votive terra-
cottas indicating a female deity.
Mr. Jeffery's account of the monument couples it with the tombs of large
masonry in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast, some of which are of Graeco-Roman
date. 1 Others, however, such as the 'Royal Tomb' at Politiko in Cyprus, and the
monolithic and megalithic chambers of Amrit and Selwan (Siloam), are certainly
older; and in Cyprus itself built chamber-tombs with flat or gabled roofs of large
slabs occur in the Late Minoan necropolis at Enkomi, only two miles inland.
The British Museum's people who excavated at Enkomi in 1896 thought that
St. Catharine's was 'Mycenaean'. The earth and stones which blocked the
ancient entrance were moved under the direction of Mr. Jeffery in 1912, and a
little conservation and probing was done on behalf of the Cyprus Museum in
November 1913, in connexion with further excavation at Enkomi. Of this work
a detailed report is appended (see Appendix).
The new facts which have been established by recent work and the principal
conclusions from them areas follows : (i) The ancient entrance is found to have
been closed by a stone portcullis, sliding in a groove in each door-jamb. When the
tomb was rifled, the portcullis and door-jambs were cut away, so that the grooves
are only seen behind the lintel ; but the upper edge of the portcullis itself, per-
forated to take the raising tackle, remains jammed in its place, and sealed down
by a mass of rubble cement (fig. i).
(2) Similar rubble cement fills the space between the masonry of the facade
and the upper surface of the vault-stones, and is certainly contemporary with the
facade.
(3) The large stone marked P in Ohnefalsch-Richter's drawings, with a semi-
circular prominence on a rectangular foundation, lay formerly among the debris
in the ancient entrance, and is now broken ; but it has now been raised to the
surface, and the parts have been reassembled. Mr. Jeffery, following Ohnefalsch-
Richter's replacement of this stone over the lintel, suggests that it filled the
rear end of a semicircular vault over the entrance-passage : and there is a free-
standing arch of this kind over the doorway of a Graeco-Roman tomb at
Khareibet-es-Suk in Palestine, published by Conder (Memoirs of the Survey of
Eastern Palestine, i, 142-4). This tomb has a rectangular superstructure with
vertical sides and a moulded cornice in good late masonry. The arch, which
has late Graeco-Roman mouldings on its face, stands free (the masonry having
been destroyed from about it) in front of the fagade, with which it is unconnected
. 1 Snpta, p. 171.
AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS
183
either by a P-stone or by any kind of bonding. An earlier tomb, at Amrit in
Phoenicia, published by Renan (Mission en Phenicie, pi. xvii), has a gable-roofed
antechamber over the entrance, but this is at some distance from the facade, and
communicates with the tomb by a tunnel ; so it is not a very close parallel. Apart
from these, there is usually no protection of the entrance to chamber-tombs in
Syria or in Cyprus. And no one has yet found any stones from such an entrance
E
LJ
r-
-w
PLAN J DOORWAY
EVATION;- look
Fig. i. The Prison of St. Catharine : plan and elevation of entrance.
vault ; or explained how it was adjusted to the entrance staircase, which begins
less than a metre (o 85 m.) from the outer face of the doorway, and when it was
complete would reach the ground-level only about four metres from it.
(4) In the course of small clearances round the outside of the monument we
have found that the blocks of the external cornice, as well as the masonry of the
facade, are set in the same cement as the rubble filling ; that where the present
mound surface rises towards the cap-stone of the inner chamber, the cornice is
omitted, and the lowest course of the plinth rests on rubble cement ; that similar
A a 2
1 84 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
rubble cement, containing larger unhewn stcnes, seals down the cap-stone along
its three exposed edges ; and that the upright slabs of the vaulted chamber have
a backing of rubble cement with large stones, filling the space between their
outer surfaces and the sloping side of the cavity in which the monument is built.
The material in which this cavity is cut is apparently not limestone, as has been
commonly supposed, but a tough sandy marl like that in which the Late Minoan
tombs at Enkomi are found. The great block in which the inner chamber is cut
is therefore probably not in situ, but has been brought from elsewhere like the
similar but ruder monument near Larnaca known as the Phaneromeni (Annun-
ciation) Chapel, which is of a similar limestone and lies in a cavity cut out of a
ferruginous breccia. The nearest source for such a block is the escarpment
overlooking the Minoan necropolis at Enkomi ; and this escarpment comes
round under Enkomi village, descending gently to within a mile of St. Catharine's.
No monument in Cyprus can be compared with the ' Prison of St. Catharine '
for the size of its masonry or the grandeur of its design. But two other rock-
chambers illustrate some of its peculiarities. The ' Annunciation Chapel ' (/Igia
Phaneromeni) close to Larnaca has a monolithic inner chamber, with a portcullis
door, and an outer chamber with walls of fine squared masonry supporting a
single massive roof-slab, 4* metres wide, and covering 32 metres of the original
length of the tomb. The Phaneromeni, like the ' Prison of St. Catharine ', is
set in a deep excavation (vertical-sided, however, because it is cut in a compact
breccia) large enough to admit workmen while the monolith was being moved
into place ; and probably it was protected eventually by a packing of rubble in
cement like that at St. Catharine's. The Phaneromeni lies in a part of the out-
skirts of Larnaca which yields Graeco-Roman tombs, and is so far from the older
part of ancient Kition as to be probably of late date. There is, however, nothing
in the design or workmanship of the Phaneromeni to give direct indication of
age. Mere rudeness of workmanship counts for little, particularly as the internal
door-wall is much better dressed than the others ; and as this is the wall least
likely to have been altered, if an attempt was made later to enlarge the chamber,
or to probe its walls for treasure, it is probable that the bad workmanship is late.
But even the low curved profile of the outer ceiling is of a common Graeco-
Roman form, and the traces of mortar between the blocks of the masonry support
this date. If leave could be obtained to excavate what is left of the original
entrance, at the far end of the cavity in which the Phaneromeni stands, its con-
tents might help to settle the age of the monument.
A similar mass of limestone lies a few yards to the south of St. Catharine's, and
contains a chamber-tomb of late form, with a full-length niche on each side, and
AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS 185
two loculi (or kokini) in the side opposite the door. These may be later additions,
as they break out through the surface of the mass and are made up with slabs
in the debris packed about it. One of them contained a late Graeco-Roman
burial in a terra-cotta coffin. Here, too, though the niches are probably an addition
to the original plan, there was nothing to suggest that any part of the tomb is of
earlier than Roman date. A single piece of Cypriote geometrical pottery, of the
eighth or ninth century, from the disturbed soil round this tomb, proves no more
as to its age than the fragments of similar fabric from the surface soil at St.
Catharine's. This block, like the Phaneromni, and St. Catharine's Prison itself,
does not seem to be /;/ situ, but stands embedded in loose earth and rubble,
probably the filling of a similar cavity.
Yet another chambered mass of limestone lies a few yards south-west of this
one with its upper surface almost level with the ground. The chamber has been
plundered, and as yet no attempt has been made to explore its outside.
The side of the cavity at St. Catharine's slopes inwards, probably to make
a firmer edge over which to slide the great slabs into their place. The marl in
which it is cut seemed to be quite undisturbed, and the only indication of date
was given by one small bowl-handle of Graeco- Phoenician ware, not later than
the sixth century, and perhaps a good deal earlier, as this style only changed
slowly during the Early Iron Age. This fragment was found adhering to the
mass of rubble cement, below the original ground level. The building of the
monument therefore cannot be placed earlier than the Early Iron Age, though
it may, so far as this evidence goes, be later. Minoan date was in any case made
improbable by the discovery in 1913 that not only the necropolis, but the actual
settlement belonging to this age was on and below the escarpment already
mentioned, beyond Enkomi, fully two miles away. The Hellenic Salamis seems
to be a quite distinct foundation, of the Early Iron Age. A very similar change
of site took place also at Kition, where the Minoan remains are round the Salt
Lake, south-east of Old Larnaca, while the Early Iron Age settlement is under
Bamboula Hill to the west, facing, like Hellenic Salamis, into the open sea on
a small inlet of it.
Positive evidence as to the date of St. Catharine's is only offered by five
features : the form of the inner chamber, the portcullis door, the vaulted roof,
the profile of the facade, and the great cornice.
(i) Take first the form of the inner chamber. Tombs of finely dressed masonry,
with stone doors, are known in several necropoleis in Cyprus and in Syria. On
the mainland they are usually found violated, or contaminated by re-burial. In
Cyprus they begin in the Late Minoan necropolis at Enkomi, with corbel vault-
186 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
ing and flat slabs, very like the construction suggested by the inner chamber at
St. Catharine's. Later there are corbelled barrel-vaults, gable roofs of tilted
slabs, and flat roofs relieved by a corbelled dome of rougher masonry. These
built tombs cannot be dated exactly, but a gabled tomb at Amathus is shown
by the encroachments of a fifth-century neighbour to be at least as early as that.
The barrel-roofed tombs may be later than the gabled ones, if the late date of
barrel-roofs in the rock-cut tombs is any guide.
(2) Next, we have to consider the stone portcullis. One such tomb at Amathus
had a stone door, turning on a pivot (B.M. Excavations in Cyprus, 1899), and part
of such a door is known from Sidon (Renan, Mission en Phenicie, pi. xlv, 4, 5, 6).
The Phanerome'ni Chapel at Larnaca has a grooved doorway with a slit in the
roof, for a portcullis to be let down from outside ; a portcullis tomb at Ras-
el-Ekra near Amwas (Emmaus) in Judaea is figured by Clermont Ganneau,
Archaeological Researches in Palestine, ii, p. 94. This tomb is Graeco-Roman, or
at least much altered in late times : a nearer parallel to St. Catharine's is sup-
plied by a tomb at Selwan (Siloam) in Judaea which has two grooves for sliding
doors, but has lost its slabs (Clermont Ganneau, Arch. Res. i, pp. 317-18). This
tomb belongs to the same necropolis as the monolithic chamber which will be
quoted below, and probably belongs to the time of the Jewish Monarchy : not
later therefore than the first years of the sixth century. The portcullis door is
evidently no clear evidence as to age : it occurs at several periods.
(3) The vaulted roof carries out an arch construction, which is exceedingly
rare before Roman times, in a style and with materials which suggest at first sight
that ordinary arch construction was unfamiliar to the builders, and that they
were trying an experiment based on acquaintance with the mechanics of the gable
roof of tilted slabs : the cylindrical form of the interior being perhaps suggested
by the cylindrical corbel vaults, though the date of these in Cyprus is uncertain.
But the semicircular inner surface of the stones is truly cut, and is of the same
quality as the other fine masonry of the monument. Note that the only other
example of the cornice moulding is from a gable-roofed tomb at Larnaca,
published by Ohnefalsch-Richter in 1883 (J.H.S. iv, pi. xxxiv, 6), but now
destroyed.
The vaulted roof raises at once the large question of the history of the arch
in the Nearer East. Only a summary of the evidence can be attempted here.
No one doubts that in Roman times the use of the arch spread rapidly over the
whole extent of the Mediterranean world, and that magnificent examples of
arched masonry are found in Syria and Palestine. No one doubts, either, that
the arch was known, though only occasionally used, usually for subterranean
AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS 187
vaulting, in Egypt from the Third Dynasty both in brick and in stone ; and in
Babylonia, in brick, from almost as early a period. On the other hand, Greek
builders work without arches, with a few disputed exceptions. For subterranean
work, and for openings too wide to be spanned by a single block, the corbelled
' false arch ' is used regularly, from early Minoan times onwards, both in Greece
itself, in the islands, and in Asia Minor, where some of the Carian corbel-vaults
are of large dimensions. 1 It is in the Levant that the evidence is perplexing.
In Cyprus, rock-tombs with a barrel-vault like those round the Turabi Teke at
Larnaca 2 seem to be always of late Roman date : even in Ptolemaic times rock-
tombs have only a slightly curved roof, and tombs of the Hellenic period seem
to have been usually cut nearly horizontal above, though the middle of the roof
has often weathered more than the sides. Built tombs are not uncommon in
Cyprus, but few of them are of known date, as nearly all that are known have
been plundered. Some have a flat roof of slabs ; some a gable roof of two sets
of slabs propping each other ; others have corbel vaults, trimmed to a gable-
shape, like those at Xylotymbou, or a barrel-shape, like that at Larnaca. It has
been commonly supposed that the flat roofs and gables are mainly Hellenic and
Graeco-Phoenician, and that the cylinder-shaped roofs are Hellenistic or Graeco-
Roman. Mr. Jeffery alone claims one Larnaca tomb as a Minoan survival
(p. 170 above).
On the mainland, the ' tabernacle ' tomb at Amrit has its monolithic roof cut
to a cylindrical cavity ; the monolithic chamber at Siloam has the same. Both
have the same kind of cornice as St. Catharine's, but neither can be dated.
The great stone vaults at low levels in Jerusalem are now generally regarded
as Graeco-Roman ; but as they consist of regularly planned quoins usually dressed
with a marginal draft, they are not very close parallels to the rude mcgalithic
structure of St. Catharine's. We can draw from them no conclusion as to date.
(4) For the facade, and external profile of St. Catharine's, there are now some
fresh observations.
In the plans in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, iv, pi. xxxiii-iv, no trace of
the ancient fagade of the monument is recorded, and a pyramidal superstructure
is suggested, on the analogy of corbel-vaulted tombs at Xylotymbou. But these
tombs have no arch within ; their step-profile results only from the undressed
outer edges of the corbel-vault courses ; and they were designed, as Ohnefalsch-
Richtcr admits, to be covered with earth. They had not in fact any super-
structure at all.
1 Paton and Myres, J.H.S., xvi, pp. 245 54.
- Myres, J.H.S., xvii, p 163.
1 88 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
There is, however, a considerable fragment of ancient facade still in place
at St. Catharine's. It forms part of the east face, a little south of the entrance.
It consists of the following members :
(1) At the base, and apparently at the ground level, or only a little above
it, is a replica of the great cornice of the inside, set back to back with this on top
of the upright wall-slabs. Another block of this external cornice stands nearly
in place north of the entrance, and two fragments of another (see p. 192 below)
lie at a little distance. The L -shaped holes in the projecting upper edge of
this cornice seem to have been made for the purpose of tethering animals at the
festival.
(2) Above this cornice stands a plain course, set flush with the outer face of
the wall-slabs and with the concavity of the cornice.
(3) Above the plain course is a simple cyma reversa, slightly quirked below,
over a plain fillet.
(4) Then comes another plain fillet course, which seems to have projected
slightly beyond the face of course 3, but is much decayed and perhaps displaced
as well.
(5) Then begins the vertical wall of the superstructure, of blocks on edge
set back well behind course 4. Only one course is preserved, but it would take
at least two more to come level with the crown of the vault. Above this,
Mr. Jcffery is probably right (p. 172) in restoring a prominent cornice, though
conjectures may differ as to its profile.
Whether there was any pyramid or other crown to the monument, cannot
be determined now.
The whole of this facade rests on the outer edge of the great wall-slabs, and
all but the great cornice stands clear of the vault stones behind it. The interval
is filled with large rubble, set in the same cement as was used to seal the portcullis.
That this is part of the original construction of the facade is clear, for it was filled
in by successive layers, to the level of each course of the fagade, and roughly
paved at these levels with flat pieces of limestone. Large patches of the
same rubble cement adhere to the vault-stones above the entrance, and else-
where.
From the position and dimensions of the wall-slabs, there can be little doubt
that the same fagade was repeated at each end of the building ; and there are a
number of worked blocks from it in the present filling of the north end, approxi-
mately in their original positions ; but they are ill-fitted, and have perhaps been
replaced. Certainly the upper part was much repaired not long ago by a mason
named Florenzos from Agios Sergios village, who was an elderly man when he
AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS 189
visited our excavations in 1913. At the south end, the whole of the walling seems
to be modern.
This facade, as will be seen, gets part of its effect by slight projections and re-
treat of plain courses, which is a common feature of the masonry of Syria; and part
by the use of a cyma reversa, with the convexity uppermost and nearest to the
wall face, and the concavity slightly quirked below. On buildings which carry
mouldings like the great cornice, I can find no example of this kind of cyma,
either in plinth or in cornice ; but the other cyma, with the concave next to the
wall face, occurs twice in cornices on built tombs at Amrit, which are associated
with the monolithic and megalithic tombs already mentioned, and fall within
the same phase of style and workmanship. 1 This, however, need not surprise
us, for this cyma is the regular profile for capitals in the Late Minoan age, and
survives here, only slightly modified, round the eastward colonization area, just
as it survives in Etruscan architecture westward. The cyma of the plinth at
St. Catharine's is, however, itself one which does not seem to appear in the Levant
until the Graeco-Roman period, and then is ubiquitous. It is difficult, there-
fore, to believe that the facade of St. Catharine's is of earlier than Graeco-Roman
date. But was the facade affixed later, with the cement filling already mentioned
(p. 1 88), to a vaulted tornb of earlier date ? The answer to this question is given
by the internal cornice.
This great cornice has a quite different history. It consists of a concave
member between two fillets, the upper of which projects considerably beyond
the other. Both fillets seem to have been originally flat ; this is best seen where
the moulding returns into the wall, at a misfit in the south end but they are so
much damaged that they often have the appearance of a torus moulding. The
curve is not quite uniform, and is usually elliptical, of shorter radius above than
below. It will be seen at once that this is not one of the regular Greek or Graeco-
Roman mouldings. But it is not unique in Cyprus. A good example is figured
in J.H.S., iv, pi. xxxiv, 6, from a gable-roofed chamber-tomb in Old Larnaca,
now destroyed ; and it is common in the masonry of the Syrian coast. It belongs
to a series ultimately copied from an Egyptian cornice of conventional papyrus
foliage which, though rare before the Eighteenth Dynasty, becomes habitual in
the Ramessid age and persists till Roman times. In Syria and Palestine it
passes through a fairly clear series of changes which can be dated approximately
at several points.
The earliest datable example is a door-jamb from Tell-el-Hesy (Lachish)
1 Renan, Mission en Phenicie, pis. xiv, xvi.
VOL. LXVI. B b
190 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
which is assigned by Prof. Flinders Petrie (Tell-el-Hesy, p. 26) to the ninth or
tenth century. The torus moulding at the base is narrow, the cavetto decreases
in radius from below upwards, and turns over beyond the horizontal line, meet-
ing the upper fillet, which is narrow and prominent, at an acute angle. On the
monolithic chamber at Siloam, which cannot well be later than 600 B.C. and may
be earlier, the torus is still narrow, the cavetto undercut, and the fillet narrow and
prominent. On several chamber-tombs at Amrit (which seem to be collectively
about the same period ; one of them has the Egyptian parapet of uracns snakes
above the cornice) the torus is wider, and the cavetto is of narrower radius
below than above, and is not undercut. Here the fillet is still narrow ; but on
the carved sarcophagus from Athienu in Cyprus, in the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York (no. 1364 of my Handbook to the Cesnola Collection, 1914), the
torus and fillet are widened at the expense of the cavetto, which is also of much
larger radius, and meets the fillet at a larger angle. This sarcophagus is securely-
dated by its archaic Greek reliefs to the beginning of the fifth century. Then
on a Punic tombstone from Sulcis in Sardinia (V. Crespi, Catalogo, pi. i, fig. i), 1
not earlier than the fifth century, and perhaps a good deal later, we have the
decadence ; and in a fragmentary altar from Phoenicia, published by Renan
(Mission, p. 162), the cavetto is almost flat, and the torus is replaced by a western
moulding of three members, dying out into the wall face in characteristic Greek
fashion. In this series the great cornice at St. Catharine's finds its morphological
place among the middle group represented by the chamber-tombs at Amrit ;
and it would be difficult to believe that it was of much later date than these,
if it were not for three other considerations : (i) that the cavetto cornice persists
in Egypt until Roman times ; (2) that it is copied in the Temple of Isis at Pom-
peii, which cannot be much (if at all) earlier than the first century A. D. ; and
(3) that it is used in conjunction with debased volute capitals (imitated from such
as stand in the rock-tombs at Politiko) in two late monuments in Punic Africa,
the Mausoleum of Thugga, 2 which is commonly assigned to the first or second
century B.C., and the so-called Medracen or 'Tomb of King Juba', 3 which may
be as late as the Augustan Age. These probably carry with them the cornice
of the 'ancient house' in Malta; 4 the almost purely Egyptian doorways of the
1 I have only seen the reproduction in Perrot-Chipiez, iii, fig. 233.
- Playfair, Travels in the Footsteps of Bruce, London, 1877 ; reproduced in Perrot-Chipiez, iii,
fig. 262.
3 Brunon, Mem. Soc. Arch. Constaniine, 1873-4, PP-34-53. pi- vii ; de la Blanchere, De Rege Juba
rcgis Jubacfilio, Paris, 1883, pp. 65-7; Perrot-Chipiez, iii, pp. 374-6.
1 Houel, Voyage pittoresqne dcs lies de Sidle, de Malte, ct de Lipari, Paris, 1782-7, iv, pi. 259;
Perrot-Chipiez, iii, fig. 261.
AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS 191
rock-tombs of Medain Salih in North Arabia ; 1 and an altar with Graeco-Roman
inscription from Phoenicia 2 which might otherwise have passed as older than
its dedication. From the western examples it is in any case clear that this
ancient-looking cornice passed into rare use in architecture of the Graeco-
Roman Age.
There remains therefore no feature of the 'Prison of St. Catharine' which
can be regarded as indisputably earlier than the Christian era ; and probably
Mr. Jeffery is right in associating this monument neither with the Cypro-
Mycenaean nor with the Graeco-Phoenician group of ' built tombs ', but with
the Graeco-Roman.
1 Euting, Nabaliiische Inschriften aus Arabien, Berlin, 1885, p. 16; Perrot-Chipiez, iii, fig. 179.
2 Renan, Mission en Plicnicie, pi. 22 ; cf. p. 162 ; Perrot-Chipiez, iii, fig. 78.
B b 2
is in
192 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
APPENDIX.
OPERATIONS UNDERTAKEN ON BEHALF OF THE CYPRUS MUSEUM AT ST. CATHARINE'S PRISON,
IN NOVEMBER, 1913.
IN the course of excavations in the Minoan necropolis near Enkomi, of which a report
preparation, the opportunity was given for a few days' work at ' St. Catharine's Prison ',
with the object (i) of completing the clearance of the ancient entrance begun by Mr. Jeffery
in 1912 ; (2) of determining the ancient ground-level and some details of construction ; (3) of
securing the monument against risk of damage by rain-water, and by unnecessary wear and tear
during its annual festival. The work was done by villagers from Enkomi, under my personal
supervision, with the assistance of Mr. Menelaos Merkedes, Keeper of the Cyprus Museum,
and Mr. L. H. D. Buxton, of Exeter College, Oxford.
(a) Conservation work round the ancient entrance. We began by clearing the sides of the
clromos, and built a retaining-wall on each side, a little in rear of the face of the original
side walls, so as to exhibit the old masonry wherever it is preserved. On the south side,
two large fallen blocks were in a dangerous position above the doorway. One of these (i), the
original place of which was not certain, was removed to a safe bed on the ancient rubble
masonry above the doorway. The other (2), which was found to be part of a large block from
the faade, was underpinned with dry walling, where it lay. The large fallen block (3), which
lies in front of the fa$ade south of the doorway, seems to give some support to the facade, and
was therefore left where it stands; for further security, another block (4) belonging to the faade
was set against it, and the facade was carefully underpinned with rubble. This part of the
monument ought to be examined at intervals, for further signs of subsidence, or damage from
weather. The heap of debris, which had been thrown up south of the doorway, in the recent
clearance of the dromos, was entirely removed. A large piece (5) of the great stone P
in Ohnefalsch-Richter's drawings (J . //. S., 1883, pi. xxxiii, 7 and 10) was found in this
debris and has been fitted to the other half (6), which lies nearly in front of the entrance. Two
other large stones (7, 8), partly embedded in the earth a little to the north-east of the entrance,
were found to be parts of a single block from the great cornice, and were fitted together : it
was not safe to set them upright on their original down-side, because their lower moulding was
broken away, so they lie on their backs near the monument.
At the south-east corner, a large cornice-block (9) has fallen forward, but still stands partly
on its bed. The original position of this stone is quite certain, and if it were replaced the
appearance of the facade would be much improved on this side. It was not possible with the
means at our disposal to do this : but it could easily be adjusted with simple tackle and a larger
force of workmen. The suggestion was made to me that at the annual festival there would be
abundance of labour available, if a skilled superintendent could be sent at that time.
(6) Investigation of the ancient rubble and cement. The displacement of this block (9) gave
opportunity to examine the ancient setting of the stones, which we found to be in a layer of
gypsum cement, very white and hard. It fills the horizontal courses, and in part also the
vertical joints ; and the same cement is used to consolidate the rubble filling between the
facade and the great arch-stones behind it. Careful examination of the rubble above the ancient
RCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XXI I
Fig. i. The Prison of St. Catharine : north end, showing the modern breach which serves
as an entrance and remains of outer masonry and plinth. Excavations in the rubble filling
outside the monument were made afterwards at A.
Fig. 2. The Prison of St. Catharine : south-west corner, showing the remains of the outer masonry and
the out-fallen block (i) of the 'great cornice' below the plinth courses (2-5)
Published by the Society of Aniiqiiarits oj London, 1915
AT SALAMIS IN CYPRUS 193
doorway and behind the fragment of faade on the east face of the monument showed that all
this filling is original ; and that it was laid in courses level with the courses of the fa9ade, each
course paved with thin flat stones before the next was added. The significance of this gypsum
cement is considered in the next section (c) in connexion with the work at the north-west
corner.
(c) The ancient ground-levels and methods of construction. At the south-west corner,
a large piece of the gypsum filling is well exposed, where a block of the plain course which
separates the mouldings has been removed. Beyond it, on the west side, this course was buried
in earth. Of the upper moulding three blocks are in position, corresponding with those on the
east side ; but on clearing the earth, we found that the great cornice is absent on the west, and
that the plain course rests on rubble in gypsum cement, like that at the corner. This shows
that the original level of the mound in which the monument stands was quite two feet higher
on the west than on the east. It shows also that the side chamber, whose roof-slab interrupts
the plain course and upper moulding, is part of the original design, and that it was intended to
be covered with earth. Further evidence of this is offered by the rough packing of large
unworked stones, laid against each other in two ranks in gypsum cement along each side of the
roof-slab, to protect its junction with the walls of the side chamber. The earth at the south-
west corner has now been replaced to the original level, at the foot of the plain course, and
has been graded along the south side of the roof-slab so as to expose its edge and the more
prominent stones of its packing. The west and north edges of the roof-slab we did not
disturb, but we cut out some thorn-bushes both here and between some of the arch-stones.
At the north-west corner, the whole of the fagade has been destroyed, even on the west
side, and the packing of large stones along the outside of the north wall is not original. It
probably belongs to the recent reconstruction of the end wall and the sill of the modern
entrance, to which reference will be made later. In this region the earthen mound which
encloses the whole monument is at its highest ; and as the outside of the great chamber can
be examined here below ground-level without disturbing anything, a shaft was cut in the
earthen mound, on the north side of the north-west angle, and extended carefully towards
the monument. The mound consists of clean earth from the surrounding surface, with a few
Byzantine lamps and other late pottery immediately below the turf, and a very few fragments
of Graeco-Phoenician pottery in the first half-metre. At about one metre from the surface
this clean earth passed into the same chalky subsoil as underlies the adjacent fields, and at two
metres we found the stiff marl (^"oy, chonos) with which we were familiar from our work in the
necropolis at Enkomi, sloping towards the monument. In the cavity bounded by this slope
of marl was a packing of large rubble, in gypsum cement, about a metre outwards from the
great vertical slabs which form the chamber wall. This mode of construction is already
familiar from the built tomb of the British Museum's excavations at Amathus, 1 where the
masonry was erected in a similar cavity large enough for the builders to work outside as well
as inside their wall : then the space outside was filled with the same kind of rubble in gypsum
cement, which was carried up on to the slopes of the gable roof. At Amathus the profile
of the cavity was not traced : at St. Catharine's we have the added detail of an outer slope.
This served to facilitate the descent of the great slabs into their place, and gave a stronger
platform to carry their weight when they came near the edge of the excavation. The backing
of rubble cement, which can be traced wherever it has been looked for around the monument,
served the double purpose of filling up the cavity, and of reinforcing the upright flags against
the outward thrust of the arch.
1 Excavations in Cyprus, 1899, p. 91.
i 9 4 NOTES ON THE 'PRISON OF SAINT CATHARINE'
(d) Conservation work round the modern entrance. North of the ancient doorway, towards
the north-east corner, the whole of the outside cornice and moulded casing has been stripped,
but one large cornice-block has been replaced back to back with the inside cornice. Here the
earth-level has been so much raised (probably by periodically casting forth rain-wash from
the interior, through the breach which is the modern entrance) that the cornice was half buried,
and it had been necessary to obstruct the lower part of the breach with two rough steps set in
the thickness of the wall, to keep out the surface water. The same rise of level had also
caused a good deal of surface water to drain in the direction of the ancient entrance. With the
double object of recovering the old ground-level, and of turning the surface water away from
the monument, the surface soil, which contained a mass of large rubble stones, has now been
cut away for a width of one metre from the monument, and the shallow trench thus formed has
been made to drain northward, and is filled with rubble lightly covered with soil, level with the
base of the cornice, and protected outwards by a low retaining wall of larger rubble. The
stones which obstructed the lower part of the breach have been removed, a fresh rubble
pavement has been laid in front of the breach, to take the wear and tear of footsteps, and
beyond this a small area has been cleared to the original surface-level of the mound, and
drained at its north-east corner by a covered trench full of rubble, running due north. These
slight alterations will make the modern entrance through the breach in the north wall both
safer and cleaner, so long as it remains in use. If it should be decided later to use only the
ancient door, removing the staircase, and barring the modern entrance (which should be done
by a chain or railing in the breach, so as not to darken the interior or introduce fresh stone-
work), the greater part of this area should be filled up again ; but the original earth-level should
be observed to the north of the angle, in the same way as on the east.
West of the modern entrance, the outside cornice was found to have been destroyed and
replaced by a course of later stones up to the present earth-level. There is no reason for
disturbing this.
(<) Fencing and disposal of loose stones. The ' traces of other walls running southwards,
and a smaller Cyclopean structure not yet excavated,' which were noted by Ohnefalsch-Richter
(p. 1 15) were not recognizable in 1913. But a number of half-buried blocks, scattered over the
mound and in the adjoining fields, were carefully cleared. They were all found to be merely
loose stones from the monument, and were therefore collected and built into a rough fence
round the site, leaving only the stone P, and a few other blocks of the largest size, standing
free within the enclosure. This seemed the simplest way to discourage plundering, and to
detect it.
VI. Researches at Rickmanswortli : Report on Excavations made in 1914 on
belialf of the British Museum. By REGINALD A. SMITH, Esq., F.S.A.,
with Geological Report by HENRY DEWEY, Esq., F.G.S.
Read aoth May, 1915.
AFTER two short seasons spent in investigating the high terrace of the
lower Thames, it was considered desirable to examine the gravel of a tributary,
in order to equate if possible the various deposits in the two valleys, and to
confirm or correct the sequence deduced from former excavations at home and
abroad. Two sites near Rickmansworth, at and just below the junction of the
Gade and Colne rivers, have been known for years as productive of palaeo-
liths, and every facility was readily afforded for examining the gravel in pits
at Croxley Green and Mill End by the respective owners, Gonville and Caius
College, Cambridge, and Lord Rendlesham, and the lessees, the Rickmans-
worth Gravel Co., Ltd., and Messrs. Horwood Bros. Leave of absence was
granted by the Trustees of the British Museum, and nine days were devoted
to the work in October, the means being provided from a fund under the
control of our Vice-President, Sir Hercules Read, Keeper of the Department
concerned. Assistance from the geological side was given unofficially by
Mr. Dewey, of H.M. Geological Survey, who has read through the paper in
manuscript, and contributes an appendix dealing with some of the geological
problems involved.
A preliminary statement as to the aims and limitations of the present
Report will serve to concentrate attention and criticism on essential points that
can and ought to be cleared up by further investigation in more than one
direction. Reliance must necessarily be placed to a large extent on the latest
published geological map of the district, and on the current classification of
palaeolithic implements. Improvements are possible in both, but a general
distrust of one or the other must be deprecated in favour of a frank discussion
of difficulties that appear in the course of such investigations as those
officially conducted for the past three seasons. Any occurrence of palaeoliths
in reputed plateau-gravel cannot be disposed of by a wholesale rejection of
the French classification ; and the established sequence of types may outlive
current views as to the date and origin of the plateau-spreads.
196
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
It would be unwise as well as unjust to overlook all that has been written
by others with regard to the Rickmansworth gravels ; hence a short history of
local research is necessary, quite apart from the general survey given in the
geological section of the Report. For obvious reasons, extracts are given
instead of summaries, in order to bring out the interdependence of geology and
archaeology. As little was actually found in October, the opportunity will be
taken, with the permission of their owners, to report on various collections
from the two sites at Rickmansworth, and thus give at least a limiting date for
the gravel-deposits.
Fig. i. Sketch-map showing excavation sites at Mill End and Long Valley Wood, Croxley Green,
with lines of sections (figs, n and 12).
At Mill End (see plan, fig. i) work was confined to the north-east angle
of Messrs. Horwood's pit, 50 ft.-64 ft. west of Berry Lane, the face being at that
time about 155 ft. south of the hedge. After the removal of about one foot of
soil, which contained a few worked flints later than the Drift, the 17 ft. of gravel
was excavated in steps from the top, the whole being sifted and thrown clear
so as to prevent any confusion of levels. The top 2 ft. of gravel was loose
and whitish, without any earthy matrix, and below there was loose reddish
gravel or red earth containing fewer stones. The material is noted below
(p. 220), but archaeologically it was of little interest, as not a single implement
or worked flake came to light between the soil and the chalk floor, though
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
197
every spadeful was passed through a sieve and carefully examined. The
opportunity was taken of measuring two sandstone boulders left on the pit-
floor, evidently from the gravel, and said to come from the lower levels ; both
were approximately 20 in. by 16 in. by 8 in., and can hardly have been deposited
by normal river-action. The gravel-diggers working about 60 ft. farther west
found one implement during the four days, at a depth of i6| ft, but parted with
better specimens from the pit, one (fig. 2) being said to come from just above
the chalk in the extreme north-east angle of the pit, a few feet east of our
excavation. It is more rolled than most, and is grey to black with yellowish
patches, an earlier surface being bluish white. Its interest lies in the sloping
Fig. 2. Flint implement from Mill End : front, side, and back views. (i|)
butt, which is broad and squared, and is frequently seen in the Rickmansworth
series. The point is thin, and the sides slightly zigzag in the late Chellcs style.
The floor of the pit has been levelled, but a hole was visible from which
gravel 5 ft. deep had been taken, and a pinnacle of chalk 6 ft. above the floor
was laid bare during the excavation. The surface of the chalk was therefore
anything but level.
Fourteen implements found by the workmen at Mill End were acquired
by Mr. Dewey, but in no case was the depth given. Both the sharp and heavy
crusted butts are represented, the outline being triangular or sub-triangular.
One is definitely water-worn, and two or three tend to an ochreous patina.
Most are of Chelles appearance, but one brown oval specimen, 5 in. long, has
one face flat, the other with strong convexity.
More satisfactory results were obtained in Long Valley Wood, south-east
of Croxley Green (see plan, fig. i), just north of the 200 ft. contour. The first
VOL. LXVI.
C C
198
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
site for excavation (fig. 3) was selected as being an undisturbed portion of the
bench, or raised floor of the pit, consisting of about 4 ft. of gravel resting on the
chalk, the thickness of material previously removed being about 15 ft. It was
midway between the pit-railway and the northern face of the pit, and east of
the brick-earth mass left standing, about 180 yds. from the road dividing the
pit from Croxleyhall Wood (about the letter L of Long Valley Wood on the 6 in.
LONG VALLEY WOOD
TURF LEVEL
~BRICK\ GRAVEL REMOVED
PlTRAILWAY
BENCH
SITE
- 3- Diagrammatic section of Long Valley Wood pit, showing site of excavation and original surface level.
Fig. 4. Worked flint found close to chalk floor, Long Valley Wood : front, side, and back views. ()
Ordnance map). Another cutting (on the right) for a pit-railway has been
made since.
In the 4 ft. of gravel immediately over the chalk were collected about forty
flakes, the largest of which measured 3 in. Most of them showed signs of use
as scrapers on the edge, but their forms were not typical of any industry, and
can only be compared with a large number found in the Lower Gravel of the
loo-ft. terrace at Swanscombe in 1912.' The patination, lustre, and condition
are much the same in both cases, but whereas at Swanscombe any chipping of
1 Archaeologia, Ixiv, 182.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
199
the edge was exceptional, at Croxley it was the rule. Among the latter series
were three flakes (one almost a blade) with white patina, and a thick triangular
flake that may have served as a pointed implement. Only one specimen was
found at all approaching the peculiar Strepy type.
Besides the flakes, an implement (or part of one) was found within 2 ft.
of the chalk floor. It is triangular (fig. 4), one angle being more rounded than
the other below. Two side-edges are straight and sharp, the third a broad sloping
Fig. 5. Hand-axe from Croxleyhall Wood pit : front, side, and back views, (j)
facet, perhaps an accidental break, but in any case the work is more like St.
Acheul than Chelles, and its discovery a definite piece of evidence. The edges
and ridges are dulled, but not rolled in the ordinary sense, and the patina is a
yellowish brown.
Certain implements purchased from the gravel-diggers at work across the
road in Croxleyhall Wood had been recently found, and the alleged sites of dis-
covery pointed out by the foreman. Special mention must be made of a large
coarse specimen of somewhat ochreous patina, said to be from a depth of 12 ft.
It approaches the limande (dab-fish) form, rather thick in the centre, and broken
at the butt. The edges are quite sharp, and cracks in the body show that any
C C 2
200
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
degree of rolling would break it to pieces. The point is broad, thin, and sloping,
a good example of the basil (en biseaii).
At 20 ft., on the level of the raised floor, were found two specimens above
the average. One (fig. 5) is symmetrical, with a straight and fairly even cutting-
edge all round, and equally convex faces. The point is quite sharp, and the
ridges barely dulled. The patina is yellowish grey, with some indigo and yellow
speckling, recalling the characteristic Warren Hill surface (p. 203), a resemblance
corroborated by the pale blue colour of a few more recent (but not modern)
chips on the edge. It may be assigned to St. Acheul I.
Fig. 6. Hand-axe from Croxleyhall Wood pit: front, side, and back views. (j{)
The other (fig. 6) found at 20 ft. is about contemporary, but is mottled
bright yellow, with a good lustre. One face is rather more convex than the
other, the cutting-edge slightly interrupted on one side of the butt, and what is
probably an intentional notch beside the point, which is seen again in two
specimens in St. Albans Museum.
Three more were said to be from near the chalk : one a thick ovate, quite
sharp, yellowish-grey patina, straight cutting-edge except for 2 in. on one side
of the butt, where there is a broad facet (fig. 7). A slight spur at the point
should not be overlooked, and the implement may be dated early in St. Acheul I. 1
Another from this level is dark honey-colour with good lustre, coarse flaking, and
1 Compare Swanscombe example, Archacologia, Ixiv, pi. ix, fig. 9.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
20 1
uneven edges, but with a more or less efficient cutting-edge all round : a rough
ovate, probably of late Chelles date, 3-7 in. long.
The third of this group would be valuable evidence of date if the reputed
horizon could be trusted. It is a small pointed cordate (fig. 8) of St. Acheul II
Fig. 7 Thick ovate implement, Croxleyhall Wood pit : front, side, and back views. ($)
Fig. 8. Cordate implement, Croxleyhall Wood pit : front, side, and back views, (jj)
type, with straight and fairly even edges and sharp butt, barely dulled, with the
beginnings of white patina on one face. This would imply that the material
above (whether clay or brick-earth) was deposited at the end of the Drift period.
The total number of palaeolithic flints found by the gravel-diggers at
Croxley Green and Mill End must be considerable, as the following collections
have been traced without any difficulty, and there are doubtless as many others
in public museums or in private hands. The results obtained in October, esti-
mated in flint, were insignificant ; and the kindness shown by the following in
202 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
allowing access to their collections, or in exhibiting in illustration of the paper,
is all the more appreciated :
Geological Museum, Jermyn St. (Sir Hugh Beevor's series of over 40x3).
Herts. County Museum, St. Albans.
Sir Arthur Evans, P.S.A.
Prof. A. Schwartz Barnes.
Mr. Randall Davies, F.S.A.
Mr. Henry Dewey.
Rev. H. G. O. Kend 11, F.S.A.
Mr. V. P. Kitchin.
Mr. Fred. Sadler (over 1,000).
Discoveries at Rickmansworth were brought to the notice of the Society
in 1905 by Sir John Evans, 1 whose knowledge of the neighbourhood enabled
him to trace similar finds in the valleys of the Colne and tributary streams. In
1904 Mr. Robert Barker found an ochreous palaeolith of ovate type, and another
fine example, 2 ochreous and ovate, 20 ft. from the surface, and near the base of
the gravel. About a dozen specimens were obtained about the same time from
the workmen, and are mostly pointed. They vary considerably in technique
and condition, and include a flake of Le Moustier aspect (fig. 9), found about
26 ft. deep ; also a small ovate implement, and an elephant's molar found at that
same level, and assigned to E. antiqmts, a tusk of which was also found measur-
ing 10 ft. in length and 6 in. in diameter, though the identification was uncertain
on account of its friable condition. According to Sir John Evans, most of the
palaeoliths are said to have been found at a depth of 8 ft. or 9 ft. below the surface,
but one of large size is stated to have been discovered immediately above the
chalk, under 5 ft. of gravel and 15 ft. of clay (probably brick-earth). He noticed
the absence of land or fresh water shells, and the fauna cannot be precisely
determined, but our Fellow Mr. Kendall also has a fragment of mammoth tooth
from one of the Long Valley Wood pits.
The President exhibited, in illustration of this Report, four shapely imple-
ments from the Croxley Green pit, including the Le Moustier type already
mentioned (fig. 9). It is lustrous yellow-to-black, and consists of a symmetrical
flake with level platform and central rib on the upper face, the other being quite
plain. The upper faces of both side-edges are flaked, as if by use as a side-
scraper ; and though the patina suggests the Middle Gravel at Swanscombe, the
form is certainly characteristic of the earliest Cave-period. An ovate implement,
1 Proceedings, xxi, 31 ; Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc., xiii, 65 (two photographs of Long Valley
Wood pit).
* Exhibited with others from the Herts. County Museum, St. Albans (Curator, Mr. G. E. Bullen),
through the kindness of our Fellow Mr. Page, Hon. Curator.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 203
4-3 in. long, has a fine marbled surface, lustred black with greyish markings.
The edge is rather zigzag on one side ; and though not raw-edged, the imple-
ment is by no means water-worn. The others, found in 1905-6, are more pear-
shaped, but fairly thin, and of the middle Drift period.
Sixteen implements, from Long Valley Wood, collected or examined by
Sir John Evans, are in the Herts. County Museum, but unfortunately the depth
is given in only one case, already referred to (p. 202). It is a symmetrical imple-
ment 6-4 in. long, with a flat platform on one side of the pointed butt, and slightly
zigzag sides, one of which is curved rather like a reversed S. Like most of the
Fig. 9. Flake-implement from gravel at Croxley : style of Le Mousticr. (ij)
Rickmansworth flints, its edges are only dulled, and show that it has not travelled
far. The others at St. Albans are mostly typical Chelles implements, two having
single notches beside the point ; one of these has ochreous patina. Another
surface recalls a large group from Warren Hill, Mildenhall, with spotted yellow
and indigo colouring, and bluish-white on later edge-flaking,' whether human
or natural. The specimen probably belongs to the later stage of St. Acheul, and
is an ovate 3 in. long. Examples of the pear-shaped hand-axe and the broad
basil of Chelles date are included, and there is an exceptional ovate of early St.
Acheul character, unfortunately imperfect, found by Mr. Barker in 1904. It is
5 in. long, and is yellow rather than ochreous.
Prof. A. Schwartz Barnes was associated with Sir Hugh Beevor in a paper
1 Described by Dr. Sturge in Proceedings of East Anglian Prehistoric Society, i, 66.
204 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
on the Rickmansworth finds, 1 and has a collection from both sites, but the depth
is recorded in only a few cases. From Mill End comes a very water-worn
ochreous specimen with a notch beside the point in the eolithic manner, and a
shapely triangular hand-axe has the same patina on one face. Other specimens
approach the triangular form, with fairly heavy butts and bold flaking, all being
apparently of Chelles date. From Pratt's pit in Croxleyhall Wood is a pear-
shaped hand-axe with rather pointed butt and zigzag sides, found at 14 ft; and
farther east the owner found near the chalk a delicate pointed ovate with
square butt, unrolled, with straight sides and rather flat faces, probably of St.
Acheul date. Another specimen of that date, also found near the chalk, is thin,
with yellow patina and a basil point, and considerably water-worn. A crusted
flake nearly 7 in. long shows signs of use, and another 5 in. long has had blade-
like flakes detached from it before leaving the core ; it is unrolled, with marks
of use, and was found 4 ft. above the chalk. Eighty or more flakes of more usual
character were of various colours but mostly lustred, and had plain straight
platforms or striking-planes.
Over four hundred implements and flakes from Rickmansworth were pre-
sented to the Geological Museum by Sir Hugh Beevor, and all are marked Crx,
except one which is labelled Mill End. They were purchased from the gravel-
diggers over a period of two or three years, but private information confirms the
account given in 1909, when about eighty palaeoliths were shown from Croxley
and fifty from Mill End. 2 Attention was on the same occasion drawn to the
absence of typical conps-dc-poing (hand-axes), with heavy base and acute point,
from the Croxley series, though the type was well represented at Mill End. Pri-
mitive and unsymmetrical tools, classified as Eoliths, were common : the ' work-
men, when removing the gravel next to the chalk, would often pick out five to
the cubic yard, many very large, the great majority with the bulb of percussion '.
Apart from the question of provenance, this series throws some light on
palaeolithic conditions near Rickmansworth ; and a recent examination estab-
lished the occurrence of distinct St. Acheul types, though the bulk obviously
belonged to the Chelles industry. In gravel deposits, especially where the
stratification is obscure, the latest implements are naturally the most important,
as marking a fenninns a quo for the deposit or final re-arrangement of the gravel.
If the current classification be accepted, it is evident that the Long Valley Wood
gravel was laid down or re-arranged at some date after the St. Acheul period,
as no less than thirty-four implements of that type are included in the Beevor
collection. Of these, just half have the levels recorded, the following par-
1 The Damn of Unman Intention : an experimental and comparative Study of Eoliths (Mem. Lit. and
Phil. Soc. Manchester, liii (1909), 9).
2 Proc. Geol. Assoc., xxi, 245.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 205
ticulars being noted on the specimens, no doubt on the testimony of the work-
men. Two are marked ' base ' (of the gravel, just above the chalk floor), four
were on the ' London clay ', three on the chalk, and four near it : one was found
20 ft. deep and unrolled, another was ' 16 ft. over chalk ', white and stained ; an
unrolled specimen was '4 ft. above chalk', and another is marked 10 ft, but the
rest is illegible. The colour and condition of the surface vary, but most of the
ovate group have the edges and ridges dulled, not quite sharp and fresh, and
yet not rolled in the ordinary sense, except two ochreous specimens, one of which
(on London clay) is pinkish, like many from the North Downs. Some are lustred,
but there is no uniformity of colour ; and one of this group had an old white
patina, the re-flaked portion being brown. White patina is exceptional from
Rickmansworth, and most are brown, yellow, or grey, generally shading into the
unchanged black.
The majority collected by Sir Hugh Beevor consist of ordinary Chelles
palaeoliths and flakes, probably contemporary, as the latter closely resemble
those found in large numbers both in the Lower Gravel at Barnfield pit, Swans-
combe, and in the Greenhithe Shell-bed ; and in October about forty were
excavated close to the chalk floor, hence their early appearance is confirmed.
About 170 flakes in the Beevor collection are marked as coming from the chalk
floor or within a foot of it, and there were many others found about 5 ft. above
the chalk, that is on the ' bench ' or raised floor of the pit. About forty-five
implements and flakes were selected as typical, and there are besides over forty
large implements and cores equally of early Drift date. If there has been no
confusion of localities, the Croxley Green series includes a remarkable imple-
ment with broad thin point, a predecessor of the basil point (en biseait), with
lustrous surface and deep ochreous patina, the latter being exceptional, but this
variety of point common at Rickmansworth. It was found on the chalk, and
measures nearly 5 in., others of the same type being still larger and unrolled.
Types familiar from Swanscombe were also represented by sub-triangular
specimens with thick squared butt, one being found 6 ft. above the chalk ; and
five large pear-shaped implements, between 4 in. and 5 in. in length, one being
rolled and scratched. A rolled hand-axe, with yellow patina turning white, came
from a depth of 18 ft, and another, sub-triangular, yellowish and slightly rolled,
approaching the style of St. Acheul, was found on the chalk, as was a similar
but coarser specimen in unrolled condition. There are a few flints reminis-
cent of the Stripy or pre-Chelles industry, more or less cylindrical and chipped
at the end ; but more surprising is the inclusion of several flints that by all the
rules date from the early Cave-period. A mass of reddish brick-earth ' was left
1 About 40 ft. from the face of the pit, which is only a foot or two higher. Another mass near the
north end of the pit is also 40 ft. from the face, and practically the same height as the cliff.
VOL. LXVI. D d
206 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
standing in the pit (fig. 3) about 60 ft. west of the excavation-site, as it was not
worth removal ; and this deposit alone might explain the presence offtake imple-
ments easily distinguishable from the Drift forms. Thus a domed specimen of oval
outline and flat base, 3-3 in. long, was found 7 ft. above the chalk ; and of four
steep-sided flakes two were found on the chalk and one 5 ft. above it, the same
horizon being given for one of three end-scrapers, a Drift type but more common
later. In view of other examples, mention should be made of two thick flakes
with edges in the style of Le Moustier, one from i ft. above the chalk having
a steep end and a lateral spur. A long and narrow-pointed ovate implement,
more like a 'neolithic' celt, with creamy yellow patina, was found at 13 ft, and
one rather dirty yellow flake might be classed as Levallois. Five were
specially noticeable for their scratched surfaces, some occurring on or near the
chalk.
To prevent confusion, it may be pointed out that the brick-earth masses left
standing may explain the discovery of Cave-types at a low level in the pit,
which is exactly on the brow of the valley-slope. The pit is an open cast, and
the horizontal floor must have been cut first in the gravel surface or in the loam
resting on the slope. Hence, in the course of the work, all the archaeological
horizons would be reached in turn ; but refinements of this kind cannot be
expected in information derived from the workmen.
The single implement labelled Mill End in this collection is black, with
incipient cones of percussion due to battering in the gravel: it has a thick
sloping butt (as fig. 2) and crust left near it, clearly of Chelles character, and
measures 4-7 in. A close parallel was found in the Croxley pit at a depth
of 20 ft.
Three implements of Chelles character, found at Mill End in 1892, were
exhibited by Mr. Randall Davies, F.S.A., who claims to have been the first to
collect from that site. One is a rather slender hand-axe, unrolled, with cutting-
edge all round, and a square point that may be intentional and not a break.
Another, also unrolled, is sub-triangular with a rounded point, but there is no
record of their depth. Rev. H. G. O. Kendall, F.S.A., has also been good enough
to send sketches and particulars of Rickmansworth flints in his possession. He
emphasizes the eolithic character of many found by himself on the gravel-heaps
at Croxley. Four of early Chelles type are considerably abraded, with incipient
cones of percussion (due to natural battering), and some striations as if by ice
action ; and numerous rather small flakes, which have been regarded by some
as eolithic, are probably of Chelles date, as at Swanscombe. Two finds of his
own were at 15 ft. and 19 ft. respectively.
Comparatively few flints in Mr. V. P. Kitchin's Rickmansworth collection
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 207
come from Mill End, but special attention may be drawn to three specimens of
Chelles type found at a comparatively high level, viz. a long triangular pointed
hand-axe with thick butt, and a rough implement with square cutting-edge,
both from a depth of 8 ft., and a rather flatyfr/w/ at 6 ft. All these are however
rolled, and apparently derived, as two specimens of St. Acheul type one flat
pear-shaped, of fresh black flint with reversed S twist, from sand at 15 ft., and an
unrolled though imperfect pointed hand-axe from the same level were found
considerably lower, and are likely to have been in their original position, though
a cordate implement of similar type, at 10 ft, has evidently travelled far ; and
an ovate with broad point, from 15 ft, is also water- worn. At 15 ft. was found a
liinande of Chelles type, unrolled, with black and yellow faces and a basil point ;
and from 20 ft. came a rolled black and yellow hand-axe with blunt sloping butt,
like fig. 2. The inference here is that Chelles types occur up to 15 ft, with St.
Acheul forms in the next 5 ft., and above them derived Chelles specimens. It
is unfortunate that a few specimens of later facies cannot be attributed to any
particular horizon, as one at least, made from a flake, with the lower angles
square and rounded, ought to date from Le Moustier times.
Mr. Kitchin's main series is from Croxley Green, and two (an early
pointed ovate at 15 ft and a small brown rolled ovate at 18 ft.) are labelled
from what was formerly known as Pratt's pit, in Croxleyhall Wood, nearest
the railway bridge, a continuation of the pits in Long Valley Wood. Among
those found /;/ situ by the owner are a roughly flaked hand-axe with squared
butt slightly rolled, at 20 ft., and a nodular specimen of black lustrous flint,
at 25 ft. A long oval implement of Chelles type, with platform at side of
sharp butt, was found 20 ft. deep ; and a rough limande of about the same date
5 ft. higher. At 20 ft. was also found an early ovate implement remarkable for
a spur in the middle of the basil end : it is of Chelles type, considerably rolled, and
in form resembles one in the Beevor collection found near the chalk at Croxley.
The succeeding period is well represented, the earliest St. Acheul specimen being
perhaps a creamy lustred ovate with the normal twist, found in wet sand at 12 ft.
Another, of more advanced workmanship, with one white face and the other with
a white film, came from a depth of 15 ft, but white patination is rare on this site.
Among what should be the latest specimens in the pit must be mentioned two
of semicircular plan that may rank as segmental tools, the length of base being
33 in. and 5 in. A point of Le Moustier character and some flake-implements
have no recorded horizon, but there are many flakes barely worked that resemble
those from the lowest level at Swanscombe; one used as a scraper at the
shoulder, and ending in a lateral point, coming from a depth of 20 ft. An
examination of 200-300 specimens shows that most of the rougher implements,
D d 2
208 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
referable to the Chelles period, were found at 20 ft.-25 ft. from the surface, and
a few at 15 ft., but any higher level for such specimens is very exceptional.
Most were found at the 2o-ft. level ; and all the ochreous examples in this col-
lection came from just above the chalk near the pit railway-line, where the
excavations took place last autumn.
It is difficult to summarize Mr. Sadler's collection of over 1,000 specimens
from Rickmansworth, but it contains some valuable evidence as well as excep-
tional pieces ; and a long experience of the two sites has brought to light certain
differences. Mill End produces a great variety of types, including large pointed
implements, the largest ficron measuring 10 in. The typical ovate is barely
represented, but there is every variety of patina, a few ochreous specimens being
water-worn, whereas the edges of most others are sharp or only dulled. An old
white patina is occasionally found, the earliest specimen apparently dating from
late Chelles times ; and rolled examples are said to come generally from the
upper levels at Mill End. A fine black liniandc 6-4 in. long is in that condition,
and other Chelles forms with broad or narrow points are common. An ochreous
St. Acheul implement, 3-3 in. long, has the reversed S twist, and a still later stage
is marked by several specimens in the style of Le Moustier. One flake, 3! in.
long, has facets on the butt and a large bulb, with one scraper edge ; another like
it is much rolled, and there are examples of the racloir and Le Moustier point.
A specimen of almond outline, 3-1 in. long, has one face trimmed flat and the
other strongly convex, much like one in the Beevor collection 3-3 in. long: both
may date from the latest period of the gravel or brick-earth.
According to Mr. Sadler, Croxley Green rarely yields large implements, but
medium pointed, or pear-shaped, and ovates of early St. Acheul character are
common. One pear-shaped implement, 7 in. long, is of bright ochreous colour
with lustrcd surface and a basil point. Another ochreous specimen with rounded
point, 4-1 in. long, was found near the chalk, and has the curious white markings
often seen on eoliths from the North Downs. There are examples of the broad
thin cutting-edge or point ; and many of Chelles type, especially the rough
pear-shaped, tend to ochreous patina. Of the ovates, only a few are of late St.
Acheul character, and twisted side-edges are rare. One has dirty white and
silver-grey faces, but most are dark grey and brown, with the edges just dulled.
A broad end-scraper with rather steep flaking, 3-2 in. long, may be of Drift date,
though the form has not often been noticed in this country.' A bluish-white
pointed implement may belong to the latest phase of the Drift, the edges
being quite sharp.
1 Obermaier, Steingcrate des franzdsischen Altpalaolilhikuins, p. 65.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
209
The Rickmansworth gravel has been often inspected and described, and
there is little to add to Mr. Hopkinson's account of its appearance in 1907: '
' The gravel is (or has been) worked for a distance of about half a mile in a north-
easterly direction. Layers of sand and clay are interstratified with it, and the total
thickness of the alluvial deposits is from 20 to 30 ft. They rest on the chalk in a very
uneven manner, so that it is difficult to determine the height of their base, but it appears
to average about 30 or 40 ft. above the level of the existing River Gade, on the right bank
of which they are situated at a distance of about a furlong. The Gade is a tributary of the
Colne, which here flows from east to west, and is distant half a mile at the eastern, and a
quarter of a mile at the western, edge of the gravel in Long Valley Wood ; and this gravel
should perhaps be considered as part of the alluvial deposit of the Colne in Pleistocene
times, rather than that of the Gade.
'The layers of sand and clay, and some peculiar black bands, give to the gravel in
many places a stratified appearance, but nowhere horizontal for any considerable dis-
tance this conformation being due in places to cross-bedding, but mostly to the irregular
dissolution of the underlying chalk. The gravel consists for the most part of water-worn
flints, some completely rounded, others sub-angular, and also contains quartz and quartzose
pebbles. Its most interesting feature is, however, the large numbers of palaeolithic
implements which have been found in it, occurring throughout, but most numerously near
its base.'
By way of comment on Mr. Hopkinson's remarks, it may be added that if
Pratt's (later, Miss Beasley's) pit, near the railway bridge, in Croxleyhall Wood
be added, also the triangular area now cleared of gravel between Fortune
Common and the railway, the extent of gravel excavated is nearly a mile, in a
line roughly east and west, both above and below the 200 ft. contour. According
to calculations based on data kindly supplied by Mr. Albert Freeman, Surveyor
of Rickmansworth, and the Secretary of the Rickmansworth Gravel Co., the
chalk-shelf is about 30 ft. higher at Long Valley Wood than at Mill End, as may
be gathered from the following table :
DETAILS BEARING ON THE GEOLOGY
MILL END
LONG VALLEY WOOD
Original turf-level
Maximum thickness of gravel, &c.
Level of chalk-shelf or terrace
Height of same above nearest point of river
River-level opposite the sites
Thickness of gravel in sunk channel of river
Chalk-bottom of the sunk channel
Height of chalk-shelf above sunk channel
1 85 ft. O.D.
i8"ft.
167 ft. O.D.
22 ft.
05ft. O.D. (Colne)
About 13 ft. (Colne)
132 ft. O.D.
35ft-
222ft. O.D.
26ft.
196 ft. O.D.
40 ft.
156 ft. O. D. (Gade)
About 12 ft. (Gade)
144 ft. O.D.
52 ft.
1 Proc. Geol. Assoc., xx, 96; see also vol. xxi, 244 (Kidncr), for the Reading beds.
210 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
The inclusion of masses of the Reading beds and sarsen (grey wether) 1 in
the gravel at Long Valley Wood is of considerable geological importance, and
has been discussed on more than one occasion. Mr. Hopkinson may again be
quoted :
' The preservation in gravel (formed by a river) of soft mottled clay and loose white
and yellow sand, apparently in the position in which they were originally deposited, is
difficult to account for. The mass in question, when first seen, was about 6 ft. in height
and 10 ft. in width, and the gravel was distinctly arched above it, a darkish band in it
showing the stratification very plainly. ... It is possible that the whole of the gravel
here is piped, that is to say, let down by the dissolution of the chalk, the clay and sand
of Reading age having been preserved in their present position by the sarsen stones on
their surface and in the sand. Another suggestion put forward whilst this structure was
being examined (by the Geologists' Association) was that the gravel has been here washed
down from the rising ground above, and meeting this obstacle has disposed itself around
it in a curved form.'
Further details were supplied two years later, by Mr. Kidner, 2 who stated
his reasons for regarding the section as consisting of Eocene beds in situ, con-
trasting strongly with the overlying Pleistocene gravel ; and concluded that
the earlier mass was deposited within a depression of the chalk, ' having a ridge
of chalk more or less around it, which may well explain how the beds were
able, first to resist the agencies of denudation, and afterwards to become
covered with the gravels of a much later age'.
Special geological knowledge is required to interpret this phenomenon,
and the casual observer may well be puzzled by the presence of friable masses
approximately in their original position on the chalk, when the latter floor is
considered (by the latest official surveyors) to have been denuded by river-action
and then covered with valley gravel. Landslides frequently occur on the banks
of rivers, but against such an explanation may be urged, (i) there is no percep-
tible slope to cause the fall ; (ii) if the masses had fallen into the river, they
would have been quickly washed away ; and (iii) if the plateau gravel of Croxley
Green was in position before the river laid down the Long Valley Wood gravel,
the remnants of Tertiary beds on the chalk would have been rendered immov-
able by the capping of plateau gravel. An alternative explanation would be
1 Dr. Oddie showed in 1909 an oval specimen from Croxley pit, z\ ft. long; other large pieces
were noted two years before, and one was sent to the Herts. County Museum at St. Albans.
Photographs of the Reading beds and sarsens at Croxley are published by the Geologists' Association
in Geology in the Field, part i, 46, pi. ii.
2 Proc. Geol, Assoc., xxi, 244.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 211
that the Tertiary masses were frozen at the time, 1 but that is hardly in favour
of a fluviatile (as opposed to a fluvio-glacial) origin for our gravel.
The Geological Survey map is under revision, but the official view of the
deposit under discussion remained unchanged from 1871 to 1903, when the
London district map (sheet i) was issued. A distinction is made between the
deposits in Long Valley Wood and at Mill End, the latter being coloured buff
and described as river gravel. Croxley Green forms part of a great extent of
gravel coloured pink and described as gravel and sand, forming with Boulder-
clay the glacial drift of the district. This plateau gravel - runs with interruptions
north-east to St. Albans and beyond, extending to the foot of the Tertiary
escarpment that separates the London-clay area from the chalk subsoil of the
Chilterns. The gravel-spread is only intersected by narrow valleys, where the
chalk is exposed, in the area bounded by Abbot's Langley, Chenies, Amersham,
south to Beaconsfield and Hedsor, thence east over Burnham and Stoke Com-
mons to Iver, and then due north to the neighbourhood of Mill End, and east
to Watford. It climbs the slope of the Chilterns as much as eight miles from
the Colne valley (Denham to Amersham), rising from the 200 ft. contour to
above 400 ft. Hence it is not a river gravel in the ordinary sense, and the
question is whether its edge at Croxley Green has been relaid by the Colne, 3
when that river was flowing 40 ft. to 60 ft. higher than at present. As a corollary
to this problem there is the further inquiry, whether the chalk-shelf on
which the gravel rests is a river terrace or continuous with the subsoil of the
plateau.
In this connexion the Geological Survey map opens up some points of vital
interest to prehistoric archaeology. Five miles north of our pit in Long Valley
Wood, a patch of Boulder-clay approaches the Colne as closely as our gravel
approaches the Gade (about a furlong), and between the edge of the Boulder-
clay and the river is shown a similar gravel, coloured pink on the map,
extending right down to the Colne. The latter site was examined by Sir Joseph
Prestwich, whose description is quoted in Mr. Whitaker's Memoir* of 1864,
p. 63:
1 This seems to be the view taken in Proc. Geol. Assoc., xiv, 158, where Alien Brown discussed
the inclusion of sarsens.
2 Reasons are given elsewhere for regarding these spreads as fluvio-glacial, and the term plateau
gravel is best reserved for the still higher deposits, coloured red on the geological map of 1871, but
pink on the 1904 map, no distinction being drawn.
3 During the discussion of this Report, a District geologist of the Survey bluntly stated that the
river terrace was obvious at Croxley Green, a view not taken by those responsible for the maps of 1871
and 1904 (London district : no alteration at Rickmansworth).
4 Parts of Middlesex, etc. (sheet 7) ; see also his Geology of London, i, 304, 323.
212 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
'A ballast-pit has been opened at the Watford end of the Bricket Wood cutting,
immediately south of the railway-line. The Boulder-clay has there almost thinned out,
leaving but a scam one to two feet thick, whilst both above and below it is a thick bed of
gravel. The lower sandy gravel, which consists chiefly of sub-angular flints and flint
pebbles, with some quartz, sandstone, and old-rock pebbles, with subordinate seams of
whitish sand, has a clean, washed appearance. The upper gravel consists of very similar
sub-angular materials, but is less sandy and darker in colour. . . . The lower gravd
reposes upon an irregular surface of chalk.'
Geologists need not be reminded of the Boulder-clay patch at Finchley,
resting on gravel which is coloured pink like that of the Rickmansworth plateau.
The gravel under the Boulder-clay is distinct from the still older pebble-gravel
that is found on higher ground, and has been classed with the Westleton beds.
The late Mr. H. B. Woodward, in his Geology of the London District (1909), p. 63,
mentioned the Bricket Wood deposit, and used the term 'Middle-glacial' to
denominate the gravel below the Boulder-clay, including liver-coloured (Bunter)
quartzite pebbles, quartz, chert, flint, ironstone, and blocks of sarsen and pud-
dingstone.
' It is now usually held (he continues) that the Glacial gravels mark the first stage in
the excavation of the present Thames valley, a fact not surprising when we consider the
difficulty that has been felt in many places along the valley in separating the deposits
grouped as Glacial gravel from those termed Valley gravel. The overspread of Boulder-
clay in areas to the north before it reached our district probably led to floods due to the
melting of the ice, and to such fluvio-glacial action the gravels are to be attributed.'
Prof. J. W. Gregory, in a paper- on the evolution of the Thames, gives the
following sequence of events :
1. Existence of a high plateau, on which were deposited the older plateau
gravels, coloured red on the Geological map, and corresponding to the Westleton
shingle of Prestwich.
2. Prolonged denudation, and formation of a second plateau on which were
deposited the new plateau gravels, coloured pink on the map.
3. Erosion of the north-west and south-east valleys of the Chilterns (Thames
at Goring, Miss, Chess, and Loudwater).
4. Cutting back of the chalk escarpment, and decapitation of the Miss,
Loudwater, etc.
5. Advance of the ice-sheet which deposited the Boulder-clay.
1 References given by Mr. Whitaker, Geology of London, \, 309.
2 Natural Science, Aug. 1894, vol. v, 101, 104.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 213
According to the dominant view, the palaeolithic period followed no. 5,
with an interval of unknown length, and the stock arguments in favour of this
sequence need not be enumerated here ; but a minority would throw the palaeo-
liths farther back, possibly to no. 2, and recent developments suggest a suspen-
sion of judgement pending further and conclusive evidence. It would be desirable
to consider the best palaeolithic finds from both points of view.
The following quotation from a Geological Survey Memoir, published in
1909, might well serve as a text to the present Report, and shows the uncertainty
prevalent in official circles :
' There are large tracts of gravel on the borders of the Eocene strata and on the Chalk
in the north-western portion of our (London) district that require attentive study. On the
Geological Survey map the deposits are mostly depicted as Plateau-gravel, but some of
them may more appropriately be grouped with the Thames valley-gravels. As observed
by J. Allen Brown, 1 the tracts of gravel exhibit a general incline towards the Thames, and
the same appears to be the case along the Colne valley; moreover, at this time, con-
temporary with the later stages of the Glacial epoch, man was present on the scene ; and
the Geological Survey, at any rate, has classed as Glacial, gravels in which palaeolithic
implements have been found. Detailed mapping on the six-inch scale may result in
further definition of the successive deposits.' 2
The gravel extends continuously from Radlett through Aldenham to the
waters of the Colne, and on the lower level should probably be grouped with
the later valley-deposits. The author then gives details of the Long Valley
Wood deposit, and draws special attention to a patch of the Reading- Beds and
blocks of greywether (sarsen) and quartzite elsewhere in the gravel. In reference
to the problem of separating the fluvio-glacial gravels from those of the valley-
deposits, the same writer continues : ' Along the Colne valley we are confronted
with many difficulties, which more detailed mapping may solve. In the tract
which extends from Mill End, south-west of Rickmansworth, to Denham, there
is a descent of 40 ft. in 5 miles, while much of the gravel at Mill End rises from
the level of the alluvium (150 ft. O.D.) to more than 200 ft. Difficulty arises
when we consider the relation of this gravel to that at Croxley Green.' The latter
gravel he compares with that on Cockerhurst Farm, north of Shoreham, Kent,
and east of Well Hill, ground familiar to London geologists. ' The gravel at the
farm is associated with a tract of clay-with-flints, and is 450-470 ft. O.D. It is
composed of flint pebbles with chert, pale quartzite, &c., and in it there have
been found palaeolithic together with eolithic implements, the last named being
regarded as derivative.'
1 Proc. Geol. Assoc., xiv, 171, 173.
2 H. B. Woodward, Geology of the London District, p. 68.
VOL. LXVI. E e
2i 4 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
This parallel indicates that Mr. Woodward was not convinced of the fluvia-
tile origin of the Croxley Green gravel, and if palaeoliths (to omit the disputed
eoliths) can be found in what is clearly plateau gravel near Shoreham (inde-
pendent of the present river-system), there seems little reason to postulate a
fluviatile origin for equally palaeolithic gravel at Rickmansworth, just because
it overlooks the modern river-valley. This raises a still wider question, and
bears upon the old puzzle involved in the general concentration of palaeoliths
in river-valleys. Is it that primitive man preferred to live on river-banks, or that
the gravel is generally thicker and more profitable to work in such positions ?
Recent discoveries ' suggest that man was also living on the high ground away
from rivers before his implements were involved in a deluge that deposited
gravel over the plateau and filled up valleys already cut in it. The subsequent
re-excavation of the valleys by the existing streams would leave untouched on
the banks considerable thicknesses of gravel which may in some cases have been
mistaken for river-deposits. 2 Observations elsewhere confirm that suspicion, and
it is clear that not all the strata on the 100 ft. terrace at Swanscombe were laid
down by the Thames, but derived from Tertiary deposits 3 higher up the slope ;
and south of Swanscombe stretches the enigmatic plateau gravel.
The late Mr. Allen Brown did a great deal of geological and archaeological
work in the Thames valley, and met with considerable success in unravelling
the quaternary deposits. A few sentences from one of his papers may be quoted
in this connexion :
' Going north from Harcfield Lodge to the village of Harefield, the Glacial deposits
appear at about the 29010 contour, and they are also seen to the north and north-east as
well as to the north-west of Rickmansworth ; in all instances they follow the slopes of the
hills. It is a remarkable fact that the area west of the Colne, marked on the map as
Glacial, descends to a lower level than the River-drift at Uxbridge and Hillingdon, as it
falls from 200 ft. O. D. at Dromena to 156 ft. at Love Green. It is difficult, too, to detect
any difference between the two forms of deposit, either in their structure or in their
constituents.' 4
1 Proc. Geol. Assoc., xxvi (1915), 6.
Allen Brown insisted on a distinction between the.lower stratified beds (containing implements)
and the tumbled masses above them at Hanwell and elsewhere in the Thames valley (Proc. Geol.
Assoc., xiv, 155-7);
3 As noticed in Arcliaeologia, Ixv, 187. For similar conditions in the Somme valley, see Annales
de la Societi geologique du Nord de la France, 1912, referred to by Comment, Les Homrnes conte mporains
du Reiine, p. 28, note.
4 Proc . Geol. Assoc., xiv, 165. For glacial gravel at Harefield (200 ft. O. D.), ' probably connected
with one of the gaps' in the Chilterns, and deposits near Amersham and Great Missenden, see p. 401
(A. E. Salter). Mr. Whitaker has some remarks on the gravel of the Colne and its tributaries in Geology
of London, vol. i, p. 448,
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 215
Both the Long Valley Wood and Mill End gravels are understood to figure
as river-deposits in the revised Geological map not yet published ; and the clear
division between the terrace and plateau in the latter case strongly militates in
favour of a similar origin farther east, but there is no appreciable distinction
between the two gravels at Croxley Green, and most observers would declare
them identical. Apart from the difficulty of marking off from the mass the
fluviatile deposits on the margin of this plateau, Mr. Osborne White's theory
would lead to the classification of all the Croxley Green area as river-gravel.
In a paper on the origin of high-level gravel with Triassic debris adjoining the
valley of the Upper Thames, his conclusions are summarized as follows :
' When in addition to these facts (the inclusion and distribution of quartzites and other
rock-fragments foreign to the area), we call to mind the stratified character of this gravel,
its frequent association with sands and loam, and its occurrence in the form of plateau-
like terraces at varying levels the lower being often inseparable from the deposits which
are admitted to belong to the River Drift it seems almost impossible to resist the con-
clusion that, despite the great elevation it attains above the beds of the neighbouring
streams, this gravel owes its existence to fluviatile agency operating along the same general
lines of drainage as those in existence at the present day. ... Of course, I do not mean
to imply that the Thames itself is responsible for the masses of gravel and sand which
extend along the Tertiary escarpment by Rickmansworth and Hatfield into Essex.'
As independently suggested by Mr. Jukes Browne and Mr. A. E. Salter,
the constituents of these gravels were probably introduced in the first instance
by a stream independent of the Thames, flowing from the Midlands into the
synclinal trough of the London Basin through some channel corresponding to,
but lying at a considerable distance to the north-cast of, the Goring Gorge. 1
The similarity of the human output is curiously emphasized by the structure
of the deposits at Rickmansworth and Swanscombc ; and last season's excava-
tions have therefore been so far successful in bringing the higher deposits of the
main river and its tributary into archaeological relation. At S\vanscombe the
chalk-shelf descends to about 65 ft. O. D., and provides an almost level base for
the Pleistocene deposits by means of a capping of Thanet sand. The stratification
is excellent, and may throw light on the more tumbled masses at Croxley Green,
where there was evidently an Eocene foundation, but the horizontal bedding
has been largely obliterated by extensive ' piping' of the chalk. At and near the
bottom of the Pleistocene deposits, in both cases have been found flints fashioned
by man ; but whereas at Swanscombe the lower gravel yielded little but unused
flakes, many of the Croxley implements occurred in association with similar
1 Proc. Geol. Assoc., xv (1897), pp. 173, 174; cf. Salter, vol. xiv, pp. 401, 402; and vol xv, p. 274.
E e 2
216 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
flakes within a foot or two of the chalk, a fact confirmed by the excavations last
autumn.
A good deal of brick-earth still remains in the Long Valley Wood pit, and
may be compared with the laminated loam at Swanscombe, especially as the
frequent discovery of St. Acheul types implies the existence of the upper palaeo-
lithic deposits. 1 There is still a superstition that all types occur together at all
levels ; but unless one is prepared to discard the results obtained in recent years
by careful and laborious investigation, horizons must be determined by the latest
type contained in them ; and a similar succession of types on two or more sites
is all in favour of a similar history.
Sir John Evans gave details in 1897 2 of several chance finds in the neigh-
bourhood, of which two may be quoted. At Watford, on the left bank of the
Colne, in gravel near Bushey Park, at a height of about 40 ft. above the level
of the existing river, Mr. Clouston found several implements of ochreous flint,
and of various types ; and an interesting discovery was made by himself on the
surface of a ploughed field near Bedmond, in the parish of King's Langley, at a
spot probably 160 ft. above the nearest part of the Cade, but towards the bottom
of one of the lateral valleys between Boxmoor and Watford. The implement is
described as similar to the well-known Gray's Inn Lane specimen, but highly
patinatecl, possibly (in his opinion) from the red brick-earth. The first find is
parallel to the Croxley Green series, and is in favour of a fluviatile origin for the
gravel, but the other was il miles from the Colne, and high above its tributary,
about 400 it. O. D. There is always the possibility that implements were dropped
by the palaeolithic hunter on the uplands, and have remained there ever since.
Till several authentic finds in the gravel have been recorded, any inferences are
hazardous; but there is elsewhere evidence 3 that palaeoliths, at least of the
Chelles type, occur in plateau (or fluvio-glacial) gravel. A few more instances
would outweigh many on the brow of the present river-valleys, where the history
of the gravel is doubtful, as at Tilehurst, where no less than 169 typical ovates
of St. Acheul type and one obviously Le Moustier implement have recently
been found in a small area of gravel and brick-earth on chalk, on the edge of the
plateau, 80 ft. above the Thames. 4
1 Arcliacologia, Ixiv, 180, 200, gives the sequence at Swanscombe ; and for St. Acheul finds there,
see Proc. Geol. Assoc., xxv, 92, plates 15, 16.
* S/ouc Implements, 2nd ed., 596, 597 ; V.C.H. Herts., i, 224.
| For instance, Mr. Guy Nickalls has palaeoliths from the gravel at Gerrard's Cross, Bucks., at
280 ft. O. D., and more than 200 ft. above the nearest point of the Thames. Few would venture to
call this a valley-deposit.
4 Proc. E. Anglian Prehistoric Soc., vol. ii. It may be added that according to Prof. Comment the
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 217
It is not for the archaeologist to decide a point that has been disputed
among geologists for many years, but he can and should regard such strati-
graphical difficulties from the human standpoint, throwing the worked flints into
the scale on one side or the other. The problem has been stated above as far
as it can be realized by collecting the published opinions of responsible geolo-
gists ; and the present case appears to be one in which archaeological evidence
has given rise to an important change in the Geological map. Whether that
change would have been made on purely geological grounds need not be dis-
cussed, but it is important to decide, by further archaeological research, whether
the change should have been made at all. If the interpretation of the finds is
correct, a step forward will have been made, for the benefit of both branches of
knowledge ; and if the older view of the situation prevails, there will have to be
extensive alterations in palaeolithic chronology.
Geological Report, by HENRY DEWEY, Esq., F.G.S., H.M. Geological Survey.
On October 6th I visited Mill End and examined the sections disclosed by
the workmen, as well as the geology of the immediate neighbourhood ; and a
day or two later I examined the sections at Croxley Green. Unfortunately, it
can scarcely be said that the objects of our investigations have been attained.
It had been known for years that palaeolithic implements of at least two well-
known types occur in both the gravel-pits mentioned ; that these types corre-
spond exactly with those found at Barnfield pit, Swanscombe ; and also that
the relationship of the gravels in which they occur to the fluvio-glacial gravels
capping the Chiltern Hills appeared to be different at Mill End and Croxley
Green. The investigations therefore were primarily undertaken to determine
if a sequence of cultural types existed among the palaeolithic implements ; and
secondly, to ascertain the relationship between the gravel at Croxley Green pit
and the fluvio-glacial drift lying on the adjacent hill-tops. The work failed to
detect any discontinuity between these two spreads of gravel, but for reasons
stated below, it is highly probable that the Croxley Green gravel is merely re-
arranged fluvio-glacial material derived from the neighbourhood.
Before dealing with the wider aspects of the question, a description is
necessary of the two pits, and especially of certain significant features in them.
1 limon des plateaux ' is of late St. Acheul date (Geneva Congress, 1912, Comptes-rcndus, i, 245) ; further
references in Revue prehistoriquc , ii (1907), 160, and 9 (footnote) ; Commont, Les Hontmes contcniporains
du Renne, 28, 43.
KC3
218
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
LONG VALLEY WOOD, CROXLEY GREEN.
Fig. 10 is drawn to scale, but is diagrammatic and shows the general
character of the deposit in Long Valley Wood, Croxley Green.
From the surface of the chalk at the base ot the pit to the soil, there are
upwards of 25 ft. of sand, clay, and gravel. The lowest 7 ft. (7) consist of un-
SCALE:-O
Fig. 10. Diagrammatic section of gravel face, Long Valley Wood pit, Croxley.
stratified detritus with many large boulders of flint, quartzite, and other rocks,
differing in this respect from (6) the overlying 4 ft. of gravel with much smaller
constituents.
These beds are succeeded by 7 ft. of strongly current-bedded gravel and
sand (5), the sand resting for the most part on the lower gravel. A foot or two of
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 219
mottled clay (4) lies evenly upon the current-bedded sand ; it is festooned by
(2 and 3) included clusters or lumps of gravel which appear to have been
forcibly driven into it, sometimes to a depth of 3 ft. The surface beds (i) and
soil are less than a foot thick.
At the base of the pit the gravel has been dug out by the workmen, and
the chalk surface on which it rests laid bare. A series of roughly parallel
grooves channel the chalk (), ranging from a few inches up to several feet in
depth. These channels appear to have been formed by numerous streams flow-
ing over the chalk surface side by side, and much at the same time. The largest
boulders tend to accumulate in these channels.
Many of the constituents of the lower beds of gravel are large stones which
might even be described as boulders. The best-known of these are the sarsens
described by Mr. Hopkinson,' some of which measure 4 ft. by 3 ft. by 2 ft., while
others are purplish quartzite, probably derived from the Bunter Beds of the Trias ;
sandstone, vein-quartz, and tourmalinized grit similar to rocks now found in
the granitic regions of Cornwall and Devon ; and large masses of Chalk
flint.
As these boulders occur also in the fluvio-glacial gravel, it is probable that
they are simply derived from that drift, and re-assorted by river action. They
could not be transported over long distances by a slowly flowing stream, and
there is no evidence pointing to an origin other than the one suggested. A
feature of the lowest parts of the gravel is the prevalence of staining or even of
coating of the stones by black dioxide of manganese.
There is no trace of bedding throughout the whole 8 ft. of this gravel, but
the tumbled masses indicate deposition from sudden rushes of water.
More normal river-action is shown by the overlying gravels and sands, which
are about 7 ft. thick, and everywhere conspicuously current-bedded. The sand
is mostly confined to the bottom 4 ft., above which lenses and streaks of gravel
appear, and towards the next bed tend to coalesce into a uniform mass.
These beds are cut evenly across by a seam of mottled clay ranging from
i ft. to 3 ft. in thickness, which for a distance of over a hundred yards shows no
sign of disturbance. It in turn is overlain by a seam 4 ft. thick of similar mottled
(lay, which is much disturbed by clusters of gravel, some of which are 3 ft. thick.
These seams of mottled clay look at first sight as though they were in situ ;
they are certainly derived from the mottled clays of the Reading Beds, and
cannot have travelled far.
This spread of gravel continues without any perceptible slope into the mass
1 Proc. Geol. Assoc., xx (1907), p. 96, and H. Kidner, ibid., xxi (1909), p. 244.
220 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
covering the long spur on which the village of Croxley Green is built, and, as
shown by the Geological map, this forms part of the great sheet of fluvio-glacial
gravel lying on the southern slope of the Chiltern Hills. There is neither
a terrace notching the hill nor a slope of bare chalk between this gravel and the
fluvio-glacial beds, the section (fig. n) in these respects differing entirely from
that at Mill End, next to be described.
SECTION A. (AMILES)
tri ,n !> tu JM
r i <"vl ftfrrT """ ,| ,
^ ~~^fe
Fig 1 1. Section across the valley through Long Valley Wood, along line A in fig. I.
MILL END, RICKMANSWORTH.
The fields at the top of the hill in Berry Lane near Catlip's Farm are nearly
flat, and lie at some 300 ft. above sea-level. They are covered with a thick
sheet of fluvio-glacial gravel, identical in character with the Croxley Green
deposits, and spreading uninterruptedly over the surface of the Chilterns almost
to the chalk escarpment.
From the 300 ft. contour the land falls steeply to the terrace of the river
Colnc (fig. 12), and consists of bare chalk without any appreciable coating of
gravel, as may be seen by the sections in the two chalk quarries. Eighty feet
SECTION B J2mi.es)
Fig. 12. Section across the valley through Mill End pit, along line B in fig. i.
below the level of the fluvio-glacial drift another wide spread of gravel forms
the terrace flanking the river Colne, and it is in this spread that the pits at
Mill End have been excavated.
The sections exposed in these pits differ essentially from those at Croxley
Green. A foot and a half of stony soil lies upon 16 ft. of red gravel with seams
of sand. It is an unstratified mass consisting of lenses of sand lying among
the more stony constituents. A peculiar feature of the gravel is the frequent
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 221
presence of large hollow or cave-like spaces, which possibly were originally filled
with frozen masses of sand, from which the water drained away on thawing.
These are a source of danger to the workmen, who, however, have learned to
detect signs of their presence before the ground collapses.
The gravel here also rests in channels cut in the chalk, but there are not so
many large boulders as at Croxley Green. Water- worn and sub- angular stones
are about equally common, and the gravel was probably derived from the fluvio-
glacial beds of the Chiltern Hills.
THE GRAVELS OF THE THAMES VALLEY.
The relative periods of formation of the several kinds of gravel found in the
Thames valley can only be inferred from the somewhat meagre details that
have been gathered by many observers. Roughly, there are three main groups,
described respectively as plateau gravel, fluvio-glacial gravel, and valley gravel.
Plateau gravel forms widespread sheets covering the flat uplands in Hants,
Berkshire, and Surrey, and consists mainly of flint and chert. These uplands,
although generally flat, are not all at the same height above sea-level, but form
a series of steps, one separated from another by more or less bare slopes.
The gravels termed fluvio-glacial contain, in addition to the constituents of
local derivation, fragments of rocks derived from distant localities,such as pebbles
of quartzite from the Triassic rocks, radiolarian cherts and crinoidal limestone
from the Carboniferous Beds, and various kinds of igneous rocks. These gravels
also form wide spreads covering high land, and sweeping downwards from near
the escarpment towards the river.
As a rule, the valley gravels lie at a considerably lower level than cither of
the two previous groups, especially where the two occur in the same neighbour-
hood, as for instance near Richmond Park, where the fluvio-glacial drift lies
80 ft. higher than the terrace gravels. If this relationship everywhere obtained,
the problem of their respective ages would be simplified, but unfortunately
there are localities where the fluvio-glacial gravels form sheets continuous with
the terrace gravels, especially in the lower reaches of the river.
But, it may be asked, is there any valid evidence for assigning these gravels
to their relative places in time ? There are some significant sections which
supply relevant data in answer to this query. For instance, in the Aldershot
and Easthampstead country the plateau gravels cover all the high ground,
222 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
extending for many miles at a uniform altitude of 400 ft. above sea-level. Sur-
rounding these hills are other flat-topped ridges also capped with gravel at
gradually decreasing heights. The slopes between the flats are smeared over
with gravel, and the whole assemblage, seen in plan, forms a fan or broad delta
with its apex pointing at the Farnham Gap. Similar fans occur throughout the
upper reaches of the Thames-Kennet drainage basin. Both in form and con-
stitution, these fans closely resemble the wash-out gravels of glacial and glaciated
regions, and this fact, with others which need not be enumerated, renders a
similar origin probable.
The masses of gravel were carried forward and buried the whole landscape,
hill and valley alike, so that the pre-glacial topography can in great part be
restored by careful consideration of the present disposition of these fans.
The plateau gravels, however, do not contain fragments of rocks derived
from distant sources, but on their northern margins they anastomose with sheets
of fluvio-glacial drift, which do contain such fragments, and mask the lower slopes
of the Chiltern Hills. These sheets appear to have swept in through the gorges '
cut through the escarpment, one sheet flowing generally south-westwards from
the neighbourhood of Stevenage Gap, and meeting with another vast stream
flowing from the west through the chalk near Goring. If it were the only evi-
dence available, the junction along a general east and west line of these fluvio-
glacial and plateau gravels would suggest contemporaneity of the two ; but there
are, at several localities, sections which show the fluvio-glacial resting upon, and
therefore later than, the plateau gravels,- but the difference in time is probably
not great, and in fact the two may in part be contemporary.
The distribution and disposition of the fluvio-glacial drift leaves no uncer-
tainty that at the period of its formation the escarpment of the Chalk w;i^
in existence, and the main tectonic features of the Thames valley had been
formed. They were afterwards, in part at least, buried and masked by the vast
sheets of drift which were swept in through the several gaps. The consequent
tributary valleys ought to show this infilling ; and where over-deepening occurs,
the evidence should be clear, but there are apparently no records of such drift-
filled valleys having been re-excavated.
The further history of the Thames valley is revealed by the valley deposits
or terrace gravels. Where these occur in the neighbourhood of the other drifts
in the upper parts of the Thames valley there is usually a difference of level
between the two of some 80 ft.; but followed down-stream the terrace would
appear to cut across the glacial drift. Thus at Hornchurch, Essex, the gravels
1 Summary of Progress for 1913 (Mem. Geol. Survey, 1914), pp. 32-6.
2 Geology of the Country around Reading (Mem. Geol. Survey, 1903), p. 75.
RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH 223
of the highest terrace rest on the chalky Boulder-clay, 1 a drift formed rather
later than the fluvio-glacial gravel. It is thus possible to trace a succession of
drifts, the plateau gravel and fluvio-glacial drift preceding the Boulder-clay and
terrace gravels. The periods of formation were successive but continuous, and
were not interrupted by violent, cataclysmic changes ; hence there is always
difficulty in assigning parts of the deposits to their respective positions.
Geological inferences rest upon the balance of probabilities; and when
difficulties arise, the most probable explanation is accepted sooner than others.
Neither is it surprising that paradoxes occur in this connexion, and the
present query is a case where the balance of probability must be accepted.
For instance, it might be held that as no distinction can be traced between
the gravel at Croxley Green and the fluvio-glacial gravel, and as the Croxley
Green gravel contains palaeolithic implements of both Chelles and St. Acheul
forms, therefore the fluvio-glacial gravel was laid down after those palaeolithic
periods had ceased. Acceptance of this contention involves the further con-
clusion that the chalky Boulder-clay was also deposited after the early palaeo-
lithic periods had ended. We are then -faced with the paradox that in the
great majority of localities where palaeolithic gravels occur in association
with chalky Boulder-clay, these gravels are demonstrably later than the glacial
drift. 2 Thus the stratigraphical evidence is opposed to the conclusion that
the Croxley Green implements occur in the fluvio-glacial drift. There is,
moreover, nothing surprising in the fact that no distinction can be drawn
between the river and fluvio-glacial gravels in that locality when their history is
considered.
Further, the topography of the country enveloped by these drifts can be
reconstructed. Briefly, this may be said to differ but little from the existing
Thames valley, for the main features of the catchment area were already in
existence when the gravel masses were swept over and buried them. After the
rigours of the glacial period with its torrential floods had ceased, more normal
river erosion ensued, and the terrace gravels were deposited, but there was prob-
ably no great break in the succession of deposits. And so it may be said that
a bed of gravel belongs in part to one terrace and in part to another. The
capacity of the rivers, however, to carry their freights of detritus varied according
to rainfall and gradient ; during some periods it was powerful enough to sweep
forward enormous masses of gravel, but at others had lost its strength and could
only cut through the burden previously dropped, while the stream tried to avoid
1 T. V. Holmes, Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., xlviii (1892), p. 365.
z Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., vol. xvii, pp. 366-7, 1861 ; Rept. Brit. Assoc., 1896, pp. 1-13 ; Proc. E.
Anglian Prehist. Soc., vol. i, p. 43.
224 RESEARCHES AT RICKMANSWORTH
the obstacle by skirting around its borders and thus undercut its old banks.
This led to collapses of the banks and consequent mingling of deposits formed
at greatly different periods. At Croxley Green there appears to be an instance
of this character which would explain the paradox. At Mill End there is no
doubt, as the terrace gravel is separated by 80 ft. of bare chalk from the fluvio-
glacial drift ; and this fact renders it highly improbable that, at such a short
distance, a similar gravel containing identical implements should be of greatly
different age.
VII. Recent Roman Discoveries in London. By FRANK LAMBERT, Esq.,
Read nth February, 1915.
I. ROMAN WALLS DISCOVERED IN 1880-1881 ON THE SITE OF
LEADENHALL MARKET.
THE material dealt with in the first section of this paper can only be called
'recent' in a secondary sense. It is not so much a discovery as a rediscovery
of old evidence long overlooked.
The site of Leadenhall Market has long been known to cover the remains
of extensive and important Roman buildings. Sir William Tite recorded ' in
1848 that 'besides other remains of buildings, walls 6, 7, and 11 ft. in breadth,
extending east and west, were found at and near Half Moon Passage in Grace-
church Street'. This east and west wall was again struck in 1905, when sewers
were laid under the avenue of Leadenhall Market (which now covers the site of
Half Moon Passage), and was recorded by Messrs. Norman and Reader. 2
The most complete uncovering of the site, however, had taken place in the
winter of 1880-1881, during the demolition preparatory to the building of the
present market. Several vague and inadequate contemporary descriptions of the
remains then disclosed are extant. The most precise is that of Mr. E. P. L. Brock,
who, at a meeting of the British Archaeological Association on i6th February,
i88i, 3 'exhibited a series of plans of excavations recently carried out at Leadenhall
Market, showing the foundations of an apse 33 ft. wide, and indications of four
distinctlydifferentconflagrations'. The plans mentioned were never published,and
seem to have disappeared completely. On 2nd March, 1881, the same gentleman 4
' described further discoveries at Leadenhall, showing the great extent of Roman
building, and the thickness of walling. He also exhibited fragments of fresco
paintings, with ornamental patterns. . . . The building appears to have had the
form of a basilica in some respects, with eastern apse, western nave, and two
1 Catalogue of Antiquities found in the Excavations at the New Royal Exchange, p. xii.
* Archaeologia, Ix, 225. 3 Journ. Brit. Arch. Ass., xxxvii.go. * Ibid.,cp i.
VOL. LXVI. F f
3 n N 3 AV N 010N I 111 H M
a **
i<v %,Jffl\- 3*2L-J~ ,fi 2
*
s
O
T3
s
/
I
tp
228 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
chambers like transepts on the south side.' Another summary ' describes ' walls
of great thickness, one with a circular apex (sic) at the south-west end '.
Plans and drawings of these discoveries by Mr. H. Hodge were known to be
contained in the Gardner collection. Duplicates of them, however, in the Guild-
hall collection seem to have escaped the notice of archaeologists. Reproductions
of the latter set are here published, by permission of the Library and Museum
Committee of the Corporation of London. '-'
The plan (fig. i) covers approximately the southern half of the quadrilateral
space bounded by Gracechurch Street, Leadenhall Street, Whittington Avenue,
and the Avenue of the Market. It shows clearly at the eastern end a quarter-
circle of 25 ft. 7 in. radius, which seems to represent the ' eastern apse ' mentioned
by Brock. To the west of this arc are indications of two chambers, each about
30 ft. wide, and in continuation of its southern line a wall about 150 ft. long,
having the extraordinary breadth of 12 ft. 7 in., runs to the line of, and appa-
rently underneath, Gracechurch Street. On its north side, at the extreme west
against Gracechurch Street, are uncertain traces of an apse about 25 ft. wide. This
is probably the western 'apex' of the Archaeological Review. From the south side
of the central wall, at the east end, spring at right angles three walls, which doubt-
less enclose the ' two chambers like transepts ' mentioned by Brock. It was this
huge central wall which was noted by Sir W. Tite in 1848, and planned, with its
two southern chambers, by Messrs. Norman and Reader in 1906.
It is probable that work of different periods is included in this plan, and
cannot with certainty now be distinguished. For example, the small apse at
the western end seems hardly consistent with the rest of the structure.
Perhaps the drawings which accompany the plan, and which Mr. Hodge
made at the same time, may help to distinguish work of different dates. The
largest of these (fig. 2) is a general view of the site, made before the completion of
the excavation, for the plan shows further remains to the north. Several portions
of the Roman walling are numbered, and of each of these Mr. Hodge made a
drawing on a larger scale.
Fig. 4 shows a solid brick wall which still remains in the cellar of a shop at
the northern corner of Leadenhall Market and Gracechurch Street. The drawing
is in one respect erroneous. The plinth, as drawn, appears to be partly of stone,
partly of brick. It is in fact entirely of sandstone.
1 Arch. Rev., i, 273.
: The originals in the Guildhall Library are in pencil on yellow tracing-paper, and cannot therefore
be satisfactorily photographed. The figures published herewith are reproduced from ink tracings. I did
not learn till these tracings were being made that Mr. Norman and Mr. Reader had already taken some
steps towards the publication of the Gardner set. I have to thank them for very generously waiving the
claim to priority of publication, which their work on Roman London undoubtedly gave them.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
229
Solid brick building of Roman date is exceedingly rare. The best known
example is seen in the Basilica (now a Protestant church) of Trier, 1 attributed to
the time of Constantine. In that case the joints are of red mortar (mixed with
sand and pounded tile) and as wide as the tiles they separate. In this piece in
Leadenhall Market the mortar seems all to be white, and a little less thick than
the tiles.
It will be noticed that this brick pier stands on the northern half of the great
hi? 17.
Fig. 4. Leadenhall Market. Brick pier (no. 12 in fig. 2).
central wall. Fig. 3 shows two sections of this wall. The northern half appears
to be of brick, the rest of stone or rubble, as though one wall had been built along
the face of another. Of course it cannot be assumed that the brick portion was
built of brick through its entire height. The small portion of the wall which
remained, and was drawn in these sections, may only represent a bonding-course
several layers thick.
Fig. 5 shows section and elevation of a piece of wall about 12 ft. high which
remained south of the apse.
The method of construction shows a general resemblance to that of the City
Wall of London a method not uncommon in the south of England and in Gaul.
A core of rubble is faced with small squared stones (in London ragstone from
Kent), and the whole wall is strengthened at intervals with bonding-courses of
1 See the Antiquary, April 1915, and Hettner, Filhrer durch Trier.
230
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
j~~\ r Fr~r~\
=M-==^, . ^.1^-- --*&=
.>...* ? jijr
jf'VC^
Ota*
U-U-D
S
DL-J-uT
*
JL.l_JH_LL.a_J
SECTION.
i a- ^
"T = * <r T =J T^
Fig. 5. Lcadcnhall Market. Roman walls (no. 4 E in fig. 2). ^,.
(,f+
Figs. 6 and 7. Leadenhall Market. Roman walls (no. i in fig. 2).
I\T3
lu. mo
Fig. 8. Leadenhall Market. Roman wall (no. 3 in fig. 2).
m
M^^y ^
. *f
. 1 Jk*
LJLJL
T . i v i! 'i "
.-*LJ'JLi -r
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DATVM
'6 I Bf uv eoAd.-
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SECTION ELEVATION.
Fig. 9. Leadenhall Market. Roman walls (no. a in fig. a).
>,/'/ V;''
V't, *+ I 2.
' ' .< f
V'-'T\ii?l- j>"^**
- -=^ *-?- - ___ -*-^
X o.,
fcg
-iTSjGr - ^>-?-* 3&^t*Ks ? *,*" ,.--
H-^ -uJ^^^^T f -^ * t, /'aii
- ja ^|p^'"1 T .-' ^*" r ' ' ' ? ^ if "UP 2 /'' ^ '
j*V * % ^fl * i - /// ., ^ ^ ' *, \ ~ _
/dr-^
= ^=^=^^^ =7//f/|:- r ^<S=^P --i-
J
'l , -^
v v'^ 5 ". -"
^.c- ->
-fl^. ^ ^
tr^5t^^>
Fig. 10. Leadenhall Market. Roman walls (nos. 3 and 4 in fig. 2).
Fig. n. Leadenhall Market. Roman walls (nos. 4 and 5 in fig. a).
VOL. LXVI.
234 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
/
tiles. In London Wall the bonding-courses are never more than three layers
thick. In these walls five rows of tiles occasionally appear.
Fig. 6 shows the east face of the wall behind the apse, and a brick drain to
the south of it. Fig. 7 shows part of the same east wall in greater detail. Fig. 8
shows in detail the east face of the wall that separates the two southern chambers.
The considerable thickness of mortar between the courses of tile is very clear in
these last drawings. It is stated by M. Blanchet ' that in the buildings of Gaul,
as in those of Rome, late work shows great increase in the thickness of mortar
- . ,
9 sT ")>
r \ i ^^B^. H < ' - M
zm^ J3_':."~ =j
Fig. 12. Leadenhall Market. Roman brick wall (no. 6 in fig. 2).
between tile courses. If this rule holds good for Britain, the walls under con-
sideration should belong to the third or fourth century.
Fig. 9 illustrates the south wall of the chamber south of the apse.
Figs. 10 and 1 1 show angles of the two south chambers. The work is obvi-
ously of the same type as that shown in the 'last five drawings.
Fig. 12 shows another fragment of solid brick wall crossing the brick drain
at the extreme south-east corner of the site.
It is hardly possible now to produce a convincing reconstruction of the plan
of this once important building. It is clear from the drawings that the bulk of the
A. Blanchet, Les Enceintes Romanies de la Gaule, p. 251 ; see pis. iii-vand xi-xvi for examples of
this type of wall in Gaul.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 235
eastern portion of the remains is homogeneous in structure and contemporaneous
in date. The extra thickness of the great central wall and the fragments of solid
brick at either end of the site represent perhaps later additions. Little more
than this can be deduced from these imperfect records of an important find.
Unsatisfactory, however, as are these remains, they yet form the most
extensive fragment of a Roman building found, and recorded in some detail,
within the walls of London. Unhappily they cannot be brought into close
relation with other discoveries in a neighbourhood where many such discoveries
have been made.' Roach Smith described Leadenhall Street as 'abounding in
debris of buildings', but not a foot of walls or foundations was planned before
their destruction. Several pieces of wall have been put on exact record by
Messrs. Norman and Reader, 2 notably west and south of St. Peter's, Cornhill, and
in Gracechurch Street between Bell Yard and Corbet Court, but these do not
appear to be immediately connected with the remains found in Leadenhall
Market. We must wait for building operations of the future to throw perhaps
some faint light on the topography of this part of Londinium.
II. EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF THE OLD GENERAL POST OFFICE,
ST. MARTIN'S-LE-GRAND.
(a) The first modern excavation on this site took place in 1818, when the
maze of alleys which then covered it was demolished for the erection of Smirke's
building, which was completed in 1825. The builders of that date cleared the soil
to a depth of 16 ft. to 18 ft. over almost the whole of the site. There was found and
recorded in some detail a crypt, 3 ' in the rear of St. Leonard's, Foster Lane ', a part
of which, massively constructed and containing Roman bricks, was supposed by
some antiquarians of the time to be Roman. Its appearance as illustrated in the
Gentleman s Magazine * indicates a Norman date. It is also stated "' that ' in the
back part of one of the vaults was found a large quantity of human bones, thrown
promiscuously together, as if collected from different graves '. This discovery
of 1818, though it has no connexion with Roman London, is mentioned here
because some indication of it emerged during the excavations of 1913 and 1914.
A few vague contemporary references to the early work suggest the general
conditions of the site which were to be disclosed in 1913. An anonymous pam-
1 See Topographical Index of V, C. H. London, under Cornhill, Gracechurch Street, Leadenhall
Street and Market.
2 Archacologta, Ix, 225, fig. 22, and Ixiii, 329, fig. 32.
* Archaeologia, xix, 255, and xxvii, 411. 4 Gent. Mag., 1818, ii, 393.
6 Ibid., 272. See also 1819, ii, 325, and 1825, ii, 245.
G g2
236 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
phlct published in 1830 ' states that ' in the Roman times we are certain that this
was a remarkable spot ; for traces both of the living and of the dead coins,
beads, ornaments of dress, glasses of various shapes, pottery in amphoras,
Samian ware, both plain and beautifully figured ; funeral arms (sic) with burnt
bones and ashes, lachrymatories, &c, have been excavated in abundance. Several
specimens of these are now in the Guildhall Library.'
The earliest list of donations to the Guildhall Museum records the receipt
in 1829 from Mr. H. Cureton of an amphora, a cinerary urn containing burnt
bones, some fragments of ' Samian ', and other objects found in St. Martin's-le-
Grand. They are, however, quite inadequately described, they were never marked
with any reference to their site, and they cannot therefore now be identified from
among the multitude of Roman objects vaguely labelled ' found in London '.
In 1822 a concrete raft, 6ft. to 8ft. thick, was laid over the whole site, except for
a small space where two areas flanked the central porch, and no such solid founda-
tion was needed. The most enlightening account of the condition of the site is
contained in a note on the use of concrete by Mr. James Elmes in Notes and
Queries, gth October, 1858. 'The first concreted foundation of magnitude', he
says, 'was laid by Sir Robert Smirke, R.A., under the General Post Office in
St. Martin's-le-Grand. When this destruction of streets, lanes, alleys, and courts
was completed, and the site laid open, a greater diversity of subsoil was never
before exposed to view, as I am a living and almost daily witness of the progress
of this fine substruction. It was a maze of cesspools and wells of various depths
and densities ; sewers, drains, and bog-holes, intersected with brick foundations
of various ages, from the time of the Romans to the Great Fire, many of them
as hard as the back of Mount Leinster ; and presented a diversity of hard and
soft places that would have puzzled any architect from Vitruvius ... to Wotton,
Jones, or Wren.'
() Such was all the evidence upon which one might have based a forecast
of what was to be revealed when Smirke's building was demolished in the winter
of 1913, and his concrete raft removed. The foundations of the Accountant-
General's office lie considerably deeper than those of the previous building.
Not only, therefore, was the concrete removed, but the soil excavated under it
to a depth of about 23 ft. (at the south end) and 22 ft. (at the north end of the site)
below the street level of St. Martin's-le-Grand, which rises from north to south.
The broad truth of Mr. Elmes's description was at once apparent when
sections were laid bare through the concrete and the subsoil (pi. XXIII).
1 Illustrations of the Site and Neighbourhood oj the New Post Office, p. 2 (attributed to William
Herbert, Guildhall Librarian).
Fig. i. General Post Office site. Part of east side
Fig. 2. General Post Office site. Part of south side
i. Street level (Foster Lane, fig. i). 2. Basement, old G.P.O. building. 3. Concrete raft. 4. Brick earth, and
C. frravf\ With Q^rfinnc nf rtfc f\ C,rwi*\ fl/-./Af clirtunnrr foinf , .iitlJT,, - rtf r\i'to
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 237
Immediately under the raft was a layer of brick-earth, from 2 ft. to 4 ft. in thick-
ness, the remains of a deposit at least 8 ft. thick when the raft was constructed.
This layer rested on a loose and rather sandy gravel, which was found, by experi-
mental boring made on the site by the authorities of St. Paul's Cathedral, to
descend another 20 feet before meeting the upper surface of the London Clay.
It was immediately clear from such sections as those illustrated in pi. XXIII,
that rubbish-pits had been dug in the brick-earth, and often through it into the
gravel. The great majority of these pits, containing nothing but Roman debris,
were obviously of Roman date ; and as the work of excavation proceeded, they
were found scattered over almost the whole of the site.
It need hardly be said that rubbish-pits are a common feature of every
Romano-British site of any importance. 1 Of the many that must have existed
below the surface of London, a few have been recognized and described. The
most carefully recorded of these is the large pit found in 1841 under the north-
west corner of the Royal Exchange. 2 This was about 50 ft. long from north to
south by 34 ft. from east to' west, and sank in the gravel to a depth of 33 ft. below
the street level. The pit was filled with what Sir William Tite described as
' hardened mud ', and contained large quantities of animal and vegetable remains,
Roman pottery and other objects of Roman date, most of which are now in
the Guildhall Museum. In later Roman times the whole pit had been covered
with a bed of concrete rather more than a foot thick, and remains of a building
which had been erected on the spot were found.
Other Roman pits have been discovered in the immediate neighbourhood
of the General Post Office. A well-known passage in the Parcntalia describes
one which caused Sir Christopher Wren some trouble in the building of
St. Paul's. 3 ' In the Progress of the Works of the Foundations, the Surveyor
met with one unexpected difficulty ; he began to lay the Foundations from the
West-end, and had proceeded successfully through the Dome to the East-end,
where the Brick-earth Bottom was yet very good ; but as he went on to the
North-east Corner, which was the last, and where nothing was expected to
interrupt, he fell, in prosecuting the Design, upon a Pit, where all the Pot-earth
had been robb'd by the Potters of old Time : here were discovered Quantities
of Urns, broken Vessels and Pottery-ware of divers Sorts and Shapes ; how far
this pit extended Northward, there was no occasion to examine.'
Further early references to the finding, in and about St. Paul's Churchyard,
1 See Mr. Curie's notes in Newstcad Report, pp. 105-106.
2 See W. Tite, Antiquities found in the Excavations at the New Royal Exchange.
3 Parentatia, p. 286. Mr. Mervyn Macartney, F.S.A., has recently pointed out errors in this
description of Wren's work, but they do not affect the fact of the existence of the rubbish-pit (Pro-
ceedings, xxvi, 219).
238 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
of much ' Samian ' and other Roman pottery suggest, in the absence of building
remains on the site, that other pits besides that which surprised Wren have been
struck in this neighbourhood. 1
In 1845 Mr. W. D. Saull * noticed what was probably a rubbish-pit in digging
for sewers at the west end of Cheapside. About 20 ft. below the present surface,
he found thin seams of ashes, circular in plan and concave in section, above the
undisturbed gravel. These were overlaid by Roman debris pottery, coins, and
painted plaster are specified. Mr. Saull assumed the burnt layers to be the remains
of a 'British hut-circle'. The conditions are so similar to those observed in several
cases in the recent digging (cf. fig. 2, pi. XXIII) that it is more than probable
that Mr. Saull only found another rubbish-pit.
In recent years Messrs. Norman and Reader 3 noted eight pits on the site of
Christ's Hospital ; and finally, turning to another part of the City, the last section
of this paper will describe pits of early Roman date lately disclosed in King
William Street.
The discoveries of 1913 at the General Post Office, therefore, were not the
first that revealed this feature of Roman life, either in the north-west corner of
Londinium or in London generally. To return to the excavation of 1913 : under
the conditions inevitable to contractors' work, careful observation of the position
in which objects were found, or their association one with another, was almost
impossible. The blasting of the concrete and the removal of the soil beneath it
were carried on simultaneously. A section was cut near the south end of the
site to the depth finally required for the new foundations, and this section was
carried steadily northward. The concrete, as it was blasted yard by yard, fell
into the confused heap of gravel, brick-earth, and the black earth of the pits at
the bottom of the section. Archaeologically the most that could be done was to
collect every fragment possible from the workmen and it is due to Mr. Thomas
Wilson, then Clerk of Works at the General Post Office, that this was most care-
fully done to make such few notes as were possible on the circumstances of the
finds, and subsequently to report on the collection as a whole.
As on most Romano-British sites, 'Samian' pottery was abundant, and pro-
vided the most reliable data for analysis. The examination of the fragments of this
and other types of pottery made three conclusions clear.
The first conclusion was that the majority of the finds belonged to the first
century. Of 89 fragments of decorated ' Samian ', 52 could be assigned to the
potteries of La Graufesenque, and the remaining 37 to those centred in Lezoux.
1 e.g. Dr. Woodward had many objects from this spot. See also Bagford's Letter to Hearne in
Leland's Collectanea, i, p. Ixvii.
1 W. D. Saull, Notitia Britanniae, pp. 13-15. 3 Archaeologia, Ixiii, 284-5.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
239
The following potters' stamps represented the wares of La Graufesenque:
MONTANVS on form 27
OFA.BA/1 on
form 27
ANAN |
27
OFBASSICO
29
BIGA FEC
18
BVCCVSF
ft *J
OFCALVI
27
COSIRVF
29
COSI-RVTIN
n 18
OFCREST
18
OFCRESTI
27
OFROffl
18
OFRONTI
n 18
GENTILIS-OFI
18
[GERfllANIOF
18
IVkKINI
18
[? MAN]SVETI
33
OFMAT
18
OFMODES
27
MOM
27
OFAVR 1
27
OF-AATR--ER F 18
OFNGRI
,, 2 7
OFNGR
24/25
OFPASSE
18
PASSIEN
is* 1
PATRIC
,. 27
OFPOf^EI
18
[R]VFFI-MA ,, 27
RVFFI-MA
33
OFRVFNI
18
OFRVFIN
27
SACRO-t-AAS 18
SECVNDV
i8/3i
SENICIO
24/25
OSEVERI
18
OFVIRIL
18
The following stamps represent the potteries of Lezoux and its neighbour-
hood :
ikkiOAARiM on form 33
27
33
AESTIVIM on form 33
BORIkklOF 31
BRICCI ,,
CARATILLI
2VMAMMIO
DAGOMl
33
80
27
DIVICATVS
33
SACER
SACERI MAN
SACRIk-l-M
SVOBNI-M
TITVRONIS
80
The following potter worked at Rheinzabern :
MAMMILIANVS on form 37 (stamped on rim, no decoration remaining).
The factories from which the following stamps emanated arc not certainly
known :
BALBINVSF (? Galbinus)on form 18 Oioi||l3D (? Felicio) on form ?
CADDIRON 27 CESTIIMA 33
CAVTERRA 2 33 DONTIONIS ,, 27 and 33
1 In this and subsequent lists the ' Samian ' shapes are of course numbered according to the standard
classification of Dragendorff. The figure 15* represents the early shallow plate with round moulding
(Viertdrundstab} inside. The normal type is better shown in Curie, Newstead, pi. xxxix, 2, or in
Ritterling, Hofheitn, 1913, pi. xxxi, 4, than by Dragendorff. Many variations occur of the external hori-
zontal flutings in this shape. * Not clear. Perhaps CAVT"ERRA.
2 4 o RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
[? OF]IVCA on form 27
NARC-llkKIM 27
MENDA 33
2ANVIIIIMA 18/31
SITICVLA on form 27
TAVRINI 18/31
?VIINI 18
?VAIII 32?
Of these, forms 18 and 27 were more probably made in the first century, forms
31 and 33 in the second. Dontio may bean early potter of Lezoux. Balbinus, 1
Caddiron, Sanvillus, and Taurinus 2 may also perhaps be assigned to Lezoux.
There seem to have been two Marcelli, one of late first-century date, the other
working- at Rheinzabern. 3 Felicio (?) seems to be an early potter, perhaps
of Montans. 4
Coins of the following reigns were found, confirming the dating of the
pottery: Claudius (i), Nero (i), Domitian (i), Trajan (2), Antoninus Pius (2),
Faustina I (i), Second Revolt of the Jews 5 (i), Victorinus (i), Valentinian I (i).
The second conclusion derived from the examination of this pottery was that
of the second-century fragments, only a small proportion dated later than 150 A.D.
For example, there is no certainly German ware, except the stamp of Mammi-
lianus. The black slip ware known as ' Castor ' was represented by one fragment
only. The potters Aestivus, Caratillus, and Sacrillus are known from the Pud-
ding-Pan Rock finds to have worked in the latter half of the second century.
The third fact that emerged was that the pottery found at the south end of
the site was distinctly earlier than that found at the north end. Speaking
generally, the finds in the southern half belonged to the first century, those in
the northern half to the second century. This is only what might have been
expected, the southern part of the site being nearer the central and presumably
earlier part of Londinium.
These conclusions were fully confirmed by the later organized excavations.
Pottery fragments were, of course, by far the commonest of the finds. Other
objects, however, included :
1. A gold ring, with a plain oval bezel and nicolo intaglio, showing an eagle
devouring a hare. On the back, outside, are the initials Q-D-D.
2. A part (about two-thirds) of a flat circular clay mould, 3* inches in diameter,
with an erotic subject ; probably for making applique medallions on a type of
bulbous, three-handled jar, assigned by D^chelette to the valley of the Rh6ne
1 Perhaps G. Albinus, of La Graufesenque.
2 Perhaps a Pan Rock potter ; see Proceedings, xxi, 288.
3 See Wroxetcr Report, 1912,54.
4 See Dech. i, 272, and Wroxcter Reports, 1912, 52, and 1913, 29. Also below, pp 257 and 268.
5 See below, p. 241. See Proceedings, xxii, 403.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 241
and the late second and third centuries. Most of the moulds known were found
at Vienne, but some at Trier and Cologne. See D^chelette, vol. ii, pp. 235-
308. For subject, see Folzer, Roinische Keratin k in Trier, i, pi. xxix, 528.
3. The head of a pipe-clay statuette of Venus. A pilaster of the small shrine
in which this statuette may have stood was found on the same spot in subsequent
excavations, and a restoration of the whole, based on a shrine found at Vichy and
illustrated by Tudot, is shown in pi. XXV, fig. i. These domestic shrines were
made chiefly in the south of Gaul, and in the first century. See Tudot, Figurines
en argile gallo-romaines, especially pi. i, and li^roxeter Report, 1913, p. 18 and
fig. 10. The statuettes are not uncommon, e.g. Guildhall Museum Catalogue,
pi. xv, 2, and xvi, 5, and Wroxeter Report, 1912, pi. xi.
4. An iron spokeshave. A similar object (but with its back more curved),
found in the bed of the Walbrook at Copthall Court, and now in the Guildhall
Museum, is figured by Messrs. Norman and Reader in Archaeologia, Ixiii,
pi. Ixix, 4. Another in Devizes Museum was found in the Romano-British
settlement on Rushall Down.
5. A bronze coin of the Second Revolt of the Jews, under Simon Barcochab,
A.D. 132-135. It is interesting to note that Julius Severus, the general who sup-
pressed the revolt, was recalled from the governorship of Britain to do so. See
F. W. Madden's Coins of the Jews, pp. 244, 39.
6. A fragment of pottery of unusual type is illustrated in fig. 20. This is part
of a cylindrical bowl, of fairly fine brown clay, with faint traces of mica dusting.
It is rudely stamped with a decoration, in two bands, of concentric circles, small
dots and wedges, and C-shaped ornaments. One minute fragment of similar shape
and ware was found in the 1914 excavation associated with pottery of the end
of the first century, and the traces of mica dust would suggest the same date.
Both the stamped ornament and the incised bands are less regular than the
complete restoration of outline in fig. 20 seems to indicate. A literal transcript
of all the remaining ornament is shown in the lower figure.
(c) Many of the rubbish-pits descended below the depth, and extended outside
the area, which the contractors had excavated. At the beginning of 191 4, therefore,
when the contractors had completed their work, the site of the General Post Office
was occupied by a great quadrilateral cavity, about 350 ft. by 120 ft, and 22 ft. to
24 ft. deep, on the sides and floor of which could clearly be seen the sections, in
plan and elevation, of partly cleared rubbish-pits (pi. XXIII).
Mr. Philip Norman now took up the question of clearing out more carefully
than had hitherto been possible the lowest portions of the rubbish-pits, which
still remained in the gravel bottom of the site. He approached the authorities
VOL. LXVI. H h
242 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
of the General Post Office for permission to undertake such digging, and applied
to the Court of Common Council and to the Goldsmiths' Company, whose Hall
adjoins the site, for the funds with which it might be carried out. Both applica-
tions were entirely successful. The Corporation and the Goldsmiths' Company
provided grants of money which together were amply sufficient for the purpose,
and the Post Office officials co-operated heartily in the execution of the scheme.
By the success of these negotiations, archaeology is indebted to Mr. Norman for
a valuable addition to all the excellent work he has done and caused to be done
for the furtherance of our knowledge of Roman London.
Mr. Norman entrusted the present writer, by permission of the Committee of
the Guildhall Library and Museum, with the supervision of the digging, which
began on i2th March and lasted exactly four weeks, ceasing at Easter. Mr.
Thomas Wilson again gave freely his valuable help in organizing the labour and
preserving the finds, and prepared the plan on which fig. 13 is based. PI. XXIV
shows the appearance of the site after all the holes had been cleared to their
base and the earth with which they were filled had been heaped about them.
This earth was almost invariably black and rather damp, and consisted
presumably of animal and vegetable matter which had decayed for the most part
beyond recognition. With it was mixed, as would be expected, a good deal of
the gravel in which the pits had been dug. Many also contained a considerable
quantity of the brick-earth which covers the site. This last, however, was never
used to line the sides or bottoms of the pits, nor did it ever occur in clear strata,
as though deposits had been thrown in and covered. It was always found in
irregular streaks and lumps, scattered indiscriminately among the contents of the
pits, and appeared to have fallen into them from their sides.
In this matrix of black gravelly earth were embedded, in most of the holes,
fragments of pottery, animal bones, and occasionally other small objects. Pottery
was more abundant at the south end of the site than elsewhere, but bones were
fairly equally distributed over the whole area. 1
The depth of the pits was found to vary from a mere staining of the surface
at which digging began to some seven feet (where the water-level was met) below
1 Mr. Lyell was kind enough to examine material from Pits E 23 and F 20 at St. Martin's-le-Grand.
The general appearance of each suggested an accumulation of surface rubbish containing sand, pebbles,
lumps of burnt clay, charcoal, &c., and showed evidence of infiltration of iron, giving the soil a more
or less reddish appearance. The specimen from Pit E contained several lumps of burnt clay, a piece of
coarse pottery, a fragment of oyster shell, several small pieces of oak, elder, and hazel charcoal, and
a few seeds of elder, a sedge (Carex), and a grain of wheat, also a few minute bones. Pit F specimen
contained a small fragment of Samian ware, a toe-bone of a pig, a tiny fragment of oyster (?) shell, oak
charcoal, and a single grain of wheat.
o
z
tc.
u
V)
z
T. Wilson, mens.
Fig. 13. General Post Office site. Plan of pits.
244 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
that surface. The deepest pits therefore sank about thirty feet below the pave-
ment level of St. Martin's-le-Grand.
The contents of each pit were kept carefully separate, and afterwards
examined in detail, partly in order to date the beginning of each pit, partly in
order to obtain new evidence, by the association of dated with undated pottery,
of the age of different types of coarse Roman wares.
The first results, the dating of the pits, are illustrated in fig. 13, which shows
their plan. In this plan, the absence of any lettering attached to a pit indicates
that nothing was found in it but black earth ; A* (without figures) indicates that
Roman pottery was found, but not sufficient in quantity or sufficiently distinctive
in character to be dated ; figures after R indicate the approximate limits of date
A. D. to which the contents of the pit probably belonged ; b indicates that the pit
contained animal bones ; M indicates that the pit was either dug or disturbed
in the Middle Ages or more recently.
The dating was based almost entirely on the shape and style of decorated
'Samian' and the potters' stamps of plain 'Samian', according to the results
obtained by Dechelette, Ritterling, Knorr, and others on the Continent, and
Mr. Curie and others in this country. The work done by Mr. Bushe-Fox in
the investigation of coarse pottery at Corbridge and Wroxeter has also been
valuable for comparison. We were unlucky in finding only one decipherable coin. 1
Pits which contained no ' Samian ' except fragments of form 29 or stamps
of pre-Flavian potters (see Ritterling's list from Hofheim in Nassauische
Annalcn, xl, p. 249) have been assigned to the years A. D. 50-80. Where the
' Samian ' consisted of fragments of form 37, in the style of La Graufesenque,
there the pit has been attributed to the years A.D. 70-100. Form 37 of
Lezoux or the stamps of potters who worked in the neighbourhood of
Lezoux have been taken to denote the second century. Most of the deco-
rated fragments of these factories were in the style of small panels which seems
to belong to the earlier part of the second century. Hardly any traces were
found of the larger panels and broader style characteristic of Cinnamus and
Divixtus and their fellow-craftsmen of the Antonine period. Pits which
contained a mixture of the late products of La Graufesenque and the earlier
products of Lezoux have been dated A.D. 80-120. In a number of pits no
' Samian ' at all was found ; some of these were dated from their coarse ware,
according to results deduced from other pits which did contain ' Samian ' (see
coarse ware below, figs. 14-16).
Obviously not every pit could be given even an approximate limit of
time, but of the cases where this was possible, it will be seen that four pits were
1 Of Valens, in a mixed pit at the south end of the site.
H
u,
O
z
O
a!
w
u,
cd
O
w
I
.*.
"5
t/3
u,
O
-.
_1
^
ftj
o
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 245
dug between A.D. 50 and 80, fourteen between 70 and 100, ten between 80 and
120 or 130, nine in the first half of the second century, three in the middle of the
second century, and one at the end of that century or the beginning of the third.
It will also be seen that the earliest pits are situated towards the south end of the
site, and the latest undisturbed pit at its extreme northern boundary. The latest
of all the Roman objects, however, came to light in four very mixed pits at the
southern end, which contained remains dating from the first to the fourth cen-
turies. 1 The pottery unearthed during the organized excavation of the lowest
part of the pits was, as would be expected, on the whole a little earlier than that
obtained by the contractors from the higher deposits. Otherwise the results of
the second excavation entirely confirm those of the first. They also raise an
interesting possibility. The latest and northernmost of the pits is only 70 yards
south of the line of the wall of London, which at this point has not in recent years
been u ncovered. If, when excavation takes place on this spot, our field of rubbish-
pits is found to extend under the line of the wall, we may at last be afforded
definite evidence, in one direction of time at least, of the date of the circumvalla-
tion of London.
In connexion with the plan several points of interest may here be noted.
The first pit which was cleared, in the extreme north-east corner of our area,
revealed the remains of wattle which had been used to support its side. The
wood is hazel. This was the only instance of lining of any sort found in any of
the pits.
A number of the pits at the north-east corner contained fragments of
medieval and later origin. Conspicuous among these is an oblong chalk-lined
enclosure, apparently a cesspool, the deposit in which consisted chiefly of decayed
bracken, containing fragments of fourteenth-century pottery.
A large irregular hole about 20 ft. to the south of the last was apparently
dug after the Great Fire. It contained a considerable number of human bones,
the skulls being at the opposite end of the hole from the limb-bones. This spot
is near the position of the churchyard of St. Leonard's, Foster Lane, and recalls
similar finds made during the excavation of 1818 (see above, p. 235). The rag-
stone foundations marked in solid black to the south of the centre of the plan
may also have some relation to the crypt found in 1818.
The most remarkable of the Roman deposits was brought to light in the late
first-century pit in the extreme south-west angle. Here a depth of four feet of
the pit remained below the floor-level. The lower two feet consisted of the
usual black earth, containing several ' Samian ' fragments of the last period of
1 Of course, it is always possible that some of the pits which produced insufficient or no evidence
of date may have been dug at a later date than the second century.
246 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
La Graufesenque, and many fragments of coarse black ware (types 13, 21,22,
38, 39). The upper two feet was composed of the debris of a ' wood-and-daub '
house which had been destroyed by fire. These included broken bricks and
roofing-tiles (with one imbyex practically whole), about 500 small pieces of painted
plaster, and a number of large pieces of clay daub, burnt hard by the conflagra-
tion which had destroyed the building. In several cases the plaster was still
adhering to the daub, and in many cases the latter still showed clearly the mark
of the wood apparently laths, not the more usual wattle-work which originally
backed it
The suggestion of a path among the pits, leading from the east side of their
area towards Aldersgate, is of some interest.
The traces of a Roman well beside the line of this apparent path were
accidentally discovered during investigations carried out by the authorities of
St. Paul's Cathedral. Several planks, about 2 ft. 9 in. long and 6 in. wide, were
brought up by a diver engaged in operations below the water-level on the spot
indicated, and if his description of their position is correct, would seem to have
formed the lining of the bottom of a well. They were said to have been arranged
barrel-wise, with a diameter of about 3 feet, and above them was a shallow box,
open top and bottom, about 3 ft. square and 9 in. deep. One of the planks is
stamped
TC PACA
and in another part
C-P +
These would seem to be imperfect impressions representing T. C. Pacati. 1
The first result of the separate examination of the contents of each pit,
whereby the dates of the pits were determined, has been set out above, and
summarized in fig. 13. It remains to consider the second set of results, and
these are illustrated in figs. 14-16, which show sections of all the types of coarse
vessels whose outline could be restored from base to rim, and also of some
characteristic necks of flagons, the bodies of which were missing. These
drawings are the work of Mr. Thomas Wilson. There follows the description
of each of these types, together with its date, where associated finds made
approximate dating possible.
COARSE POTTERY.
i. Neck of flagon. Very light red clay. A.D. 50-80. This type, characterized
by a single overhanging flat band round the rim, is the commonest type of single-
1 The impressions are faint, and any of the Cs may be a C. Prof. Haverfield reads the first
"EC- PACA (Roman Britain in 1914, p. 35), but after very careful examination I believe the strokes that
appear to form E to be accidental.
tv-
T^ ^}y
m
1
O)
248 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
handled flagon found at Hofheim (Ritterling, Hoflieim, 1913, pi. xxxiv, 50 A and B).
Common at Haltern (Mitt, der Altertnms-Koiiunission filr Westfalen, ii, figs. 17
and 1 8, and v, fig. 24). See also JVroxetcr Report, 1913, 46, specimens dated
A.D. 80-120. The type occurred twelve times on the G. P. O. site, and was in no
case associated with any decorated ' Samian ' except form 29.
2. Neck of flagon. Light red clay. A.D. 50-80. Variant of i.
3. Neck of flagon. Light red clay with white slip. Single rib below rim.
A.D. 50-80. See Pit E 4, p. 258.
4. Neck of flagon with two double-ribbed handles. Yellowish-white clay.
A.D. 50-80.
5. Neck of unusually large flagon. Yellowish-white clay. A.D. 50-80. An
ornamented variant of i and 2. See Pit E 4, p. 258.
6. Neck of flagon with two double-ribbed handles and smooth trumpet-
shaped mouth. Yellowish-white clay. A.D. 70-100. See Pit F 15, p. 260.
7. Neck of flagon with two double-ribbed handles. Yellowish-white clay.
Early second century. See Wroxeter Report, 1913, 45. See Pit 2, p. 261.
8. Neck of flagon with four-ribbed handle. The mouth has four indistinct
rings, the uppermost much larger than the rest. Yellowish-white clay. A.D. 70-
100. See May, Roman Pottery in York Museum, pi. xvii, 7, for similar mouth-
piece.
9. Neck of flagon with five-ringed mouth and three-ribbed handle. Yellowish-
white clay. A.D. 70-100. See Pit B 15, p. 258.
10. Neck of flagon with two handles. Yellowish-white clay. A.D. 70-100.
See Pit F n, p. 260.
11. Flagon with four-ringed neck. The characteristic type of the second
century. This was unfortunately the only flagon of any date whose outline was
complete from mouth to base. Necks of this type occurred in many second-
century deposits, varying from iJ to 3! inches in diameter, of white or red clay,
the latter with or without a white slip. The rings are much closer and the neck
shorter than in earlier types. The Guildhall Museum contains a number of
specimens of this type, and in all cases, as in this illustrated, the greatest width
of the body is below its centre. A neck -of this type has lately been found
in Finsbury Circus with a coin of Marcus Aurelius. See Pit Fi3, p. 261.
12. Bead-rimmed pot. Coarse grey ware, irregularly burnt outside, con-
taining grains of calcite. A.D. 50-80. See Bushe-Fox, Hengistbury Head Re-
port, pi. xxiii, 6. Common at Haltern (Mitt, der Altertums-Kommission filr
IVcstfalen, ii, 27 33). A pre-Roman type surviving into the early Roman period.
See Pit E 4, p. 258.
VOL. i.xvi.
Fig. 15. Coarse Roman pottery. General Post Office site (J).
i i
T. Wilson, del.
250 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
13. Bead-rimmed pot. Dark grey clay. A. D. 70-100. This and the last type
were common in first-century deposits. The earlier specimens are sometimes
hand-made, and always of coarser ware than the later. The earlier specimens
were found to be shorter in proportion to the size of their base than the later
in the few cases where more than the rim remained. See Pit F 15, p. 260.
14. Bead-rimmed pot, from same deposit as last. Dark grey clay.
15. Amphora, narrow and tapering, with screw from neck to broken point.
Dull reddish-brown clay. A.D. 50-100. A similar vessel was found in Southwark
in 1868, with a jug of St. Remy ware and a pre-Roman ' anthropoid ' dagger. See
Jonrn. Brit. Arch. Ass., xxiv, p. 309; Ritterling, Hofheim, 1913, fig. 72.
1 6. Carinated pot. Fine dark grey clay. Pit F7, p. 259. See next.
17. Carinated pot. Fine light grey clay. Upper part decorated with in-
cised feathers. The imperfect specimens from which 16 and 17 are drawn both
occurred in deposits dating A.D. 70-100, but fragments were found in earlier pits.
1 8. Bowl with slight shoulder and marked grooves round neck. Dark
grey clay. A.D. 50-80. See Pit E 4, p. 258.
19-22. Bowls with well-defined shoulder. 19, 21, 22 are decorated with
incised lines round the shoulder. Dark grey clay. These four examples occurred
in deposits dating A. D. 70-100, but fragments of similar rims were found in all the
four earlier pits. See Surrey Arch. Coll., xxi, p. 202. Pits F 7 and F 15, pp. 259-60.
23. Plate. Dark grey clay, black on the surface. First century.
24. Plate. Grey clay. A. 0.5080. See Pit E 4, p. 258.
25. Plate. Dark grey clay. A.D. 50-80. See Pit E 4, p. 258.
26. Plate. Dark grey clay. First century.
27. Plate. Grey clay, dusted with mica. Bevelled rim. The commonest
type of plate from A. D. 70 to 100. Almost all examples of mica-dusted ware found
on the site lay between these two dates. Its absence from the very few earlier
pits may of course be accidental ; but it very rarely occurred in association with
the pottery of Lezoux. Cf. type 22, Wroxeter. See Pit B 15, p. 258.
28. Plate. Light grey clay, irregularly burnt. A. D. 80-100.
29. Shallow dish. Grey clay. . A.D. 70-100.
30. Plate. Grey clay, surface irregularly burnt. A.D. 70-100.
31 and 32. Plates. Grey clay. Decorated with trellis hatching. A.D. 80-120.
33 and 35. Plates. Dark grey clay. The commonest type of plate of the
second century, but found occasionally (perhaps by accident) in late first-century
pits. Characteristic are the overhanging rim and bevelled edge round the base.
The type occurred commonly in all sizes between the two here drawn, and also
less commonly in a deeper form.
Fig. 16. Coarse pottery, General Post Office site (}).
I i 2
T. Wilson, del.
252 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
34. Plate. Dark grey clay. From a deposit which seemed to date from
the end of the second or beginning of the third century.
36. Pot. Yellowish-white clay. A. D. 80-120, and perhaps later. Rims of this
type were found freely in deposits of this date, but no complete example. This
drawing is based on a perfect specimen in the Guildhall Museum.
37. Bowl. Red clay. A.D. 80-120. The outline resembles the Corbridge
types 4-7, but this rim is bolder.
38. Bowl. Grey clay. A.D. 70-100.
39. Bowl. Coarse dark grey clay. A.D. 80-120 and perhaps later. See Pit
F 13, p. 261.
40-42. Small bowls. Dark grey clay, with smoothly finished surface.
Features common to all are the groove round the rim, and slight angle in outline
of sides. A.D. 80-120 and perhaps later.
43. Pot. Light grey clay with white slip. A.D. 70-100.
44. Large flat dish. Very coarse brown clay, irregularly burnt, contain
ing sand and tiny fragments of pebbles. A.D. 70-120. See Pit F 11, p. 260.
45. Part of triple vase. Light brown clay. No date. See the Antiquary,
May, June, and August, 1914.
46. Cup, hand-made. Coarse black ware, containing grains of calcite.
Probably A.D. 80-120.
47. Cup. Fine light red clay with white slip. A. D. 80-120. See Pit E 6, p. 260.
48. Cup. White clay, with granulated surface and brown slip. A.D. 100-130.
49. Cooking-pot, with sagging base. Hard coarse grey clay. The obvious
resemblance of this type to a common medieval form raises considerable doubt
as to its date. Fragments of the type occurred, however, in apparently other-
wise undisturbed pits of Roman date, and the section is published here in case
later discoveries may prove it to represent a Roman as well as a medieval type.
It should be noted that the medieval rim is usually less sharp than this, and its
upper surface often flat. For medieval sections and illustrations of pots see
Essex Arch. Soc. Trans., n. s., vol. xii, p. 183.
50. Upper part of pot with three spouts. -Red clay, with white slip. Probably
A.D. 80-120. For an example with spouts more detached see JVroxeter Report,
1912, 39.
51. Lid. Light greyish-red clay with white slip. A.D. 70-100.
52. Lid. Dark grey ware. A. D. 80-120.
53. Cup, mica-dusted. A.D. 80-120. See Pit Fi3, p. 261.
54. Small pot. Yellowish-white clay. A. D. 70-100. See Pit F i c, p. 259.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 253
55. Shallow bowl. White pipe-clay, with smooth surface. A. 0.70-100. See
Pit F 11, p. 260.
56. Jug. Light red clay. Only the body of this was found, and neck, handle,
and foot have been restored from a complete example in the Guildhall Museum.
Second century.
57. Flagon. Hard grey clay. No date.
58. Pot. Hard dark grey clay. Found in same pit as last.
MORTARIA. (Figs. 17 and 18.)
Many fragments of mortaria were found. The great majority resembled
types 38 and 58 (IVroxeter Report, 1912, figs. 19 and 20), having curved overhang-
ing rims, with a small bead inside the mortarium, just below or level with the top
of the curve. The dating of these, at the end of the first century and beginning
of the second, agreed with the results obtained by Mr. Bushe-Fox at Wroxeter
and elsewhere. Occasionally the bead was above the top of the curve, as in no. 8
below. These were probably of rather later date. All types possessing a potter's
stamp, and all exceptional types, are illustrated in figs. 17 and 18. It is to be
regretted that so many of the apparently later shapes cannot be more closely
dated.
1. A. D. 50-80. See Pit E 4, p. 258. A very early type, found at Haltern.
See Mitt, der Altertuws-Kommissionfur Westfalen, II, xxxviii, 24, and V, fig. 33.
i-io and pi. xii, 59.
2. Probably A. D. 50-80.
3. From 1913 excavation, therefore not dated. Stamp probably imperfect
impression of Saturninus. Cf. Brit. Mns. Cat. M 2803.
4. Late first century. See Pit F 15, p. 260. Stamp probably Mclns fed.
Cf. Brit. Mtis. Cat. M 2764 and M 2791.
5. Found with 8,17, 19, 20 in a pit containing 'Samian' from A. 0.50 to i5o,and
coarse wares probably later. Stamp of Martinus. Cf. no. 7.
6. A. 0.80-120. See Pit E 6, p. 260. Stamp Manu. Presumably the potters
name was on another stamp on opposite side of lip.
7. A. D. 100-150. See Pit F 13, p. 261. Imperfect impression of same stamp
as on 5.
8. No date. Found with 5, 17, 19, 20. Cf. rim in May, Roman Pottery, York,
pi. xxiv, 29. Faint stamp, reading perhaps NIMVC.
9. A. D. 80-120. See Pit E 18, p. 261. Imperfect stamp, perhaps of Melus.
Cf. 4 above.
10. Found in mixed deposit, chiefly early second century. Stamped twice
with name of Virilis. Cf. C.I.L. xiii, 10006, 113.
254 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
Fig. 17. Montana rim-sections, General Post Office site (J).
"ivj
10
II
12
22
Fig. 18. Stamps on mortaria, General Post Office site (found on rims with corresponding nos. in fig. 17)
(1).
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 255
11. From 1913 excavation, therefore not dated. The unusual thickness of
centre is caused by proximity of section to lip Qinwrtariiun. Stamp of Valentinus.
Cf. Brit. Mns. Cat., M 2806, and Guildhall Cat., p. 102, 628.
12. From 1913 excavation, therefore not dated. Stamp of Dares. Cf. type
98, from Poltross Burn, latter half of second century.
13. Second century. Found with stamp of ' Samian ' potter Peculiaris. See
Pit E 2, p. 261.
14. 15. Found together, without sufficient evidence of date. With 15 cf. type
106 Wroxeter. With 14 cf. type 230, though latter has outer face vertical.
16. Found with stamp of Cinnamus. Middle of second century. Cf. no. 15.
17. No date. Found with 5, 8, 19, 20.
18. No sufficient dating evidence.
19. No date. Found with 5, 8, 17, 20.
20. No date. Found with last. Cf. type 226, perhaps fourth century.
21. Found at bottom of well. No associations.
22. Stamp of Sollus, on fragment of curved rim, probably type 38 or 58. Cf.
Wroxeter Report^ 1913, p. 46, 37.
STAMPS, ETC. ON AMPHORAE (fig. 19).
1. Late first century. See Pit 28, p. 259.
2. Late first or early second century. See Pit E 6, p. 260.
3. Cf. C.I.L., xv, 3084 (Monte Testaccio).
(MVR) (PASSERAlO (?STRP/ttNl
I 234
Fig. 19. Stamps on handles of amphorae, General Post Office site (1).
4. C. Ster(tini ?) Paullini. Cf. C. I. L., xiii, 10002, 482, and xv, 3193 (Monte
Testaccio).
Fig. 20. Numeral incised on rim of amphora. Cf. C./.L., 10003, I2 6-
Fig. 21. Letters incised on handle of amphora. PVALVOI. They seem
equally meaningless if inverted.
V/ii.,
Fig. 20(J). Fig.2l(i>.
256
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
'SAMIAN' STAMPS.
The following is the complete list of decipherable ' Samian ' stamps found
during the organized excavations :
First century, from La Graufesenque :
OFAKB/V on form 27
OFAQ_VIT
27
OFCALV
27
OFCRESTIO ,,
18
CRESTIO
24-
25
OFRONTI
18
OFGER
27
CERAAN ,,
18
INGENVI ,,
18
OFIVCVN
27
ICNIAAO
18
(? Licinus)
OFMAS
27
AASCVLI ,,
33
OFMODES+
18
OFMO ,,
27
OM
27
OF MV?R/V on form 18
The following belong to the second century.
ALBVCI on form 37 l
BVTTVRRI ,, 33
IMAMI 37"
DVIC-AT-V-.S,, 33
MVRR
2 9
OFNGR
PASSIEN
24-25
15*
OFPAHIC
27
18
OFPAT/
OFPRIMI
27
18
OFPRM
SENICI/
SENTRVS-FE
n 2 7
27
18
OFSEVER
18
OFSVLPICI
, 18
OF-V!TA
,. 18
VITA
27
VITALISOF
27
LOLLIIVSFE
METTI-M
on form 27
80
<ECVLIARIS
33
The origin of the following is not certain :
on form 33 (A.D. 100-150)
33 ( no certain associations)
31 (A.D. 100-130)
,, 18 (A.D. 70-100)
18 (A.D. 80-120)
27
,, 33 ( n certain associations)
ABALLANF
ACVRIO F
ANNIVSF
2V, IAD
OFCO-IV (PCoelius)
OFCO IV
CVCALIM
1 Of decoration, only part of circumference of a medallion remains.
2 Cinnamus. Part of two panels remains. One contained a medallion, but the figure it contained
is gone. Small circle in corner. The other contains a figure of Athena (Dech. 77). Name vertically
up side of panel, retrograde.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
257
oiomao (? Felicio) 1
GAI-M
GNAT/
/EDV (probably Malledu)
OFMASO -
POT-TACVS
OF SEMP
on form ? (A. D. 50-80)
18 (no certain associations)
3i
18
33 (A. D. 70-100)
3 1 (no certain associations)
33 (A. D. 70-100)
Fig. 2a. Stamped fragment and re-constructed vase, General Post Office site (J). (p. 241)
T. Wilson, del.
If the forms on which they are generally found, and (in two cases) the associa-
tions with which they were found in these pits, are any criterion, then Aballanis,
Acurio, Annius, Cucalus, and Pottacus should belong to the second century and
probably to the potteries of Lczoux.
1 See similar stamp (and foot-note), pp. 239-40 above.
2 Perhaps a badly written stamp of Masclus, but the last letter is clearly an O. A Maso worked
at Heiligenberg and Ittenweiler. See Forrer, pi. xvi, 40, and fig. 232.
VOL. LXVI. K k
258 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
For the associated objects found with the stamps of Felicio (?), Licinus^
Modestus, and Sentrus, see summary of Pit E 4 following ; for Calvus, Crestio,
and gVAiAO, see Pit B 15 ; for Primus and CRESTIO see Pit 28 ; for Niger see Pit
Fi c ; for Maso see Pit F 7 ; for Crestio and Vitalis see Pit F 1 1 ; for Jucundus
and Vitalis see Pit F 15 ; for OFCO-IV see Pit E 6 ; for Peculiaris see Pit E 2 ; for
Albanus and Aballanis see Pit F 13.
SUMMARIES OF SELECTED PITS.
Summaries are appended of the contents of a number of characteristic
pits, chiefly from the southern end of the area, where the pits were both more
numerous and far richer in remains. Fragments of the sides and bottoms of
vessels of coarse ware, which did not show a complete section from base to
rim, or the type of which could not certainly be classified, have in all cases
been omitted.
Pit E 4. Dated A. D. 50 80, but perhaps a little later.
Decorated ' Samian '. Fragments of two specimens of form 29. (a) Upper frieze,
festoons, containing small birds looking alternately right and left; lower frieze, scroll
with broad leaves, (b) Upper frieze, festoons ; lower frieze, alternately cruciform patterns
and medallions containing fan-like leaf, (b) perhaps pre-Flavian. Also one fragment of
base of form 30.
Plain 'Saurian'. Stamps of Licinus, Modestus, and Sentrus on form 18, of Pas^je-
nus on form 15*, and of Felicio (?) on uncertain shape. Fragments (no stamps remaining)
of forms 15*, 18, 24, and 25.
Coarse wares. Originals of types 3, 5, 12, 18, 24, 25, figs. 14 and 15. One neck of
flagon, type i. Four fragments of bead-rims, type 12. Three fragments of rims, types
20-22. Two fragments, type 10 Wroxeter. Fragment of black carinated vessel, imitation
of 'Samian ' form 29. One fragment, perhaps types 29, 30 Corbridge. Eighteen fragments
(at least three large vessels) of thick hand-made ware, containing grains of calcite.
Mortariiim. Original of type i, fig. 17, and fragment of type 22 Wroxeter (see
Wroxeter Report, 1912, figs. 19 and 20).
Pit B 15. Late first century.
Decorated ' Samian' '. Small fragment of form 37, La Graufesenque, with double
frieze. Traces in upper frieze of medallion, and - in lower of conventional grass-plant.
Plain 'Samian '. Stamp of Calvus on form 27, and of Crestio and gVAiAO on form
18. Also fragments of forms 18, 24, 25, 27, 33, 35, 36, and 767.
Coarse wares. Original of flagon neck, type 9, fig. 14. Five fragments of bead-rims,
types 12, 13. Eight fragments rims, types 20-22. Fragment of bowl, type 39. Fragment
of ' Upchurch ' ware (grey surface with parallel rows of raised dots). Fragment of bowl,
types 4-8 Corbridge. Fragment of plate, type 27, fig. 15.
Mortaria. Fragments of types 38 and 46 Wroxeter.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 259
Pit E 28. Late first century.
Decorated 'Samian'. Seven fragments of form 29, representing at least four bowls.
The only considerable pieces are (a) part of upper frieze, panels containing alternately
arrow-heads and a dolphin (Dech. 1062) and fish, (b) lower frieze, gadroons. Three frag-
ments of rims and traces of decoration of form 37 La Graufesenque. One fragment of
base of form 30.
Plain 'Samian '. Stamps of Primus on form 18 and CRESTIO on forms 22-25. Also
fragments of forms 15*, 18, 27, 82, and ' ink-well '.
Coarse wares. Original of type 27, fig. 15. One fragment flagon, type 4. Two
fragments of bead-rims, types 12, 13. Three fragments rims, types 20-22. One fragment
bowl, type 39. Eight fragments lids, type 51 or 52. Three fragments of type 10 Wroxeter.
Two fragments, types 4-8 Corbridge. Fragments of two cooking-pots, type 66 Wroxeter.
Fragment of lid, mica-dusted. Fragment of ' incense-bowl '.
Mortarium. Fragment, types 38-58 Wroxeter.
Amf>hora. Handle stamped MIMOPSI.
Pit Fi c. Late first century.
Decorated 'Samian'. Three fragments, upper friezes of bowls form 29, with traces
of panels. About half bowl, form 37 La Graufesenque, double frieze ; upper frieze, small
scroll, as Roman Journal, iv, pi. xiii, 71 ; lower frieze, s ornament.
Plain 'Samian'. Stamp of Niger on forms 24, 25. Also fragments of forms 18,
18/31, 27, 33, 35, 36, 83.
Coarse wares. Originals of types 29, 49, 54, figs. 15 and 16 (49 perhaps medieval,
see p. 252). Eleven fragments bead-rims, type 13. Twenty fragments pots, types
20-22. One fragment plate, type 27. One fragment dish, type 29. Fragments of several
plates, type 33 or 35. Two fragments bowls, type 39. Part of beaker, granulated surface,
type 48. Five fragments lids, type 51. Necks of flagons, types 8 and 9. Neck of flagon,
pinched to form spout, as Curie, Newstead, fig. 33, 9. Fragments of three or more pots
' Upchurch ' ware (grey ware with raised spots).
Mariana. Two fragments rims, type 22 or 26 Wroxeter.
Pit F 7. Late first century.
Decorated 'Samian'. Two fragments of form 29, no decoration remaining.
Plain 'Samian'. Part of unusually large form 33, 3* in. high, -j\ in. diameter, with
stamp OFMASO ; an early example of this shape, thin ware with high glaze, and incised
lines round outside, near rim and base. Also fragments of forms 18 and 27, stamps
wanting.
Coarse wares. Originals of types 16, 19, 20, figs. 14 and 15. One fragment bead-rim,
type 13. Neck of bottle, hard dark grey ware with band of chevron decoration round it.
Two fragments of rims of small cups, sharply turned. Fragment of type 39, fig. 15.
K k 2
26o RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
Pit FIT. Late first century.
Decorated ' Saurian '. Fragment of lower frieze, form 29, gadroons. Fragment of
lower frieze, form 29, in style of Germanus, with heavy festoons, containing cyclamen
leaves (cf. Knorr, Rottweil, pi. v, i). Fragment of form 37 La Graufesenque, with large
scroll ; in the lower space, a boar to left (Ddch. 837) and double volute ornament. Six
fragments of rims of early form 37, with traces of decoration.
Plain ' Samian '. Stamps of Crestioand Vitalis on form 18. Also fragments of 15*,
18. 27, 31, 35-36, 40, 83.
Coarse wares. Originals of types 10, 30, 38, 44, 55, figs. 14-16. Two fragments of
bead-rims, type 13. Thirty fragments, types 20-22. Nine fragments lids, type 51. Seven
fragments lids, type 52. Three fragments bowls, types 31, 32, but deeper. Two fragments
plates, type 27. Also fragments ' Upchurch ' ware (grey with spots). One fragment,
type 10 Wroxeter. Fragments of several cooking-pots, type 66 Wroxeter. Neck of
flagon, type 9, fig. 14.
Pit F 15. Late first century.
Decorated 'Samian'. Fragments of form 37 La Graufesenque, with double frieze.
Upper frieze, festoons (Brit. Mns. Cat., pi. xxxviii, 4); lower frieze, dog running to right
(Dcch. 916) and conventional clump of grass. (Cf. for similar bowl, Roman Journal,
vol. iv, pi. xi, 57.) Also fragment of form 37 La Graufesenque, with head of Minerva in
panel.
Plain ' Saurian '. Stamps of Jucundus and Vitalis on form 27, and fragments of forms
18, 27, 35, 36, and 82.
Coai-se u'arcs. Originals of types 6, 13, 14, 21, 22, figs. 14 and 15. Fragments of
two bowls, type 13, and fifteen of types 20-22. Rims of three bowls, type 38. One rim of
plate, type 33 or 35.
Mortarium. Original of type 4, fig. 17, with stamp of Melus.
Miscellaneous. Fragments of statuette and shrine illustrated in pi. XXV, fig. i.
Pit E6. Late first century or early second.
Decorated ' Samian '. Fragment of form 37. Scroll of vine-leaves. Above, part of
male figure (Dcch. 438?), and in angle below, goat (Dech. 889). Probably early Lezoux.
Plain 'Saurian '. Fragment of forms 15*, 18 with stamp OFCO iv. Also fragments
of forms 18, 27, 35, 36.
Coarse wares. Originals of types 47 and 52, fig. 16. Neck of flagon, type 9, fig. 14.
Fragment of plate, type 27, fig. 15. Part of frilled ' incense bowl '. Fragment of hemi-
spherical bowl, thin black ware, with groups of incised vertical lines ending in concentric
semicircles. (Cf. Brit. Mus. Cat., fig. 274.)
Mortarium. Original of type 6, figs. 17 and 18.
Amphora. Handle with stamp MVR, fig. 19.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 261
Pit E 1 8. Late first and early second century.
Decorated 'Samian'. Fragments of four bowls, form 37. (a) La Graufesenque,
double frieze. Upper frieze, medallion containing lion (Dech. 765 bis) and traces of
panels adjoining; lower frieze, boar (Dech. 837) and conventional tuft of grass, (b) Part
of cruciform ornament and wreath below it, perhaps latest La Graufesenque. (c) Scroll of
vine-leaves, resembling (but not exactly) scrolls in Wroxeter Report, 1912, fig. 12 and
pi. xv, 14. Small bird in scroll. Conventional wreath in place of egg and tongue.
(d) Small panel containing crouching lion (Dech. 754) and male figure (Dech. 403), the
latter placed sideways. In remains of adjoining panel, two pairs of concentric circles
(Dech. 1182). Panels separated by waved lines.
Plain ' Samian '. Fragments of forms 18, 27, and 33.
Coarse wares. Two fragments of types 20-22, fig. 15. One fragment plate, type 27.
Two fragments plates, type 33 or 35, but deeper. Two fragments cups, rough-cast ware,
type 48, fig. 16. One fragment, types 4-7 Corbridge. One fragment, type 10 Wroxeter.
One fragment bowl, incised vertical lines and semicircles, and Pit E 6. One fragment
' Upchurch ' ware (grey with rows of spots).
Mortarium. Original of no. 9, figs. 17 and 18, with imperfect stamp.
Pit E 2. First half of second century.
Decorated ' Samian '. Three small fragments, form 37. (a) Free style, part of lion ;
(b) panels, part of human figure ; (c) thick rim.
Plain 'Samian'. Form 80, with stamp of Peculiaris. Fragments of forms 18, 31,
33, 38.
Coarse wares. Originals of type 7, figs. 14 and 16. Neck of flagon, type n. Frag-
ment of pot, type 36. Fragment of lid, type 51. Four fragments plates, type 33 or 35.
Fragment of frilled ' incense-bowl '. Fragment of cooking-pot, type 66 Wroxeter. Frag-
ment of huge hand-made vessel, < in. thick, containing calcite grains.
Mortarium. Original of no. 13, fig. 17.
Pit F 13. First half of second century.
Decorated ' Samian '. Fragments of five bowls, form 37. (a) Parts of two panels,
one containing figure of Diana (Dech. 64), the other divided horizontally with boar
(Dech. 826) in lower half, upper filled with pyramid of arrow-heads and diagonal wavy
lines (asBrit.Mus. Cat., pi. xxxix, 2 and 6). (b) Parts of two panels, containing figures of
Pan (De"ch. 411) and lion (Dech. 737) and small circles, (c) Small fragment, free style,
part of lion, (d) Small part of large scroll, (c) Cupid in festoon. All these probably
Lezoux. Also two rims, form 37.
Plain 'Samian '. Stamps of Albanus on form 27 and Aballanis on form 33. Frag-
ments of forms 27, 18/31, 38.
Coarse wares. Originals of types n, 36, 39, 41, figs. 14 and 15. One fragment bowl,
type 36. Four fragments bowls, types 20-22. Six fragments plates, types 31, 32. Six frag-
ments plates, type 33 or 35. One fragment pot, type 43. Neck of flagon, type 7. Neck of
flagon, pinched to form spout, as Curie, Newslead, fig. 33, 9. Fluted cup, almost whole,
262 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
as Curie, Newstead, pi. xlix, B, 6. Fragments of two frilled ' incense-bowls '. One frag-
ment, types 28-30 Wroxeter. Fragments of six cooking-pots, type 66 Wroxeter. Fragments
of several pots ' Upchurch ' ware (grey with rows of raised spots).
Mortarium. Original of type 7, with stamp of Martinus, figs. 17 and 18.
Amphora. Rim with figures incised, fig. 21.
The carrying out of this excavation has been due to the collaboration of
a number of people. Dr. Norman's share in organizing it has been mentioned
above. Thanks are due to Mr. Carey, Mr. A. G. Ferard, and Mr. Ivor Richards,
of the General Post Office ; and to Sir Walter Prideaux, of the Goldsmiths'
Company, Mr. C. G. Kekewich, Chairman of the Library Committee of the Cor-
poration, and Mr. Bernard Kettle, Librarian and Curator at the Guildhall, for
their successful efforts in obtaining the necessary funds. In the preparation of
this report, the writer must express his gratitude to Mr. Thomas Wilson, of the
Office of Works, for planning the pits, preserving carefully the objects found,
and drawing the sections illustrated in figs. 14-16; to Mr. J. P. Bushe-Fox, for
valuable suggestions both personally given and derived from his published
writings ; and to Mr. Donald Atkinson and Dr. Felix Oswald, for much help
with the ' Samian '.
NOTE ox THE REMAINS OF ANIMALS FOUND DURING EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE
OF THE OLD POST OFFICE, ST. MARTIN'S-LE-GRAND, EXAMINED BY
E. T. NEWTON, ESQ., F.R.S., F.G.S.
The bones of animals brought to my notice from the site of the Old Post
Office (built in 1825) were obtained from the many ancient waste pits, and were
accompanied by pottery, some of which was of Roman origin.
The majority of the bones were those of domestic animals, and chiefly
such as would have been used for food such as ox, sheep, pig ; and with these
was a much smaller number of bones of horse, goat, dog, cat, and fowl. The
only evidence of red-deer were two pieces of antlers, and there was one skull
of a roebuck. This scarcity of deer bones is remarkable.
Two forms, at least, of oxen are represented, the long-faced ox (Bos
longifrons), which is of common occurrence among Roman and pre-Roman
remains, and larger forms such as might represent oxen of the present day.
The sheep remains exhibit the same variation in size that is usually found
in such collections. For the most part the horns were small, but two skulls
have what we may regard as large horn cores. The most interesting pieces of
sheep are, perhaps, portions of two skulls with indications that each animal had
possessed four horns.
ARCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XXV
... HllKil..^:! .,
(Hhck kindly Ifut hy the Phoenix Assurance Company)
Fig. 2. King William Street site. Red
gla/cd vessel (p. 267). (f s )
Fig. i. General Post Office site. Fragments of pipe-clay
statuette and shrine, restored (p. 241). (i)
Fig. 3. King William Street site. Tcrra-cotta
fragment of stand I p. 267). ( J I
Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1915
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 263
The few bones of horses belonged some to large and some to smaller
animals.
The bones of dogs and cats were not numerous, the former indicating
animals of different kinds, as shown by the size of their limb-bones, but none
was so large as an ordinary retriever, and one little skull with a short nose is
evidently that of a small ' pug-dog'.
Only limb-bones of cats were identified, and these were all comparatively
small, and one extremely slender.
The only bones of birds were those of domestic fowls, which were for the
most part small ; and one arm-bone of a goshawk and another of a raven. The
former (which is somewhat deformed) may very well have been part of a bird
kept for sporting purposes, and the latter may have been kept in captivity.
The following is a list of all the forms which have been identified, arranged
roughly in the order of their abundance :
Ox (Bos longifrons and B. taunts). Red-deer (Cet~vus elaphus).
Sheep (Ovis aries). Roebuck (Caprcolus caprca).
Pig (Sus scrofa). Hare (Lcpits cnropaens).
Horse (Eqtius caballus). Fowl (Callus dotnesticus).
Dog (Cam's familiaris). Goshawk (Astur palnmbarius).
Cat (Felis domestictis). Raven (Conjus corax).
Goat (Capra Irircus). Fish ( ? Codfish).
Also a few; human bones.
Bones of oxen and sheep were by far the most abundant. Every pit in which
bones were found contained some of oxen ; and nearly every such pit contained
some of sheep.
Few, if any, of these animals give any definite information as to the age of
the deposit in which they were found. The Bos longifrons as a distinct species
is not likely to have been living here much after Roman times. The other oxen
may be of Roman age.
Ill EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF 36 KING WILLIAM STREET.
In April, 1914, while the excavations on the site of the General Post Office
were in progress, the buildings numbered 3 to 6 King William Street, between
Sherborne Lane and Abchurch Lane, were demolished, to make way for the new
offices of the Phoenix Assurance Company. During the following month the
floor of the old basement and the footings beneath it, which had been carried
to a depth of about 15 ft. below the pavement, were removed, and the ground
excavated to a depth of 23 ft. to 27 ft. for the foundations of the new structure.
264 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
It soon became clear that another series of Roman rubbish-pits was being-
disclosed. Immediately under the footings in several places black earth appeared,
similar to that found in St. Martin's-le-Grand, containing abundant fragments of
Roman pottery.
During the progress of the work the Phoenix Assurance Company and the
contractors allowed the writer every facility for watching the site. That part of
it at the corner of Sherborne Lane and King William Street is the property of
the Corporation, and all antiquities found in that angle came therefore by the
terms of the contract to the City Lands Committee, and thence to the Guildhall
Museum. The writer visited the site daily, partly in order to note the conditions
generally, partly to collect on behalf of the Corporation the finds belonging
to it. The finds on the rest of the site were carefully collected by Mr. Izant,
the surveyor of the Phoenix Assurance Company, and are in that Company's
possession.
Owing to many difficulties, exact observation was almost impossible. In
the first place, the complications below ground were considerable. The footings
descended to different depths at different parts of the site, resting, over a large
portion of the Corporation property, on a concrete bed, the deposition of
which in 1834 implied the removal of 6 ft. or so of the top of the pit. No less
than five wells of medieval and later date had been sunk at various points in the
area uncovered, and its western side was cut up by deep chalk walls, presumably
of medieval origin. Secondly, the writer could only spend on the site quite
a small proportion either of his own time or of the hours of day and night during
which the work was carried on. Some evidence, therefore, must have been
destroyed unnoticed. Finally, the methods which contractors are bound to use
arc not the methods of archaeologists. When objects have to be sorted out from
heaps of bricks, concrete, gravel, and humus, the noting of such details as the
level at which they occurred in the pit is out of the question.
It was possible, however, to obtain the approximate outline of the pits at
a depth of about 15 ft., and these are shown in fig. 23.
The largest of them extended along the line of Sherborne Lane, and its
limits on the northern side were not reached. The bottom of this pit was 23 ft.
below the street. Its length, more than 100 ft., would surprise even those who
remember that the Royal Exchange pit, opened by Sir William Tite, measured
50 ft. by 30 ft. It is certain, however, that the soil had been disturbed over the
whole of this area to the depth mentioned, for a section along its whole length
was open for several weeks, and showed made earth from the top, where the
footings ceased, to the bottom, where clean gravel formed the floor of the excava-
tion. On the other hand, antiquities were only found at its western end, under
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
265
the ' Clachan ' public-house, and at its eastern end, on the property of the Cor-
poration. Its central portion (with the exception of some pieces of ' Samian ' at
the bottom of a modern brick well) produced nothing but a few bones. It is
possible that the sinking of this well, and the laying down of the concrete bed to
the east of it, caused a disturbance between two smaller pits, which gave them
the appearance of one continuous pit. All the objects found at the bottom of
Srn/r r>f
t-
LJ
u
cc.
I-
Ifl
o
z
Fig. 23. Plan of pits, King William Street.
the eastern end (for instance the ' Samian' bowl shown in pi. XXVI, fig. 2) seemed
to belong to the third quarter of the first century. At the bottom of the pit under
the ' Clachan ', on the other hand, occurred two coins of Domitian and pottery
of the late first and early second century.
The uppermost layers that remained at the eastern end of this long pit
contained evidence, in the form of considerable quantities of burnt clay daub
and broken roofing-tiles, and some fragments of painted plaster, of a conflagration
Ll
VOL. I.XVI.
266 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
on or near the site, perhaps early in the second century. At the western end, this
evidence recurred throughout the depth of disturbed ground, thus suggesting
again a later date for the origin of this end of the pit.
The other pits showed no unusual feature. They descended to a depth of
20 ft. to 25 ft. below the pavement, and were filled with black earth of the same
appearance as in the pits of St. Martin's-le-Grand. The potsherds that were
certainly known to have been found in them seemed to belong entirely to the
first century. A few fragments of ' Samian ' from the factories of Lezoux came
to light, but these probably occurred among the footings at a higher level.
The coarse pottery agrees entirely, so far as the evidence which was
obtained from the site of the General Post Office (see figs. 14-16) goes, with the
first-century dating of these pits. Fragments were found of types i, 4, 9, 12, 15,
16, 19-22, and 38. These have all been assigned to the first century. The only
certain second-century evidence was a fragment of type 33 found with a little
Lezoux ' Samian ' at the western end of the long pit.
'SAMIAN' POTTERY (pi. XXVI and fig. 24).
PI. XXVI, fig. i. Plain vessels found at bottom of pit, north corner of site.
(i) Form 27, with stamp [?O]FABIT ; (2) form RitterKng (Hofheim) i, with stamp
OTMOM; (3) form 27, with stamp OPASE; (4) forms 24,25, with stamp SENICIO; (5) form
27, with stamp BASSI : on side is scratched AQ_VII ; (6) form Ritterling i, with
stamp NESTORFEC ; (7) forms 24, 25, stamp indecipherable ; (8) form 18, with stamp
OFPRIMI. All these vessels are slightly restored.
PI. XXVI, fig. 2. Form 29, with stamp PRIMI AA. Upper frieze : panels con-
taining alternately (<?) arrow-heads, as Brit. Mus. Cat., pi. xxxix, 8, and (d) an eagle
(Dech. 985 or 986) between two birds facing towards centre (D6ch. 1005 and 1033).
Each panel is repeated four times about the bowl. Lower frieze : above, a band
of the three rows of arrow-heads ; below, a scroll ornament, containing in the
upper spaces two leaves, as Brit. Mus. Cat., pi. xxxvi, 19, and in the lower spaces
a conventional cruciform flower, with small rosette in each angle. The vessels
in figs, i and 2 were found within a few feet of each other, associated with two
coins of Claudius. They are now in the Guildhall Museum.
PI. XXVI, fig. 3. Form 37, earliest type with double frieze. The friezes are
identical, and consist of a scroll ornament, containing in the upper spaces a heart-
shaped leaf and poppy-head, and in the lower spaces alternately (a) same leaf and
poppy-head and (b) arrow-heads. Above, egg and tassel ; between the friezes,
a wreath, and below them, a smaller wreath.
>
bC
c.
D.
>
a
V,
< 5-
-
H
S ^
UJ
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
267
PI. XX VI, fig. 4. Form 29, with stamp of Niger. Upper frieze: small panels,
containing alternately (a) seven or eight vertical beaded lines, and (b] three heads,
very crude and faintly impressed, to left. Each panel repeated eight times
about the bowl. Lower frieze : gadroons. Figs. 3 and 4 belong to the Phoenix
Assurance Company and were found almost under the pavement of King William
Street.
Fig. 24. Fragment of form 30, with stamp of Masclus. Parts of three
panels remain. The central broad panel, with tendril in each corner, contains,
above, an eagle (Dech. 985 or 986) over letters MS inverted. A semicircle, ending
in a leaf, separates this from rest of panel.
Five lines radiate from middle of lowest side.
In either lower corner, a hare (D^ch.946 and
954) and a bird. On either side of centre
panel, narrow panels, cruciform, with tendrils
inside spaces, arrow-heads top and bottom.
For other examples of form 30 of Masclus,
with signature in raised letters amongst de-
coration, see Brit. Mus. Cat., M 406 and M
444, and Knorr, Rottiveil, 1907, xiii, 2. Dated
by Knorr between A.D. 50 and 70 (Phoenix
Assurance Company).
Two other objects from this site are
illustrated in pi. XXV, figs. 2 and 3.
PI. XXV, fig. 2. Vessel of fine red
earth, with thin dull glaze. Two spouts, one funnel-shaped, the other bulbous.
Handle at top missing. Vertical and diagonal feather ornament on body.
Found at bottom of pit, extreme west corner of site. A similar vessel in the
Ransom Collection is illustrated in the Victoria County History of London, vol. i,
fig- 64, 5-
PI. XXV, fig. 3. Fragment of reddish-brown earthenware, apparently the
corner of a hollow square stand. If the complete object was symmetrical, it
would be about 5 inches square, with a circular hole in the top, and a foot at each
corner similar to that shown. Found, with pottery of the first century, among
the lowest strata at the northern corner of the site.
The following ' Samian ' potters' stamps were found in these pits :
Fig. 24. Fragment of 'Samian' form 30 with
stamp of Masclus, King William Street site (J).
[?O]FABIT
OFA<iVITA/l
OFBASSI
OF BASSI
on form 27
15*
18
2 4/25
OFBAS
BASSI
[OFBJILICAT
BIOFE
Ll2
on form 27
27
M 2 9
40?
268
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
CASSIVSF on
form
33
OFNICI on
form 27
[fig- 4)
CETI
n
27?
OFN|RI
a
29 (see pi.
XXVI,
COCIkkIM
33
OFNIGRI-/0
it
18
OFCRESTIO
18
[?0]MOBON-F
a
18
OFCRES
i'
24/25
PASSENI
It
18
OFCRES
a
27
PASSEN
II
18
?ELVN
it
2?
OPASE
It
27
CEkicio (? Felicio
)
18
OFPATRICI
It
18
?OFEKICIS
it
24/25
PATRICI
II
18
OFFEJC
it
27
PATRIC
II
27
CALLIM
18
ECVLIAVF
II
3i
[ijNCENVI
it
18
OFPOPTEI
tt
18
IVCVND
29
PRIAVLI
It
18
[iJVkklMI
18
OFPRIMI
If
15*
OFLABIONIS
29
OFPRIMI
II
18
LIBERTVS
a
24/25
OFPRM
II
27
LOG /
11
18
OFPRIM
It
27
OF MCCM
11
18
PRM-M
11
27
[fig. 2)
OF-MCCM
n
Ritterling i 2
PRIMIM
It
29 (see pi.
XXVI,
MRINVS-FE
11
29
REGENVl
It
18
MS
n
30 (sec fig. 24)
[R]OPPVS-FEC
II
18
OF-AAT-VCE
n
18
OFRVFIN
11
29
[MEjRCATOR
n
33
RVFINI
II
33
OFMOD
n
15*
OFRVFI
II
27
OFMODES+
it
18
RVTAEN
It
27
OFMOD
11
27
OSABINI
II
27
OTMOM
1 1
Ritterling i
BINVS (?Sabinus)
tt
29
OFMV?R
it
15*
SENICIO
It
24/25
OFMV?RA
it
27
SENICIO
II
27
OFMVRRA
11
29
OFSEVERI
II
18
OFMVRRA
II
29
SEXIVLIVCVNOI
It
18
OFM
1 I
27
[S]IIVAN
II
? 24/25
NESTORFEC
II
Ritterling i
VASSIL
II
Ritterling
8
NICEPHORF
II
27
IRTWSF (Virtus)
II
15
OFNICRI
II
15*
Of the above, Cassius may be a Heiligenberg potter of early second century
date (Wroxetey Report, 1913, p. 33) ; CETI may represent Cettus of Lezoux (Dech.
i, p. 162) ; Cocillus, and perhaps Gallus, Masclus and Niger, worked at Banassac
(Dech. i, p. 1 18) ; Mercator, or another of the same name, worked at La Graufe-
1 See somewhat similar stamps (and notes) pp. 239 and 257 above.
* Numbers of shapes attached to the name of Ritterling refer to his classification of forms at
Hofheim (Nass. Ann., xl, pi. xxxi). Other numbers are, of course, those of Dragendorff.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON 269
senque, Heiligenberg, and Lezoux (IVroxeter Report, 1912, p. 44); Peculiaris
was a potter of the Hadrian-Antonine period (ibid., p. 57); the locality of Regenus,
Sex. Jul. Jucundus, and Vassilus and ? OMOBONF does not seem to be known. All
the rest may be assigned to the potteries of La Graufesenque. It will be seen,
therefore, that of these potters almost all belong certainly to the first century.
One only, Peculiaris, belongs definitely to the second.
The writer cannot close this section of his paper without expressing his great
indebtedness to Sir Gerald H. Ryan and Mr. Frederick Izant, respectively
General Manager and Surveyor of the Phoenix Assurance Company, for the
facilities they gave him for watching the excavation and examining all the objects
found.
IV. THE GROWTH OF LONDINIUM.
The location of the earliest Roman settlement at London has long exercised
the ingenuity of archaeologists. Its ultimate extent, bounded by the Wall and
bisected by the Walbrook, is of course well known. This, however, covers an
area of more than three hundred acres. Londinium must have begun on a much
smaller scale at some point within these boundaries. Many attempts have been
made, from the time of Stukeley onwards, to determine this earliest site. 1 Some
have placed it on the eastern bank of the Walbrook, in the angle between the
Thames and its tributary, and have given it a definite and (in one instance) 2
a fantastic outline. By others it has been placed to the west of the Walbrook,
on the hill where now stands St. Paul's.
The chief defect of these theories is that they have been founded in most
cases on no better evidence than the imagination of their authors. The first to
base a conclusion on ascertained facts was Mr. Reginald A. Smith, who pointed
out :) that the almost entire absence of burials within a space bounded approxi-
mately by Cornhill, Mark Lane, and the Walbrook, indicated probably the
primitive site of London.
Such was the result of the examination of the negative evidence supplied
by Roman burials. The discoveries reported in the last two sections of the
present paper, where some of the earliest Roman objects found in London are
seen to have come from such comparatively distant sites as King William Street
and St. Martin's-le-Grand, suggest that positive results might be obtained, indi-
1 See Mr. F. W. Reader's summary of such attempts in the Arch. Journal, Ix, pp. 213-21.
* By Loftie in his History of London.
3 In the V. C. H. London, i, pp. 1-41.
270 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
eating not only the original site of London, but its extent at various periods before
the ultimate line of the Wall was reached. It seems possible that, by marking
on a series of maps the spots where objects of certain dates have been found,
we may estimate roughly the size of London at each of those dates.
Two classes of objects may be used for this purpose. Coins are in some
cases exactly datable, in all cases limited in date to a few years. We know
enough now about ' Samian ' pottery to make this also of great value. The
diagrams that follow are based on the coins noted in the Victoria County History
of London (together with a few in the Guildhall and London Museums) and on
the 'Samian' vessels and fragments in the British, Guildhall, and London
Museums. The approximate site of each item is marked by a small cross. Spots
from which a number of specimens of the same class are recorded are indicated
by a quadruple cross.
There are certain obvious and serious limitations to the use of this statistical
method, (i) The objects may have been long in use before they were lost or broken
or thrown away. The date at which an object was made only serves to limit in one
direction of time the date of the occupation of its site. This applies particularly
to coins, which were often long in circulation. (2) Only a small proportion of
the coins and pottery fragments found in London have been exactly recorded.
It is possible that this imperfect record may in some cases be misleading. In
the case of two areas equally densely inhabited, an abundance of objects may
have been noted from one area, none by accident from the other. (3) Even when
a street is named, no indication is in most cases given of the part of that street
in which an object may have been found. This makes the evidence from such
streets as Thames Street or Fenchurch Street almost useless. (4) The circum-
stances of the finds are very rarely recorded. They may have been parts of
burial-groups. They may have come from rubbish-pits. In both cases their
presence on a site would indicate absence of occupation, and would suggest that
the spot was at their period outside the inhabited area.
In view of all these reservations, the results that follow must be taken as
approximate and suggestive, rather than conclusive or exact.
Fig. 25 shows the spots on which coins of Claudius and his predecessors
have been found. Allowing about twenty years for the circulation of the coins,
this should suggest the limits of London about A.D. 70. The recorded coins are
very few, but most of them are situated east of the Walbrook, their limit in this
direction being the line of London Bridge. So far as any conclusions can be
drawn from such scanty evidence, this plan seems to confirm what the early
pottery from King William Street and the General Post Office suggested. The
first settlement appears to have been in the eastern angle of the Walbrook and
272 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
the Thames, but already at an early date there was some occupation of the hill
of St. Paul's. Even though all these coins come from rubbish-pits, it is hardly
likely that rubbish would be carried across the Walbrook and uphill to be shot
on the top of the St. Paul's hill. The finds in this neighbourhood probably indicate
a small settlement west of the Walbrook.
The line of the Wall is indicated on this, as on the subsequent diagrams.
Of course it was not in existence at this earliest date, and perhaps not even at
the latest of the periods dealt with in the following diagrams. It is only
inserted to show the relative positions of the finds. For the sake of simplicity
the position of no modern road or building has been included. If it be remem-
bered that the eastern limit of Londinium is represented by the Tower, the
northern by Finsbury Circus, and the western by Ludgate Hill, and that Cannon
Street Station stands partly across the mouth of the Walbrook, no difficulty will
be found in estimating the areas suggested by each diagram. It should also be
remembered that the General Post Office stood below the western re-entrant
angle of the Wall, and that the King William Street pits were situated just south
of the centre of the map, on the eastern bank of theWalbrook.
Fig. 26 shows the spots on which have been found fragments of the
' Samian ' form 29, which went out of use between A.D. 80 and 90. This should
therefore indicate the extent of Londinium about A. D. 100. With the exception of
a couple of records on Tower Hill and one in the Minories, the outline of the
thickly inhabited eastern area is fairly definitely bounded by St. Mary-at-Hill
and Lime Street. The western half is still thinly inhabited.
The ' find-spots ' of form 37 of La Graufesenque manufacture are mapped
on fig. 27. This form ended with the disuse of these factories about A.D. 100.
The plan should therefore give us the size of London early in the second century.
These sites appear to reach almost to the line of the Wall on most sides. They
are, however, somewhat scattered, and should be confirmed by fig. 28, on which
are noted the sites of finds of stamps on the plain wares of La Graufesenque.
These of course ended with the disuse of the factories, at the same date as the
evidence for fig. 27. It will be seen that the extension is not so wide as fig. 27
would suggest. It is in fact not much wider., except for some growth suggested
eastward to the line of Mark Lane, and westwards, north of Cheapside, than
appears in fig. 26.
An attempt was made, with the collaboration of Mr. Donald Atkinson
(to whose expert knowledge of 'Samian' and to whose freely given advice, in
this section as before, the writer is greatly indebted), to map separately the pre-
Flavian and Flavian potters of La Graufesenque. Unfortunately the areas
covered and the relative distribution of the finds seemed the same in each case.
RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
273
Perhaps the records in either case are for some reason misleading. May one
even dare to suggest that the German evidence for the dating of some of the
exclusively pre-Flavian potters is not so definite as it appears ?
In a recent paper : the present writer claimed that the distribution of La
Graufesenque pottery proved Londinium to have reached its ultimate limits by
the end of the first century A.D. This argument was based on an imperfect
acquaintance with the facts, and is seen in the last three diagrams of this series
to be unsound. It may be true of the northern and western limits, but it is
certainly not true, so far as our evidence goes, of the eastern. There is indeed
Fig. 29. Distribution of form 37, Lezoux.
a large space within the Wall between Aldgate and Bishopsgate which none of
the evidence at our disposal seems to fill.
Fig. 29 shows the distribution of the decorated pottery of Lezoux, and
should indicate the extent of Londinium in the third century, when that factory
was destroyed. A very considerable expansion has taken place westwards, and
every corner of Londinium seems now inhabited except that space, noted in the
last paragraph, in the north-east quarter of the town.
Here again conclusions must not be too hastily drawn. The north-eastern
(and to some extent the north-western) part of the area of Londinium is a back-
water of present City life, and is largely occupied by warehouses. It is perfectly
1 Jour. Brit. Arch. Assoc., n. s., xx, 307. See also Archaeologia, Ixiii, p. 338.
VOL. LXVI. M m
274 RECENT ROMAN DISCOVERIES IN LONDON
possible that excavations in this district may have passed unnoticed, and no finds
in it therefore recorded.
This is the last period for which useful data can be obtained. 'Samian ' ceases
in the middle of the third century, and even if we knew enough to make coarse
pottery of value, its fragments have never been preserved with the care that has
been given to the more decorative and attractive ' Samian '. An attempt was
made to map the later coins, but recorded specimens are so few that their
evidence is valueless.
If ever we are to learn by this method at what date Londinium reached its
final limits, and when the wall may have been built round it, we must wait for
much more evidence and more exact evidence than we have at present.
VIII. The Last Testament and Inventory of John de Veer, thirteenth Earl of
Oxford? By Sir WILLIAM H. ST. JOHN HOPE, Knt., Litt.D., D.C.L.
Read 6th May, 1915.
THE last testament and inventory of John de Veer, 2 the thirteenth earl of
Oxford, are documents of their class of more than usual interest and importance ;
firstly, by reason of the nature of their contents ; and secondly, because the testator
was a man of great wealth and high social standing. He was consequently the
possessor of many beautiful and valuable things ; and though, alas, not one of
them is now known to exist, their appearances and characteristics are vividly
brought before us in the descriptions set down in the inventory of the earl's
effects.
John de Veer was the second but eldest surviving son of John the twelfth
earl of Oxford, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Howard, and suojure
baroness Plaiz. He is believed to have been born in 1443, and on the beheading
in February 1461-2 of his father and his elder brother Aubrey, on account of
their strong Lancastrian sympathies, John de Veer became heir to the earldom
of Oxford and to the hereditary office of great chamberlain : the earldom was
not, however, restored to him until 1464.
There is no need here to refer at length to the well-known efforts of the new
earl in the Lancastrian cause ; to his escape to France after the disastrous battle
of Barnet in 1471 ; to his return, capture, and imprisonment at Hammes; or to
the temporary loss of his honour, dignities, and estates by attainder. All these
troubles came to an end with his escape from Hammes and return to England
1 The documents that form the subject of this paper were first brought to my notice through the
many extracts from them printed by the Rev. Severnc A. Ashhurst Majendie in an interesting little
book, entitled Some Account of the Family of De I'ere, the Earls of Oxford, and of Hedingkatn Castle
in Essex, published by him in 1904. These extracts were made from a manuscript volume of
transcripts of documents relating to the Veers collected by the late Mr. Lewis Majendie which has
been most kindly lent me by his daughter-in-law Mrs. James Majendie, and from it the texts of both
testament and inventory, with her permission, have been set up in type and subsequently collated
by myself with the originals. I should like to take this opportunity of thanking not only Mrs. Majendie,
but the Rev. Severne Majendie for his kind help in many ways.
* The Earl calls himself and his forbear Aubrey 'de Veer', but his brother, uncle, and other
kinsmen named in the will are called simply 'Veer'.
M m 2
276 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
in 1485 with Henry of Richmond, on whose side he fought on Bosworth Field
as captain-general of his army.
On Henry's accession as king of England, John cle Veer, who acted as
high steward at the coronation, had all his titles and honours restored to him.
In November 1485 he once more became the thirteenth earl of Oxford of his
line, viscount Bulbeck, lord de Scales, and hereditary great chamberlain. A
few weeks later he was made a privy councillor, constable of Rising Castle
and of the Tower of London, high steward of the Duchy of Lancaster for south
of the Trent, steward of the Forests of Essex, and admiral of England, Ireland,
and Aquitaine. He had been created a Knight of the Bath so far back as the
coronation of Queen Elizabeth Wydvile in 1465, and was elected a Knight of
the Garter in April 1486.
John de Veer was twice married: first, about 1465, to Margaret daughter
and heir of Richard Nevill earl of Salisbury, who died in or about 1489, and
was buried at Colne Priory. His second wife (after 1507), who survived him, was
Elizabeth daughter and co-heir of Sir Richard Scrope, and widow of William
viscount Beaumont. By neither wife did Earl John leave any issue.
The earl died in his seventieth year, at his castle of Hedingham in Essex,
on loth March, 1512-13, and was buried some ten miles away, with great solemnity
and state, on the following 24th April, in the priory church of Colne, also in Essex,
of which foundation he was patron.
The testament of John de Veer is dated loth April, 1509, soon after his second
marriage, and was proved and enrolled, together with his will, in the Prerogative
Court of Canterbury on loth May, 1513, just two months after his death. 1
The inventory of all and singular his goods, debts, chattels, and sums of
money, made by Thomas Mercer, apparitor-general of William archbishop of
Canterbury, on 2oth May, 1513, ten days after the probate of his testament and
will, for some occult reason is now in the Public Record Office. 2
Although both documents are written in English, the bequests under the
testament are not always described in the same words as in the inventory, and
sometimes it is difficult to identify them. Some of the ornaments described
in the testament cannot be found in the inventory at all. There are also cases
where one document completes or supplements the description in the other:
some noteworthy instances will be noticed in their place.
The opening sentences of the testament are full of wisdom :
I John dc Veer Eric of Oxinford, beyng in goode hclthe and perfeyt mynde, not
grevid, vexed, troubled, nor diseasid with any bodily syknes, knowyng and considering
1 1 1 Fettiplace. * Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. iv, ff. 70-103.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 277
well thuncertcyntie and unstables of this vvretchid lyfe; And that there is nothing so
ccrteyne to any creature in this world lyving as is the departure from the same ; And
natheless nothing soo uncertayne as the tyme and howre therof, Ordeyne and make this
my present Testament .... in maner and forme ensuyng.
The earl continues :
First I geve and bequethe my soule to thinfynitie mercy of Almighty Code Maker
and Redemer therof /to the moost blessid and glorious Virgyn oure lady seynt Mary,
seynt John baptist, seynt John thevaungelist, seynt Antony, seynt George, and to
all the holy company of heven ; And my body to be buried tofore the highe aulter of our
Lady Chapell in the Priory of Colne in the Countie of Essex in a tombe whiche I have
made and ordeyned for me and Margaret my late wif where she nowe lieth buried. My
body thider to be brought according to my degre.
After renouncing and revoking all other former testaments, and giving
directions for the proving and payment of his debts, and the recompense and
restitution of any wrongs done, the earl proceeds to dispose of his worldly goods.
He begins by bequeathing a jewel of gold to the image of Our Lady of
Walsingham, and his whole best suit of vestments of cloth of gold to the
monastery of Bury ' in the honour of the holy and blissed Kyng maiden and
martyr seynt Edmond '. The jewel for Our Lady of Walsingham is shortly
described as ' myn egle of gold displaied and garnysshid ', but the inventory
tells us that it was ' a splayde Egle of gold w* an angell face w rt vj dyamoundes
and xj perles w* iiij rubies' valued at ^30. The Bury bequest likewise is
more fully described in the inventory as ' a vestyment of blue cloth of gold
of tyssewe w l thorfreys on the foresyde w* my lordes armes and the Howardes
wrought in the stole of crymsyn colo r the Bakeside of crymsyn cloth of gold of
tyssewe w* ij Dalmatykkes of the same w 1 thorfreys of crymsyn clothe of gold
of tyssewe '. The value is set down at 20.
Next follow directions for the saying or singing of masses of requiem for
the testator's soul at various religious houses, and especially within the priory
of Colne, wherein he was to be buried.
To the intent that Divine Service hereafter shall be the more reverently
ministered in the aforesaid priory the earl also leaves to the prior and convent
a handsome bequest out of the ornaments and jewels pertaining to his chapel.
These include
a whole suit of vestments of black velvet powdered with garters, flowers, and molets,
with orfreys of red velvet ; with three copes of black satin and another of black
velvet purled ;
two altar-cloths (i.e. a front and a nether front) of white damask embroidered 'and myn
armes in diverse partcs of the same ' with a frontlet of the same, described as
278 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
'wrought in the stole paly 1 with many Werkes And a pece of rede clothe of
golde of Tissue at every end therof ' ;
a cope of white cloth of baudekyn with orfreys of blue cloth of gold ; two copes of
crimson velvet powdered with 'ffire yrongs' 2 and orfreys powdered with angels
and molets;
two copes of crimson cloth of gold 'with a monk on the hede' ;
his second portos 3 ' in the whiche the grauntt of thoffice of the Great Chamberleynship
of England made in tyme passid unto Awbry de Veer Erie of Oxinford nryn
auncester is written in thende ' ;
two great candlesticks of silver parcel gilt chased ;
a censer of silver with leopards' faces ;
a book called a Cowcher; 4
a cross without St. Mary and St. John of silver enamelled on both sides with the
Evangelists ; 6
a paxbrcde of silver and gilt ' w f an aungell in the myddes under a glass holding a
vernacle ', described in the inventory as of ' the olde fasshion ' ;
a chalice written about the bowl : laudemns et superexaltcmus eum in seen/a;*
a monstrance of beryl (or crystal) for relics ' the fote and the coveryng thereof silver
and gilt w* seynt Anne havyng our lady in hir armys ' ;
another but lower monstrance with a beryl in the top of the covering and St. Margaret
in the bottom ; and
an angel silver and gilt bearing relics.
The carl also left ' unto thapparellyng of the Chapell of oure lady in the said
Priory of Colne where my tombe and the tombes of myn Auncestres and frendes
tofore rehersid be nowe and herafter shalbe made, of the ornaments and parcells
now used belonging to my Chapell in my clossett':
a chalice of silver and gilt, with the Trinity in the paten, and in the foot of the chalice
the Crucifix with St. Mary and St. John 'and this scripture following aboute the
boll Caiiccm salntaris accipiam ' ;
two small candlesticks of silver with gilt borders;
two small basons of silver and well gilt embossed with a scripture about the borders ;
a paxbrede of silver gilt and enamelled ' with a crucifixe Mary and John sett theryn ' ;
two cruets of silver with gilt borders with molets graven on the lids ;
1 That is, with vertical stripes. 2 Described in the inventory as ' Iron to stryke fire '.
'> \portiforintn, porthos, or breviary; a book containing the services for the Hours in a form
which the priest could carry abroad.
4 A cowcher seems to have been the name for any service book, such as a mass-book or antiphoner,
which had to lie upon a desk on account of its large size.
' a Described in the inventory as 'A greate Crosse ennamyled on bothe sydes w' the iiij Evaun-
gelistes poz all w* the tymber and the pyn of Iron Ixiij oz. wherof the silver wayeth by estimacion
xlij oz.', and valued at ~j.
6 In the inventory a paten is included, and both are entered as of silver all gilt.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 279
a mass-book with these words in the beginning of the second leaf, post as/>e rsionem aque
dicat sacerdos ; '
two altar cloths of white sarcenet 2 sett with flowers, garters, and molets, with 'a pane
in the uppare clothe of Chekred sateyn figury w* a Crucifix Mary and John sett
theruppon and on the nether clothe an Image of Our Lady ' ;
a ' payre of vestmentes ' :1 of white cloth of gold of tissue ; another of crimson satin with
orfreys of blue velvet; and a third of crimson cloth of bavvdekyn with an orfrey of
needle work and on the back of the orfrey a pelican and an image of Our Lady ;
also two frontlets of divers sorts, four corporases and their cases, four altar cloths of
linen ' to lay upon thaulters ', and two altar cloths (i. e. an upper and a nether front)
of black cloth of gold.
None of these ornaments, save the two silver-gilt basons, seems to be
included in the inventory.
To the high altar of Colne priory church were also left two altar-cloths of
russet sarcenet powdered with garters and molets, with a pane in the middle
of crimson cloth of bawdekyn, and
' my crosse w l the fote silver and gilte / the whiche is accustomed to stande upon the
aulter in my closset '.
From the correspondence of the weights, 69 ounces, this cross seems to be
identical with that described in the inventory as 'a crosse silver and gilt w 1
Mary & John w* xiij counterfet stonys 4 and xvj perles', valued at ^12 and
1 8 pence.
The earl further left to the prior and convent of Colne, to the intent they
should the more heartily and devoutly pray for him, a standing cup silver and
gilt with a flower in the bottom, ' whiche is my daiely cupe ', weighing 20! ounces ;
a great standing salt six-square silver and gilt, with a cover pounced with vines,
weighing 39 ounces ; and
' I woll that they have the basson and ewre silver and parcelles gilt that is accustomed
XX
to be caried w* me weying iiij viij unces '.
The earl directs that ' theis goodes formerly by me to the said Prior and
Convent yeven' are to be delivered to them by a tripartite indenture, of which
one part is to remain with them, a second part with his executors, and the third
1 This is the rubric towards the end of the Benedict salts ct aquae which was done before the
Sunday procession that preceded high mass.
2 Sarcenet was a silk stuff first made by the Saracens, probably in Spain.
8 A 'pair of vestments' (a term used in the testament only) probably means an albe and an amice
with their apparels, a girdle, stole, and fanon, as well as the chasuble or vestment itself.
* Counterfeit stones made of coloured paste seem to have been used very largely, even for the
ornamentation of quite precious objects or pieces of plate. Cf. the description of the jewelled ouches
and other portions of the mitre of William of Wykeham, Archaeologia, Ix, 473, 474.
280 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
' to be delivered by myn Executours unto myn heire at his full age '. Also that
upon delivery of the said stuff, jewels, and plate, the prior for the time being,
and every future prior upon his installation, shall make solemn oath not to
embezzle, sell, nor put away any of them, ' but the same alwayes to remayne and
contynue in the saide house to thuse above expressid '.
Of the three vessels above named, the standing salt only can positively be
identified in the inventory, and the only possible cup seems to be one weighing
21 ounces, described as 'a gilt Cupp of silver playn w* a cover lakking
thennamyling in the bottom '.
Lastly, the earl bequeathed 20 towards the building of the belfry of Colne
priory church.
The next few bequests are of some interest :
to St. John's priory at Colchester, two copes of crimson cloth of gold of Lucca;
to the cathedral church of St. John of Amyas (Amiens) in Picardy ' the best image of
Our Lady 'being in my clossett', and an image of St. John Baptist of silver and
gilt, weighing together 150 ounces. These are described at greater length in the
inventory as : ' Item a nother Image of o r Lady of silver and all well gilt 'w* her
childc in her armcs / a crowne on her hed, a septer in hir hande poiz C viii oz.', and
' Item an Image of saint John Baptist standing upon a base silver and the camell
skynne all gilt and his mantell white poz xliii oz.';
to Woburn Abbey ' whereof I am Founder ' the Earl leaves ' myn Image oi seynt Andrew
silver and gilt accustomed to stande in my Chapell ' ;
to the Black Friars of Cambridge ' myn Image of seynt Peter silver and gilt accustomed
to stande in my said Chapell ' ;
to the priory of Hath" eld Broadoak, ' myne Image of seynt James silver and gilt accus-
tomed to stande in my forsaid Chapell ' ; and
to the nunnery of Brusyard in Suffolk, 20 marks 'towardes the amendement & re-
paracions of the saidc house '.
The earl further leaves directions for ' a Reward of the stuff of my Chapel
by the discrecion of myn Executours ' to every house of religion being of the
foundation of his ancestors, and to the parish church of every place where he
had manors, lands, or tenements, on condition of prayers being said for him and
his wife and others.
The personal bequests come next, beginning with one 'unto myn olde
frende S r Thomas Lovell Knyght ' of a salt of silver and gilt with a pearl in the
top, weighing 25 ounces. 2
1 The cathedral church of Amiens still possesses as a most precious relic the front part of a human
skull, brought thither from the East in 1206, and reputed to be part of the head of St. John Baptist.
See Archaeologia, Hi, 672, for a fuller account and description of the relic.
* This does not seem to be noted in the inventory.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 281
Then follows a substantial bequest of chapel stuff, plate, clothes, and house-
hold stuff 'unto my moost loving wif.
The chapel stuff left to Lady Oxford would have made many a parish church
rich. It included two altar-cloths of blue cloth of gold lined with blue buckram, 1
with a whole suit of vestments of the same stuff, and three copes to match, all
with orfreys of crimson velvet ; three other rich vestments, and another set of
altar-cloths, with six altar-cloths ' of lynnen hallowed to lay upon aulters ', and
a pair of curtains, probably ridels, of red sarcenet. Also
a cross with a plain foot garnished with seven stones ' w* a vice to open and to putt in a
pece of the holy crosse ' ; 2
a pair of candlesticks of silver-gilt with the shanks pounced ;
a censer of silver and parcel gilt with leopards' faces ;
a great chalice 'with a patible Mary and John in the fote' and written about the bowl
hie est eriim Calix novi testamenti ;
another chalice parcel gilt 'with Ihs made in a knot in the paten ';
a holy water stock oi silver with a sprinkle 'which is accustomed to hang in my closet ' ;
two images of silver and gilt 'thoon of o r Lady and thoder of Seynt John Evaungelist
that be accustomed to stande upon the highe aulter ' weighing together six score and
eighteen ounces ;
two salts of silver and gilt with a cover ' daiely accustomed at my borde ' ;
his best two cruets ' with spowttes like dragons ' 3 silver and gilt ; also
his second antiphoner, two grayles (one of the best, another of the worst), three pro-
cessioners, and a legend complete. 4
The bequest of household plate to Lady Oxford included
a spice plate standing gilt and without a cover ;
a standing cup without a cover silver and gilt with cheverons and the testator's arms
in the bottom ;
another standing cup gilt and enamelled with blue 'Trulovys' in the bottom ;
a standing cup gilt with a broken flower in the bottom enamelled with blue ;
two pottle pots 5 gilt and chased ;
two plain white pots of silver with molets on the covers ;
six bowls, with a cover parcel gilt ' w f myne armys in the botome ' ;
a salt ' of berall stonding w f an ymage of a Morion under the berall bering up the salt
with a covere silver and gilt ' ;
1 Buckram or bokeram was a kind of coarse linen cloth.
2 The inventory describes this as 'a crosse w* a foote silver and gilt w' a vice in the bothom and
Images enamilid in the tabernacles under the sokett*.
3 In the inventory these spouts are described as ' ravonbilles '.
4 An antiphoner was a book of anthems used in the hour-services ; the grayle or graduate contained
the musical portions of the altar service; the processioner or processionale contained the procession
services ; and the legenda or legend the long lessons read at mattins.
8 Pottle pots were probably vessels capable of holding a pottle or liquid measure of half a gallon.
VOL. LXVI. N n
282 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
a plain standing salt without a cover with gilt swages ;
also another like salt ;
a pair of basons covered and gilt, ' with a Scotchion of myn armys and my late wifes
armys departid in the botom of the same ' ;
two basons of silver chased and each other chase gilt ' w 1 baynes ' ;
two ewers with broad bottoms ;
two plain candlesticks of silver parcel gilt ' w* brochis for waxe ' ; l
a great candlestick with ' a nose and broche ' parcel gilt ;
six gilt spoons with round knops upon the ends; and
twelve spoons not gilt.
The most noteworthy of the objects left to Lady Oxford is probably the
crystal salt with the figure of a 'morion' or blackamoor, which must have
resembled the famous ' Huntsman' salt at All Souls College, Oxford.
The next bequest to Lady Oxford reads strangely in these days of married
women's rights, but in the sixteenth century a wife was evidently a man's chattel,
and her goods not her own :
Item I gevc and bequeath to my said wit w*out dymynucion or restraint all maner
appareill to her persone, as well clothe as sylkes, and almanner of cheynes, rynges,
girdelles, devices, bedes, brooches, owchis, precious stones, and all other thinges
beyng parcell of hir appareill whatsoever they be.
The apparel and stuff of his household and chambers bequeathed by the
carl to his lady contains many interesting 'parcells', as he calls them:
a 'colour ',- a tester, and a counterpoint of cloth of bawdekyn crimson and green with
lions of gold with three curtains and a traverse of sarcenet and a counterpoint of
green tapestry with an angel in the midst ;
' the hangyng of grene tapestrie of my devices which serveth for the hall ', with a
cupboard cloth, a tapet under the window, and a carpet ;
a sparver - of green cloth of gold of bawdekyn, with curtains of green ' tartron ', and a
counterpoint of green verdure ; 3
a carpet and a cupboard cloth ' accustumed to be in my lodging chamber at Hedingham ',
with the green hanging of tapestry 'of my devices' from the same chamber;
two pieces of red say and a traverse of silk, 'accustumed to be in the gentillwomenys
chamber at Hedingham ' ;
five pieces of red say and a carpet ' perteynyng to my said wife's closset there ' ;
a celer and a tester of baudekyn with birds of gold and three curtains of green ;
1 A broche here was probably a spike or pricket to set a candle on.
2 A sperver or sparver was a complete set of hangings for a four-poster bed, and included the
tester or head part, the celour, celer, or seler overhead, the side and foot curtains, the valance, and
sometimes the counterpoint or quilt as well. A bed often had only a tester and a celer, with or without
side curtains. A trussing-bed was a portable one used in travelling.
3 Verdure was perhaps a kind of baize ; it was made at Bocking and elsewhere in Essex.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 283
the counterpoint and all the tapet with the history of Grissell, a cupboard cloth and a
carpet ' usid to lye in my chamber callid the Kynges chamber at Hedingham ',
with all mattresses and pallets 'for to lye under beddes lying in any of the said
chambres there ' ;
a celer, a tester, and a counterpoint of white and red verdure paly, with tapets of the
same for all the chambers ;
a great carpet to lie under a board and a carpet for a cupboard cloth ;
a sparver of blue cloth of gold of bawdekyn ' w* iij curteyns white and blew tartron '.
Likewise ' besides all the premisses ', three pair of fine sheets and ten pairs
of coarse sheets, twelve pairs of sheets for servants, three pairs of fustians, 1 eight
pairs of blankets, eight coverlets, twelve feather beds with the ' transoms ', and
twelve pillows.
Also of the kitchen stuff, besides the premises, a new garnish of pewter
vessel 2 and three garnish of household pewter vessels 'over and besides her own'.
Also a brass pot called a standard, another brass pot of 5 gallons, another of
3* gallons, two posnets, four pans, two square broches/' and two round, and two
broches for birds, two iron racks, a gridiron, and a cauldron.
The next bequest is rather a pathetic one in view of the fact that the earl
died childless. It begins :
I woll that if I have yssue male of my body laufully begotten that than my same
yssue male shalhave the goodes and Juelles hereaftir ensuyng viz. :
First myn Image of the Trinitie silver and gilt and my crosse of gold wheryn lyeth ij
peces of the holy crosse w f the garnyshing of the same ;
Item my bedde of Roottes which I hade by reason of myn Office of the great
Chamberleynship of England at the Kynges Coronacion ;
Also my hanging of Tulius ;
Item a celour and a testour of Riche Arrais w* a torney therin which I had at the
Coronacion of the Quene / that dede is / by reason of my said Office ;
Item a celour a testour and a counterpoynt of crymsen saten w 1 my helmet and device/
and a hanging for the great chamber at Hedingham of tapestry paly crymsen and
tawny ;
Item a celour a testour and a counterpoynt of crymsen saten of Bridges [Bruges] em
broidered w* blew borys molettes and a pare ;
Item a celour a testour and a counterpoynt of crymsen damaske embrawdred w* flowres
borys and crankettes / and ij Women fedyng a popyngay in a cadge : the celour
and a testour lyned with canvas and the counterpoynt lyned with bokeram ;
Item ij. stonding pottes silver and gilt chacid w* myn armys and the Howardes armes
in the toppis ;
1 Fustians were sheets made of coarse linen.
2 A garnish of pewter was a set of vessels of that metal for table use, and included twelve platters,
twelve dishes, and as many saucers. ' The broches here were spits.
N n 2
284 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Item a payre of covered bassons gilt accustomed to be in my chapell ;
Item ij aultercloth.es of white made and wrought by my lady my moder w 1 a frontlett
of the same wrought w* myn armys ;
Item a sute of vestmentes of white for preest Deacan and Subdeacon ;
Item iij copes of the same colour ;
Item ij censours of silver w* the Caligreyhoundes waying vj xiij unces and j quarter;
Item my best crosse silver and gilt weying Clxiiij unces;
Item my beste garnyshe of silver vessell marked with Brikettes w* iiij chargeours all
1 XX
weying M CCC iiij unces ; myn almes dishe with Swages gilt weying Cxlvij unces
j quarter; My cupe of gold w 1 splaide eagles and a balace in the tope weying
xlij unces j quarter; And my greatest Candilstickes weying Cxxxj unces and
j quarter.
A collation of this list with the corresponding items and their descriptions
in the inventory reveals a number of interesting facts.
The ' greatest candlesticks ' had gilt swages, and the arms of Veer and
Howard in the foot of each. The gold cup with splayed eagles is more fully
described as ' a cup of gold with a cover pounsed with eagles with angels' faces
and molets with a balas in the top'. The garnish of silver vessels is stated to be
marked ' with brikettes ', which raises an interesting question as to their prove-
nance. Among the bequests to Colne priory were two copes of crimson velvet
powdered with ' ffire yrongs ', but in the inventory the powdering device is called
' iron to strykc fire ', and now we come to plate marked with the same instru-
ment under the name of brikettes. This is apparently the well-known badge of
the dukes of Burgundy, and since it is not known that the earl of Oxford
was a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, it is possible that this plate
was of Burgundian make.
But to continue our collation.
The best cross is described in the inventory as of silver and gilt with
a fleur-de-lis at every end, and standing upon a base with twelve pinnacles.
The pair of covered basons gilt accustomed to be in the earl's chapel agree in
weight with ' a pair of gilt basons silver all gilt with my Lord's arms & my old
Lady's set in the bottom chased about with a double rose '. The old lady here
referred to seems to be the earl's first wife. The two standing pots are minutely
described in the inventory as ' two great standing pots silver all gilt chased, one
chase plain, another pounsed, and in the top of the lids my Lord's arms and the
Howards' arms quartered, and an angel with wings behind the lids'. What fine
things they must have been ! The vestments which are so shortly described in
the testament seem to be identical with a suit valued at 20 of white bawdekyn
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 285
with crimson velvet orfreys. The altar-cloths ' wrought by my lady my moder '
appear in the inventory as ' two altar cloths, one of white sarcenet, and another
of white damask, embroidered and wrought by needle work with my Lord's
arms, and a frontlet of the same '.
The five sets of bed-hangings bequeathed under the testament call for some
notice. First comes the ' bedde of Roottes ' which the earl says he had by reason
of his office of great chamberlain at King Henry's coronation. This hereditary
office was granted to Aubrey de Veer under King Henry I, and, as we have
seen, a copy of the grant was written in the end of a portos bequeathed to Colne
priory. It was anciently the great chamberlain's chief duty to dress the king
on the morning of his coronation, and for this and other services he received
forty yards of crimson velvet, the king's bed, bedding, apparel, and all the furni-
ture of the room in which he slept the night before his coronation ; he seems
also to have had as his perquisite the pair of basons in which he brought water
for the king to wash his hands in at the coronation banquet.
The 'bedde of Roottes' which the earl had from King Henry's coronation
is more fully described in the inventory as a celer and a tester of crimson, blue,
and white satin, embroidered with letters and roots 1 of gold, with a counterpoint
of the same, valued at 26 135. ^d.
The earl also leaves another bed which he says he had at the coronation of
'the Queene that dede is', apparently the Lady Elizabeth of York, consort of
King Henry VII. It included a celer and a tester, the former, according to the
inventory, having in it a pavilion and the latter a tourney of knights.
The other three beds were all of crimson satin or damask, and full of Veer
heraldry. One apparently had the arms of the earl and of ' my lady that dead is '
ensigned with the earl's helm and crest, and encircled by the garter. Another
was embroidered with a park, and powdered with blue boars, molets, and caly-
grey hounds. The third was embroidered with two gentlewomen standing
on a mount and feeding a popinjay in a cage, and powdered with crankets,
molets, blue boars, and water-flowers. All these devices will be dealt with
presently.
There remains one more item to be noticed, the silver-gilt image of the
Trinity and the gold cross mentioned first in the list. The inventory describes
these more fully as an image of the Trinity of silver and gilt with a crown upon
his head garnished with stones, with two little angels, weighing i2ol ounces and
valued at .22 95. yt., and a cross of gold garnished with two sapphires, and
1 A root of a tree was the badge of John duke of Bedford. His seal as regent of France (1422-35)
has an eagle standing with one leg upon the root or stock of a tree and holding in the other claw a
shield of the duke's arms. Possibly this ' bedde of Roottes ' had once been his.
286 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
two pieces of the Holy Cross therein, accustomed to be in the lap of an image
of the Trinity, weighing 15! ounces and valued at ^"30 and io</.
All the ornaments just rehearsed were to be put by the executors in the
monastery of Bury or such other place as the earl shall direct, and to be de-
livered to his heir when he shall come to his full age of twenty-one years ' and
not afore '. Failing direct heirs, male or female, to whom the said stuff, jewels,
and plate could descend, the earl leaves them to his nephew John Veer, son of
his brother Sir George Veer knight, who actually succeeded him in the earldom.
There are a few more personal bequests.
To his two nieces Dorothy and Ursula the earl leaves three hundred marks
each, to be delivered to them at their ages of twenty-four years or before if they
be married. Towards payment of this six hundred marks the earl directs that
his ' Cheyne with the Whistell having sixe Score & oon linkes ' and weighing
four score and eighteen ounces and a half be sold, and the residue that shall
lack to be made up by his executors. He also leaves to John Broughton a pair
of silver flagons ' like to bottles ' l weighing eight score and thirteen ounces, and
to Robert Broughton his brother ^10 in money. To his cousin John Veer he
bequeaths of his plate and other stuff to the value of ^100, and he also gives him
his collar of garters and red roses of gold.
Finally, the earl directs that his executors in as goodly haste as they reason-
ably may after his decease shall convey or cause to be conveyed such of his
jewels, plate, stuff, and goods movable, and such evidences as shall be thought
most convenient to be put in sure coffers and well locked with divers locks and
keys being within his castle of Hedingham, at London, at Wivenhoe, or any
other place, unto the abbey of Bury or to the house of St. John's at Colchester,
or else to such places as they or the majority of them shall think most convenient
for dealing with the things to be disposed of under his present testament and
codicil, and of the ordering of his lands and tenements specified and contained
in his last will. Until his debts be paid, and then not until a year has expired, no
part of the legacies bequeathed were to be delivered except those to Sir Thomas
Lovel and to his wife. For further legal matters the text of the testament may
be referred to.
Three minor bequests are inserted towards the end of the testament : that
of his best antiphoner to the church of Stoke by Nayland (in Suffolk) ; ' towardes
the making of the lies of the churche of Lavenham xx li. over and besides xx li.
1 Described in the inventory as ' Item ij Botelles silver parcell gilt w* cheynes to here them with
XX
poz viij oz di le oz iijs. \]d. Summa xxvij li. xijs. i]d.'
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 287
whiche I tofore have geven to the same ' ; and towards ' the bielding and making
of the churche of Harwich xx li.'
Lastly, the earl leaves to every one of his executors being of the degree of
a knight who shall take upon him the charge of the execution of this his testa-
ment and of his last will and codicil 10 in money for his pains, and to every
other executor taking upon him the like charge ten marks in money. He ordains
as his executors, first Elizabeth 'my moost derest wif, Sir Thomas Lovel knt.,
Sir James Hobart knt, Sir Robert Drury knt, Sir William Waldegrave knt,
Sir Robert Lovel knt, doctor William Cook, John Veer the elder esq.,
Humphrey Wingfield esq., John Danyell esq., John Josselin esq., and William
Okeley gentleman.
A codicil is appended containing a list of persons to whom the earl leaves
annuities ; and a further list of household servants and others to whom rewards
were to be paid.
The earl's testament and codicil are followed in the register by his last will,
dated ist September, 1512 (4 Henry VIII). By it he renounces and revokes all
other previous wills made by him ' saving and except always my testament con-
cernyng my bequeste and other thinges comprised and declared in the same
bering date the tenthe day of Aprill The yere of our lord god M'v c and ix. the
xxiiij. yere of the Reigne of King Henry the vij th Sealed w* my scale of armys
and signed in diverse places therof w* my hands : and also my Codicell to the
same annexed. Whiche testament and Codicell and all and ev'y thing expressid
and declared in the same and either of theym / I woll shall stond still in full
strenght and that they be executed according to the true meanyng and extent
therof.
The will then proceeds with directions as to the disposal of the earl's vast
landed estates, which were distributed in eleven counties, but as the consideration
of these does not fall within the scope of this present paper I have neither tran-
scribed the will nor attempted any analysis of it.
The inventory, now in the Public Record Office, of all and singular the
earl's goods, debts, chattels, and sums of money is entered in a paper book of
thirty-four single leaves, measuring 1 1 inches by 7* inches, and written very clearly,
with few corrections or interlineations. The document seems to be complete
in itself, a fact necessary of mention since the headings of some of the sub-
divisions are somewhat perplexing.
The list opens, for instance, with a long list of bed-hangings, tapets, etc.
described as being ' at Colne within the Priory in the White Chamber ', apparently
one of the depositories referred to in the testament. As there are no remains of
the priory now standing it is useless to speculate where the white chamber was.
288 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Next follow the contents of a number of chambers, including Mr. Veer's
chamber, the Armery house, Mr. Voyelly's chamber, Mr. Veer's servant's
chamber, Mr. Burton's chamber, the clerk of the kitchen's chamber, the armory
chamber, the parlour, the ewery, my Lord's great chamber, the inner chamber
of my Lady, the gentlewomen's chamber, the revestry within the priory of Colne,
the parlour under Mr. Veer's chamber, Mr. Walgrove's (Waldegrave's) chamber,
and the chamber over the porch.
Despite the mention of the revestry, there seems to be little doubt that
these chambers were not in Colne priory, but in the earl's own house at
Hedingham castle. Not in the stately great tower of the twelfth century which
is all that is now standing there, but in a fine and large house to the north-west
of it, with hall, kitchen, chapel, great chamber, garderobe towers, etc. which had
lately been rebuilt by the earl himself and wherein he died. It is now utterly
swept away.
The inventory continues with a list of ' stuff given to my yong Lorde of
Oxenforde ', of horses and geldings, a valuation of the contents of the kitchen,
a note of the wine in store, and a short list of ' Stuff at Henyngham '.
Next we are again reminded of the earl's direction as to the removal of his
goods in strong coffers to such places as they could be easily dealt with by long
lists of
' Plate and Jewelles in a greatc standarde l w f in the colcge of Sudbery ' ;
' Plate and Juelles in another strong Coofer all of Iron w* vj. lokkes upon the same ' ;
' In another standarde bounde with barres of Irone ' ;
' Plate in another cofer of woode barred with barris of Iron ' ; and
' Plate at Coolne in diverse offices '.
An interpolated statement as to the ' Redy mony at the houre of his death '
which is given as ^2,100, is followed by other long lists of
' In another standarde Chapell stuff att Sudbury';
' My Lordis apparell ' ;
' Wardrop Stuff at Sudbury in the Friers ' ; and
'Stuffe at Colchester w*in Saint John is Abbey'.
The concluding item is a note of the ' Debtis owing to the testatour at the
houre of his deth ', which were j 1,333 6s. 8d.
The sum-total of the value of everything included in the inventory is entered
as j8,2o6 175. 8*d.', a truly colossal amount, probably represented to-day by
close upon ^200,000 !
1 Any large chest was called a standard.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 289
It is impossible within the limits of any paper to discuss otherwise than
quite briefly the contents of so rich an inventory. Such of the items as are
dealt with under the earl's testament have already been noticed, but there remains
a great mass of magnificent plate and jewels and splendid stuffs that were not
specifically willed away.
The parcels deposited in Colnc priory were none of them of great value, but
many must have been pleasing to the eye. Such were no doubt the counter-
points of tapestry or verdure with the picture of Solomon, with a man and woman
hawking and hunting, with a man in one corner bearing a hawk, with a man in
the foot bearing ' an herensewe by the necke ', or with the story of Alexander ;
while a pair of red say were embroidered with the letters H and M ' knett w* a
napkyn ' and with a man and woman on horseback. From the dimensions given
the counterpoints had an average size of 4! yards by 3| yards. Two sparvers are
respectively described as (i) of changeable sarcenet embroidered with crankets,
with crane-coloured ' curtains lined with blue buckram and a counterpoint to
match, and (2) of blue and crimson velvet paled (or striped vertically) with a
pale of cloth of gold of baudekyn, and eight panes (or panels) of violet and red
sarcenet. A dozen or more tapets, or carpets, are included in the list. Several
were of large size, being 7* yards long and half as wide, but the average size was
4' yards by 3! yards. All were either of tapestry or arras, and woven with various
devices, such as a gentlewoman bearing a cup, a man on horseback with H and
E upon his back knit by a lace, a man in harness fighting with a lion, a woman
bearing a basket of grapes, with clouds of white and purple in the upper borders,
with a castle of brick in the upper part, a man with a crossbow shooting at a
wild beast with a castle in the corner, a man with hose striped red and white
leading a hound and bearing a hawk on his fist, a man riding on an ass with a
whip in his hand, etc. etc. Two tapets had stones and pearls in the borders,
probably counterfeit or imitation, since they are only valued respectively at 155.
and 5.9. Three coverlets described as of ' bery making ' were probably of some
special fabric woven at Bury St. Edmunds : two of them were adorned with
Bourchier knots. A cushion is also noted as being 'of Jewys worke '. The last
item is a sparver and a counterpoint of diaper embroidered with whistles and
chairs, two of the earl's badges.
The contents of the various chambers at Hedingham castle are somewhat
awkward to deal with. In about a dozen cases the chambers were evidently
bedrooms. The bedsteads themselves are not mentioned, save a trussing or
travelling bed made of iron in one chamber, and in another a trussing bed of
old blue and crimson velvet paly, with paned curtains of blue and crimson damask.
1 Crane-coloured, of ashy grey like a crane's feathers.
VOL. LXVI. o o
200 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Some of the bedsteads had a sparver, a mattress, featherbed, bolster, one or two
pillows, a pair of blankets, a pair of fustians for sheets, and a counterpoint for a
quilt. Others had a celer and tester only, instead of a sparver. In a few cas< >,
as in my lord's chamber, and my lady's, and that of her gentlewomen, the beds
had curtains as well. An andiron or firedog in my lady's chamber, and two
great andirons and a chafer 1 in the chamber next to Mr. Veer's, are the only
suggestions as to fires. The clerk of the kitchen had two chests in his chamber,
as well as a mortar with a pestle, and 9 Ib. of saffron ; while the contents of the
gentlewomen's chamber incongruously include a vestment of black tinsel
with two altar-cloths to match, the gold jewel for the image of Our Lady of
Walsingham, and ' an home of unykhorn - harnesed and garnishid with gold '
valued at 4. No chairs, stools, or seats of any kind are mentioned, though
cushions in some of the rooms suggest their existence. My lord's chamber had
four carpets, and my lady's nine old carpets sore worn. There is no direct
mention of the hall or its furniture, and of the kitchen reference is made only to
the old brass and pewter, which were valued at ;i8 odd. The ' armory chamber '
seems to have been a storeplace for cloth, and the chamber over the porch that
wherein the linen sheets, etc. were kept. The parlour was apparently the tem-
porary repository of a quantity of hangings and carpets. The contents of the
ewery include the store of wax, in cakes, tapers, and torch ends, also of rosin,
' torche weke ', and 'taper weke'; likewise no'tortes of broche', probably twisted
candles, 3 with a chafer, a wax board, three chests, and two leaden weights. In the
ewery too, were eight diaper table-cloths, each 7 yards long and i*- yard wide,
which must have been for a long table in the hall, four 'breakfast cloths' of
diaper each 3 yards long, thirty-eight table-cloths 'of household', twelve towels
with eight others of diaper, and sixteen diaper napkins.
The store of wine is set down as two tuns of Gascony worth 8.
The objects in ' the Armery house ' consisted wholly of armour and weapons.
The greater part consisted of armour for foot-soldiers and included a hundred
and seventy-five salets, or head-pieces; one hundred and one brigandines or
body defences ; nine new coats ; seventy-seven pairs of splints ; five pair of old
gauntlets ; sixteen corsets ; eighty-four pairs of gusset (of mail); eighteen gorgets;
and twenty-five aprons of mail. There was also 'a pair of olde Ryvettes ', probably
a disused suit including the head and body armour and a pair of splints.
Of weapons there were six score and four halberts ; seven score old bills ;
1 Or vessel for heating water.
2 The long spirally-twisted tusk of a narwhal.
3 ' Pro factura 10 Torgez et 12 Tortettes ac 14 Brochez.' Bursar's Roll, 1507-8, Durham Account
Rolls (Surtees Soc.), 659.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 291
six score bows ; sixty-four sheaves of arrows without cases, and tour sheaves
with cases ; and four bundles of bowstaves, each containing sixteen staves, and
eight old staves ; also a ' boore spere '.
For ' my lordes body ' there were two pair of brigandines ; also his ' vam-
braces' and 'polvornes', two salets with 'bavours' and 'a hat of stele', two
gauntlets, and ' his legharnes V
In the list further on of my lord's apparel are ' a Jackett of gold lyned with
grene sarcenet to were uppori harneis ' and ' a nother Jakett of grene and white
velvett ' ; also ' a horse harnes wrought corsewise with bokylles '. Among the
chapel stuff at Sudbury were also eleven arrows for a cross-bow and two
cross-bows.
The things in the revestry at Colne priory were miscellaneous enough in
character: pieces of tawny fustian, remnants of satin and damask, five dog-
collars, eight purses, a pair of ivory beads, twenty-one ells of canvas, an ouche
of gold and sundry rings and brooches, a tablet with an image of Our Lady
worth j4, two garters, and seven chests and standards.
The ' stuffe given to my yong Lorde of Oxenforde ' enumerates the six rich
sets of bed-hangings already noticed under the testament. Their united value
is given as ^203.
Under the head of horses and geldings are entered : a cart and four horses
with their harness, worth 4 ; sixteen horses, geldings, and little nags, sold for
ji5 5.?. Sal. the lot; and two old sackcloth saddles valued at 65-. 8d.
The final note of the stuff at Hedingham includes a pair of organs worth $,
a pair of portatives, or portable organs, valued at 2os., and a small pair of organs
at Wyvenhoe valued at 26s. Sal. ; also three celers and testers, with a sparver
a tapet, and a counterpoint ' w 1 a condyt '.
The ' plate and jewels ' that lay in the great standard within the college of
Sudbury must have been a rich lot. The list contains sixty-three items, all of
silver, silver-gilt, or parcel-gilt, and ranging in value from a few shillings to 70.
Their total value is entered as ^846 and 2\d.
Of the sixty-three items, thirty-seven, or more than half, were church stuff.
Most noteworthy of them were a number of silver-gilt images of saints and
apostles. Besides an image of Our Lady weighing 64 ounces for the high
altar of the earl's chapel, and a greater one still of 108 ounces that stood in his
oratory and was left to the cathedral church of Amiens, there were images of
St. John Baptist, of nine out of twelve apostles, 2 and five lesser images. The
1 Most of the objects described in this list are referred to in Lord Dillon's paper on 'Arms and
Armour at Westminster, the Tower, and Greenwich, 1547', in Archaeologia, li, 219-80.
' The missing apostles are Matthew, Matthias, and James Minor. Similar series of ' images
002
292 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
figure of the Baptist weighed only 43 ounces, but those of the apostles averaged
64! ounces. St. Peter was evidently represented as pope, since he had upon his
head a diadem garnished with stones and pearls. Four of the apostles have
their emblems described : St. Simon, ' with a crosse (with) rounde knoppes on
thendes ' ; St. Jude, with a ship ; St. Philip ' with a grene clobbe ', and St. Thomas
of Inde 'w 1 a spere in oon hand and boke in thother'. The lesser images were
St. Margaret 'w* a cros in a dragon's mouth', St. Barbara, St. Anne, and a
St. George 'w* a bone of saint george under the burall in his shilde'. There
was likewise a little image of Our Lady.
Another unusual thing is ' a greate bason of sylver w* bollions parcell gilte
for a founte' weighing 137 oz. and valued at 22 \6s. 8rf. There can be little
doubt that this was a silver parcel-gilt font in which members of the earl's family
had been or could be baptized. The monastery of Christchurch at Canterbury
formerly had one which was sent for on occasion of royal christenings, and ^
were paid to the prior's servants in February 1515-16 for the carrying and re-
carrying of the font between Canterbury and Greenwich for the christening of
the princess Mary. 1 It was again sent for at the close of 1518. In an inventory
of jewels, plate, etc. belonging to King Henry VIII, taken in 1521 there may be
found among the ' Holly water stollys gilt' this entry:
Item Receved of the Queues grace for a founte callid in hir indenture A wydcr or a
disshe chased w f bestis men and fowlis di gilte w f oute a cover waiying in the said
indenture clxxiiij oz di to the whiche founte oon William Hollande hath made a
Cover gilte chase w* men bestis and foulis waiyng C oz di and wayith now to
gidders in all cclxxv oz. 2
In the inventory of King Henry VIII's jewels taken in January 1548-9,
now in the Society's Library, the first item in the list of ' Holiwater Stockes of
Silver gilte parcell gilte and white \v* a fonte parcell gilte ' is :
Item a fonte chased with men beastes and Fowls half gilte with a cover gilte poiz
XX
together cciiij j. oz. 3
This is no doubt the same font as that entered in 1521, and it may even have
been the one formerly at Canterbury, acquired by the king when he was in
that city at Whitsuntide 1520. In any case it may be borne in mind that a
gilt', but in greater number, and with like descriptions of the emblems, occur in the inventories of
King Henry VIII.
1 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, vol. ii, part 2, p. 1470.
2 From 'King Henry VIII's Jewel Book', edited by the Rt. Rev. Edward bishop suffragan of
Nottingham, in Associated Architectural Societies' Reports and Papers for 1891, vol. xvii, 181.
3 MS. cxxix, fo. 42.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 293
large silver-gilt font still forms part of the royal plate kept in the Tower of
London with the regalia.
Other church stuff in the earl's inventory included the great alms-dish with
swages left to the heir ; the rich cross bequeathed to Lady Oxford, and another
to Colne priory ; the two monstrances for Colne priory ; another with Our Lady
in the top ; and a fourth with a crucifix in the top, and a cross flory. There
was also a fifth ' monstrant silver and gilt callid a porte dien w* iiij pillers and
an angell wanting a wyng w 1 a cuppe of burall to put in the Sacrament the foote
garnisshid w* .x. counterfet stones and a cover wt a crosse lacking a bullion of
silver '. The weight of this fine piece was six score and seven ounces and its
value ;2o 25. 2d. There were also two cruets of ' burall ' or crystal, with lids and
feet of silver gilt ; two other cruets without lids ; and a third pair of larger size.
Of censers there were two pairs, 1 both ' with lieberdes hedes ' to which perhaps
the chains were fixed. The incense ship that supplied them was of ' sylver all
gilt w* a braunche of corall in the toppe afore & an acorn of burial standing
behynde '. There were two chalices, of silver all gilt : one had 'my lordes woord
En dien est tout written in the fote and the trinitie in the paten ' and weighed
38^ ounces; the other is described as a great chalice and weighed 32 ounces
with its paten, and had the unusual 'scripture about the boot' Landenius et
siiperexaltemns euni in secula : it was one of the bequests to Colne priory. The
last item in the church stuff was ' an holy water stoppe silver parcel gilt w 4
this scripture aboute vidi aquani egredientein w* the sprynkell to the same ' : it
weighed 89 oz. and was valued at ^"14 and 22d.
Another notable object in the great standard must have been
a new spice plate silver parcel gilt w 1 a cover and in the toppe of the cover a lane
having my Lordes armes and my olde Ladies armes on thone syde and saint
John baptist on thother syde the foote pounced w 1 molettes the shanke pounced
and enamilid & aboute the mydde shanke set w 1 molettes.
It weighed 154 ounces and was valued at 25 135. 4^.
Other objects that may be noticed are : a number of platters, dishes, and
saucers, all of silver and of considerable weight, 'marked w* colombynes';
a chafing-dish of silver parcel-gilt with three gilt angels on the side and on
every angel a molet ; six goblets made at Bruges, with a cover having on top
my lord's arms within the garter ; six other new goblets chased with fleurs-de-lis,
with a cover having on top my lord's arms and the Howards (a pair of salts
with one cover were similarly ornamented) ; a number of Paris bowls of silver
' pounced lyke penys with a cover w* a colombyne in the bothom ' ; six small
1 One of these censers was left to Lady Oxford, and another to Colne priory.
294 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
bowls of silver parcel-gilt ' w* a cover w* vj signes of the monithes in the yere
in the bottom ' ; and ' ij flagons w f cheynes silver parcel-gilt w* colomebynes
on the side ' : these last weighed eight score and 5 ounces and were valued
at 27 105.
The last item to be noticed was the greatest in value :
A girdell full of barres of golde every seconde barr lyke a cheire set w f stonys and two
small barres at thone ende and a powche of blake velvet garnisshid w* perles set
in gold and a stone in the middes set in gold.
Though it weighed only 43 ounces, the value of this precious thing is set
down at ^"71 135. 4^. The jewelled chairs upon it, as will be shown later, were
allusive of the earl's office of great chamberlain.
The plate and jewels stowed 'in another strong Coofer all of Iron w 1 vj.
lokkes upon the same', also apparently at Sudbury college, were the most
precious things of all. There are only twenty-two items in the list, but their
united value was ^884 165. gcf. This is not to be wondered at seeing that fifteen
of them were of gold, and the rest of silver-gilt.
The jewelled cross and the image of the Trinity to which it belonged have
already been noted among the bequests to the earl's heir. There was also a gold
image of St. George weighing 12 ounces. The other gold objects include a spoon
with my lord's armes on the end, five cups, three salts, and four chains and
collars.
The first cup was valued at j8i us. 8rf. It had 'a cover pouncid w* eagles
w 1 angelles faces and molettes ' and the foot and cover were ' set w* perle and
stone '. The second cup was covered, but not jewelled, and was pounced ' ful
of Roundes like pellettes ' and had ' a redde rose in the Bothom '. The third cup
was like the first in being pounced with angel-faced eagles and molets, but its only
jewel was a balas in the top ; yet it was valued at 77 95. 2d. Of the other two
cups, one was ' a litle flat cup of gold w* a cover garnisshid w* molettes and
crankettes having my Lordes armes and my Ladies in the top of the covere and
the bothom pouncid w rt sonnes ' ; the other was ' a goblet of gold w* a cover
havyng my Lordes armes and my Ladies in the toppe '.
The three gold salts must have been beautiful things. The first was ' set
w 1 bedes and perles in the toppe / a diamound a Rubie and vj perles '. The
second had 'the hed and foote enamelid w 1 blue & set with perle and litle
knoppes enamelid w* red standing upon a dissers (or jester's) hed '. The third
was ' a litle salt of gold, the hedde and the fote w 4 Rubies & perles w* a safre
in the toppe w* a Rose w*in the bothom of the salt '.
The four collars and chains were most noteworthy and beautiful objects.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 295
The first is described as ' a greate cheyne of gold of xxij lynkes enamilid wt
\vhite and blue columbines', weighing 30-*- ounces and valued at ^50 125. (nf.
From the many objects already noted as ornamented with columbines, this collar
must be looked upon as heraldic in character.
The second was the earl's collar of the Order of the Garter which he
bequeathed to John Veer, and is described as ' a Collar of gold made in garters
w* redde Roses in the garters and a george w* a dyamount and iij greate perles
hanging in the dragons foote '. It weighed 21 ounces and was valued at ^42.
According to Ashmole the gold collar of the Order of the Garter was intro-
duced by King Henry VII, and is first recorded to have been worn in 1504;
the earl of Oxford's collar, since he was then already K.G., must therefore have
been one of the earliest made. It will be noticed that the roses are all red, but
in the Statutes of King Henry VIII the collar was ordered to be of the weight
of 30 ounces or thereabouts and to have the roses alternately white upon red,
and red upon white. King Henry VIIFs own collar weighed 28| ounces, and
the jewelled St. George 3* ounces more, or 32^ ounces in all.
The earl's third collar was 'of fyne gold of xxvij S and ij Porteculeisse
w* a grete diamount in a red Rose and a Lyon hanging uppon the same Rose
w* ij Rubies and a diamount uppon the said Lyon and ij greate Rubies /and iiij
diamountes & ix greate perles uppon the .S.' Though its weight was only 42
ounces, it was valued at 98 and must surely have been one of the most splen-
did collars of SS on record. 1 How the two rubies, four diamonds, and nine great
pearls were disposed among twenty-seven SS is uncertain. The collar was no
doubt a gift to the earl from King Henry VII.
The fourth chain, though not jewelled, was the most valuable of all the
items in this extraordinarily rich inventory. It is described quite truly as
XX
' a great cheyne of gold w 4 a maryner's whistell & of viij and oon Lynkes ',
and its weight was 146 ounces or over 12 Ib. Troy! It was also valued at
the huge sum (for the time) of ^243 65. 8rf. The earl wore this chain and
whistle by reason of his office of admiral of England, 2 but it is curious to
note that it does not correspond either in links or in weight with the chain
and whistle directed to be sold under the earl's testament towards his nieces'
portions. That one is said to have six score and one links and to weigh four
1 It was, of course, exceeded greatly in value by the wonderful jewelled collar of SS made for
King Henry IV in 1407 at a cost of 385 65. &/.
3 At the reception outside Calais of the Lady Anne of Cleves in December 1539, it is noted of
William earl of Southampton, who was then high admiral of England and Wales, etc. that ' baudrick-
wise he ware a chayne, at the whych did hange a whistle of golde set with ryche stones of a great
value '. Edward Hall, The Union etc. p. 832.
296 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
score and i8f (or 98*) ounces. This in the inventory had 161 links and weighed
48 ounces more. Now if forty more links represent 48 ounces, 120 links should
weigh 144 ounces. Yet the chain and whistle of the testament weigh together
only 98-* ounces. So too 160 links should weigh 192 ounces ; yet the chain and
whistle in the inventory only weigh 146 ounces. It seems therefore that the
earl had in turn two chains : an old one of 121 links when he made his testament
in 1509, and a new one of 161 links which he had made to replace the othrr
some time before his death four years later. The fact that he forbids in his
testament anything to be sold or handed over until his affairs are settled, shows
that he could not have died possessed of two chains with whistles, and there is
only one described in the inventory.
The few silver-gilt pieces laid in the strong coffer were almost as beautiful
as the gold vessels, and consisted of five standing cups and a set of six great
bowls. Three of the cups seem to have been royal gifts. One is described as
having a border of roses, portcullises, and fleurs-de-lis, with portcullises on the
cover; another as being set with roses and portcullises, with a rose upon
the cover ; and the third as having quarters or sides, ' oon quarter playne tothir
chasid w* Roses portculius and pomegarnettes ' with a rose on top of the cover.
The other two cups seem to have been equal in weight and value to the three
just mentioned, but are only described as having a rose upon the cover.
The last item in the list is
yj greate bollys all gilt \v ( a cover sett ful of molettes and crankettes in the toppe
of the same cover w* perles and stones w f my Lordes armcs upon the same.
Their united weight was 13 score and 18' ounces, and their value
50 175.6^.
The next lot of vessels, etc. are simply noted as being ' in another standarde
bounde with barres of Iron ', presumably also at Sudbury college. The contents
form a long list of eighty-four items, consisting chiefly of dishes, platters, pots,
standing and other cups, basons, spoons, candlesticks, etc. all of silver-gilt, silver,
or parcel-gilt, and valued at ,1,198 95. gd.
The list is headed by the great garnish of silver vessels marked with
' brikettes ' left to the earl's heir, which is followed by a number of other items
that were apparently included: amongst them being twelve silver platters
weighing nearly 30 ounces each, and valued at ^"55 odd. Four succeeding
items specify a platter, a dish, a saucer, and three chargers, all 'newe made
ayenst Whitsontyde' and marked with my lord's and the Howards' arms.
Further down the list is a bason of silver parcel-gilt also new made 'ayenst
Whitsontyde'. Some of the more valuable items were bequeathed to Lady
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 297
Oxford, the earl's heir, or to Colne priory, and have already been noted, but
there remain a great many other notable things.
Foremost must be mentioned two silver basons all gilt with the king's arms
in the bottom, and a gilt cup of [asjsay ' wiche my lorde had at the coronacion
of King Henry the eight by reason of his office ', that is, of great chamberlain.
Another interesting item is ' a pott all of silver for the barbour to warm in water
for my lordes berd'. This must have been either large or massive, since it
weighed 81 ounces and was valued at 12 i6s. 6d. \
A few unusual things also occur in the list, e. g. :
A Cupp made of a grippes Egge l covered the foot silver & gilt & in the toppe of the
cover a blue floure ;
A Callak - of silver all gilt w* a crowne in the toppe of the cover w f a lyon in the
middle;
a pott of Ivery garnisshid w* silver all gilt & in the top of the cover a saint Johns hed ;
vj Bolles silver all gilt w* a -cover w* the monithes :i in the Bothom of every of them sett
in gold the top of [the] cover garnisshid w* small Perle and stones set in gold ;
the holy gost in a clowde silver hanging in a steon silver and gilt w e a molet in the
myddes ;
A litlc Cupp of Masour the foote and cover silver and gilt ;
a nother pott of tree w 1 the cover and lyppes of silver and gilt.
Other interesting objects are :
ij Basens silver all gilt and chasid w* sonncs and wrethes of colombynes in the Bothom
and my Lordes armes ;
a bason of sylver all playn the swages gilt and an eagle w* an angell's face in bothom ;
and
an Ewer to the same facioned like a tankard w 1 iiij hoopis gilt ;
ij greate gilt pottes silver chasid one chase playn another pouncid w* a Ringe aboute the
Bely departing the chaces w* my Lordes and the Howardes armes ;
a pott of silver parcell gilt w* an angell w* winges on the lydde and armes in the same ;
a greate Standing Cupp silver all gilt w* mylle pykes in the bothom chasid ;
ij standing Cuppes silver all gilt bell shapen w* ij covers every of them w* colombynes
floures in the botom ;
ij leyers* sylver all gilt like unto perys eche w f spowtes w* a gilt sponc;
1 The egg was, of course, that of an ostrich and not of a griffin.
s A callack or collock was apparently a tub-shaped vessel. ' Unam peciam coopertam vocatam
le collok ' occurs in a will of 1437 (Test. Ebor. ii, 61).
' Representations of the signs of the months were very popular; see Archaeologia, xliv, 137-224,
4 A leyer was a laver or jug.
VOL. XLVI. p p
298 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
a Snoff 1 of silver percell gilt
ij spones silver all gilt w<* forkes for grene gynger. 2
Towards the end of the list occur three separate figures of angels bearing
relics ; four paxbredes, one ' of the olde fasshion w* an angell in the myddes
holding a vernacle ', and another of silver with a ' vernacle of modir of perle ' ;
two silver-gilt sacring bells ; and ' ij Skalop shellys of silver and gilte V 1
The next list, of ' Plate in another cofer of woode barred w 1 barris of Iron ',
also includes a lot of church plate : that is to say, out of sixty items, fourteen
certainly were so. The rest of the things were pots, basons, ewers, goblets, salts,
bowls, cups, spoons, etc. and the total value of the whole ^"514 85. 6rf.
The more noteworthy items are :
a bason of silver w 1 blue water floures in the bothom ;
a bason of silver callid the trussing bason ;
vj goblettes made of a tooth of an Olyfaunt garnisshed w e silver and gilt ; 4
a litle gilt salt covered & chasid w* a bordour of flour delices in the bottom ;
iiij Small bolles parccll gilt w* the signes of the monithes in the bottom swages gilt;
ij small bollys of sylvcr all whyte pouncid w e greate Roundes in the bottom ;
ij Parys Cuppes of silver parcell gilt w 1 blue anuelettes in the bothom ;
iij newe candilstikes w 1 noosys on thone syde and prikettes on thother syde ;
A Sensour of silver w f the mollettes in the coveryng;
A pair of kervyng kny ves w 1 serpentynes haftes ;
a pair of knyves thaftes gilt w f molettes uppon thaftes ;
A Cupp of Ivery vv f a cover ;
A chayne of gold w 1 a george.
This last item only weighed 9^ ounces, but was valued at^i6 155. iod.
The list of' Plate at Coolne in diverse offices' contains only seventeen items,
valued at ^"105 155. jrf.
Among them were :
A Cuppe of Assaye silver parcell gilt oon of the signes of the monith of November in
the botom ;
ij playn pottes of silver all white like to Ravonsbillis ;
A standing Cupp gilt w* a cover w* a white molett in the bottom enamilid ;
ij lowe Rounde Saltes all white every of them having a hole in their sides ;
A Matteyns Boke w 4 a elapse of silver wich my lorde was wont to use hymself ; and
xxxvj Counters of silver thone syde \\ rt a facon and thother w 1 a Calygreyhounde.
1 A pair of snuffers.
2 The use of forks ' to eate grene gynger with all ' was a common one according to English
inventories ; see Archaeologia, xxxviii, 361, note a.
;| It is uncertain what these were for.
4 A set of ivory goblets such as these is unusual.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 299
It may be of interest to note that in the foregoing lists the various pieces
of plate are valued at 35, 2d. the ounce for white or plain silver, at 35-. 4^. the ounce
when parcel-gilt, and from y. ^d. to 35. 6d. when wholly gilt. But the more
ornate silver-gilt vessels are valued at 35. &/. the ounce.
The gold objects are valued at 335. ^d. the ounce, but if also jewelled at 365. &/..
and occasionally, as in the case of the earl's collar of the Garter, at 40^. His
splendid jewelled collar of SS is valued at 46^. &/ the ounce. 1
After these great collections of plate and jewels comes an astonishing list
of 'Chapel-stuff'.
It is described as 'in a nother standard . . . att Sudbury', but this must
apply to part only, since the hundred and twenty-seven items include more than
twenty pairs of altar-cloths, nearly fifty copes, and a dozen complete suits of
vestments, besides a score of single vestments and a variety of books and other
things, which could hardly have been kept or contained in any one chest or press,
however large.
As a matter of fact, the list will be found to consist of two lots : firstly, the
best altar-cloths and suits, the copes, and a few other items ; and secondly, other
vestments, more altar-cloths and frontlets, and a miscellaneous collection. At
the close of the first lot are entered, 'A Chest of Iron,' and ' ix. standardes', which
possibly were the receptacles for most of the items that follow.
The list does not seem to have been made in any definite order, and in four
or five cases only are the ornaments that formed a suit or set grouped together.
There is also an absence of details. Thus the vestment and pair of tunicles for
the priest, deacon, and subdeacon must also, as was usual, have included the
amices and albes with their apparels, the girdles, and the stoles and fanons,
none of which is otherwise noted. Most of the suits had one or more copes
belonging, in several cases three, and in one case four, and a few had altar-cloths
to match. They were mostly of rich materials : cloth of gold or tissue, bawdekyn,
damasks, and velvet. The chief colours were white, blue, and crimson ; but red,
purple, black, and russet occur, and a single vestment of green. There is nothing
to show how the colours were used, but ' ij aulter clothes of white sarcenet w*
bloode dropys' were evidently Lenten stuff, -as were probably 'a Curteyn of
whyte cloth' and a cloth or veil 'afore the crosse of diaper'. A 'Canapy of
crymsyn tynsell satteyn w l the Dome and chalessis ' may have been for carrying-
over the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi day, and there was another
canopy of uncertain use ' of course white tulle w l garters '.
1 Standard silver at the present time averages from zs. to zs. 6d. per ounce : standard gold from
about 3 185. or 785. per ounce. Pure gold is 4 55. per ounce.
p p 2
300 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Besides the vestments and altar-cloths the list contains other chapel-stuff:
vj. Corporas ; ij super altares ; v Images steynid in lynen clothe ; an Image of saint
Margarett all gilt; a lytle Image w* a coffyn; a foote clothe full of clowdes w*
molettes in the same for the chapell; a stole of lether; an Image of o r Lady w*
the trinitie in hir wombe ; l ij clothes for lectuf clothis of sylke bawdekyn ;
ij candelstickes of white boon ; and iij pair of cruettes.
Divers books are also included :
ij Portuous an older and a newer, an olde masse boke written, and a masse boke in
prynte ; ij Psalter bokes on Reed and the lesser blake lymnid ; a nother psalter
coverid w* blake and silver clapsys ; also a litle masse boke ; and A Chest full of
frenshe and englisshe bokes ;
also a further lot consisting of
a masse boke w* clapsys of silver ; iiij masse bokes written in velom ; a greate Anti-
phoner, a legend complete, ij grayles, and iij processionales ; vij antiphoners;
vj grales and xx processionales ; ij half Legendes ; ij printid masse bokis ; vij Pricke
song bokis bounde in leder ; and xij Prick song bokis.
There is also as a final item :
A Gospell boke w f thone syde covered w* silver and a picktur of o r Lorde in it trussid
in a cofer w% the college of Sudbury.
It has already been noted that there was a pair of organs and a pair of
portatives at Hedingham ; these books are therefore further evidence that at
times both the mass and the quire services were sung, and if confirmation be
needed it occurs in another item :
xxx surplcs co r se w* iiij albys for childern for the chapell.
Towards the end the list includes a few things that can hardly be regarded
as chapel-stuff:
a Case of Pypeis ; xj Arrowes for a Crosse bowe and ij Crosse bowes ; a pair of tables
1 The very unusual ' Image of o r Lady w 4 the trinitie in hir wombe ' had its parallel in the monastical
church of Durham, wherein there was kept, according to Rites, over the middle altar in the south
transept called the Lady of Bolton's altar:
a merveylous lyvelye and bewtifull Immage of the picture of our Ladie socalled the Lady of
boultone, whiche picture was maide to open with gymeres from her breaste downdward. And w th in
y e said immage was wrowghte and pictured the Immage of our saviour [sic], merveylouse fynlie
gilted houldinge uppe his handes, and holding betwixt his handes a fair & large crucifix of christ all
of gold, the whiche Crucifix was to be taiken fourthe every good fridaie, and every man did crepe
unto it that was in y' churche as that Daye. And ther after yt was houng upe againe within the-
said immage and every principall Daie the said immage was opened that every man might se
pictured within her, the father, the sonne, and the holy ghost, moste curiouslye and fynely gilted.
Rites of Durham (Surtees Soc., 107), 30.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 301
of boone ; a blake furre of boge ; a Jakett of blake satteyn furrid w* old boge ;
and iij standers, ij w* angelles, and tother w* the blue bore of sarcenet.
These last were evidently the long heraldic banners called standards, having
the cross of St. George next the staff and the fly powdered with the owner's
badges.
Before leaving this list we may fairly wonder that any single individual,
however distinguished, could possess such a collection of chapel-stuff. The
chapel in Hedingham castle cannot have been a large one, and so far as we
know there was not any college of priests attached to it. Yet here are enough
ornaments to furnish the vestry of a very large and rich church ! Moreover,
although a few of them are described as old, a good many must have been new,
since they bore the earl's own arms and special badges. Thus there are altar-
cloths worked with my lord's arms, with garters and whistles, and with garters,
molets, and calygreyhounds ; a frontlet worked with whistles, white molets, and
chairs ; and copes and vestments embroidered with calygreyhounds and garters,
with my lord's arms and the Howards' quarterly, with splayed eagles bearing
my lord's arms ; with molets in clouds and crankets ; with crankets, molets,
and garters ; with calygreyhounds, molets, and clouds ; with boars and garters ;
and so on. All these devices will be discussed presently.
The list of 'My Lordis apparel!' is a very short one, and it can hardly
be supposed to represent all that he died possessed of. It contains only
twenty-six items, including twelve gowns (five of black, four of crimson, and one
each of tawny, green, and russet) of which eight were lined with fur, three
jackets (one ' of gold lyned with grene sarcenet to were uppon harneis ', another
of green and white velvet, and the third of velvet lined with sarcenet) ; a black
satin doublet, a coat of the same stuff and colour ' furrid w* blake Cony ', and a
tippet of black velvet ' furrid with martorns w* vij lopys of gold '. The most
valuable of these items was a gown of black ' tynsell satten furrid with sables '
appraised at 20.
One item, 'a Whistell of Ivory garnishid w* gold ', can hardly be called an
article of apparel, nor can a ' horse harnes wrought corsewise w 1 bokylles '.
Four ' brode yardes of fyne Russett cloth ' and ' iij shredes of crymsyn velvett
and purple ' were probably for mending or making things.
The list also includes what were apparently the earl's robes as a Knight
of the Garter, namely, a gown of crimson velvet lined with white sarcenet, with
a hood ; and a mantle of blue velvet lined with white sarcenet ; also ' iiij garters
w* bokles and pendauntes of gold '. The earl's gold collar of the Order has
already been noticed, as well as two other garters in the revestry at Colne
302 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
priory. His parliament robes are also here, described as 'the Robe of estate
furrid w* myniver of crymsyn velvett, w* mantell, tabbard, and circuitt, and a
hode', worth in all ^15. The earl had likewise 'ij Cappis of mayntenaunce ',
but of a gold coronet to wear round one or other of them there is not any
mention in the inventory.
The items, one hundred and forty-two in number, of ' Wardrop stuff at
Sudbury in the Friers ' are of very miscellaneous character. Counterpoints and
spervers, traverses and curtains, tapets and cushions, fine sheets and fustians,
pillows and pillowbeers, featherbeds and mattresses, with their bolsters, quilts,
and blankets, hangings of tapestry and verdure, bankers and pieces of stuff
follow one another in bewildering confusion, as if the contents of room after
room had been merely thrown together.
The materials are as varied: bawdekyn, sarcenet, tartarin, satin, lawn,
taffeta, satin of Bruges and of Cyprus, coverlets and coverings of Norwich
making and Bury work, velvet, worsted, dornyx, and say. There were also
hangings, etc. of tapestry, tapestry verdure, counterfeit arras, and so on.
Since the dimensions are often given with the descriptions it is possible to
realize the sizes of things. Some of them came from large rooms, such as a
banker of old verdure seven yards long, and the ' pece of olde grene tapistry
w* my lordes worde and his armes and his late wiffes with molets & clowdes ',
which was six yards long and four deep. This formed part of a set with six
other pieces measuring respectively 4f, 3-*, 3|, 3^, 8, and 6| yards, that probably
formed the hangings of a hall or some such chamber. 1 To this set perhaps also
belonged
a lytlc tappett of grcnc vv rt my lordes Armes w* crankettes molettes and blue bores,
a Canapy of grene say enbroderid w* crankettes and molettes v yerdes long frengid, and
v bankers olde w 1 lambes w f an old grene tappett w 1 molettes and my lordes worde in it.
The list is very sparing of both patterns and colours, and only a few items
are worth noting :
a Cussheon of blue satteyn enbroderid w* ij lylly pottes and a crown in the myddes ;
a Counterpoint of grene w* lyons ;
a sperver of old saye w 1 the sonne beames ;
an old tapett of tapistry w* a lyon in the neither ende eting of a best ;
a tapytt of tapistry w* saint george in the myddes ;
a Counterpoint of unykornes and a gryffyn ; and
ij tapittes of olde tapistry verdure w 1 shepe and shepardes.
1 If the first piece hung at the back of a dais, the 6| yards at the opposite end of the room, tlie
two 3^ yards at the ends of the dais, and the 8 yards, and the 4^ yards with the 3! yards, along the sides,
they would just cover the walls of a hall about 35 feet long and 20 feet wide.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 303
Perhaps the most interesting item is ' a tapett of the dome accustumed to
be over the high aulter', presumably of the earl's chapel in Hedingham castle,
containing in length and breadth 28 ' flemisshe stickis '.
There may also be noted :
to litle furres of Otter to lye on a bed,
ij panys of old Redde furrid with myniver olde, and
a cheir coverid w* old crymsyn velvet w* fringes of gold and silke.
The last section in the inventory, a list of ' Stuff at Colchester w*in saint
John is Abbey ', is in marked contrast to that of the wardrobe stuff inasmuch
as almost every one of the fifty-six items is more or less described. With one
or two exceptions, the list is made up of tapets, bed-hangings and coverings,
cushions, and carpets.
The tapets were evidently sets of hangings : seven being of counterfeit arras
with ' morions ' or blackamoors, six of tapestry with chairs and whistles, three
were old tapets with lilypots, four had for device the nine orders of angels,
and another four the story of Porsenna and Cleoda (Cloelia). A single tapet
which was ' olde and sore woren ' represented ' the viij valiauntes '.
The descriptions of the bed-hangings and coverings conjure to the mind
many quaint and pretty things, such as a celer and a tester of red satin
' w* a lyon driving a Whilebarowe ', a quilt of red sarcenet with my lord's arms
in it, a counterpoint of blue bawdekyn with trees of gold and white greyhounds,
a celer and a tester of counterfeit arras ' after thistory of David ', and another
of ' thistory of Kyng Alexander ', and a third of blue counterfeit arras of the
passion of Our Lord and the salutation of Our Lady with a counterpoint of the
assumption of our Lady. There is also another described as
a litle Cclour and a testour of white cloth of gold of bawdekyn and a counterpoint of
the same/iij Curteyns of sarcenett panid white and grenc that was for his ryding
bed and iiij angelles gilt uppon tymber.
Quite a pretty picture is here given us of the earl's travelling bed and the angel
guardians that decorated its canopy.
Of cushions there are two lots separated by an enumeration of the carpets.
The first lot was of little value, but the cushions in the second group were of
rich materials like cloth of gold and tissue, gold bawdekyn, and crimson and
purple velvet embroidered with heraldic devices such as scallop shells, caly-
greyhounds, and crankets; while a long cushion of purple velvet was embroidered
'w* a target of my lordes armes and my ladies'. Six cushions of counterfeit
arras bore ' Nabugodonisour is story ', and three square cushions are respectively
304 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
described as ' of Rebon laces red and tawny stripid w* gold ', ' of Rebound laces
white and grene ', and of ' laces Reboun Re'd and youloo '.
The carpets were nearly all heraldic in decoration. The first had ' a blue
bore in hit ', the second was ' a greate carpit w* Rosys in hit with a garter ', the
third was likewise 'a great carpit the grounde red with molettes garters and
crankittes '. There was ' a nother carpit with thise wordes therein /// domino
confido', and a fifth that had the same words and 'diverse knottes'. A new
carpet also had 'diverse knottes and redde Rosys therin ' and an old carpet
belonging to the closet ' Redde Rosys and Whyte '. Yet another carpet had a
ground of carnation and red with little knots in it, while another was of yellow
Fig. i. Seal of John dc Veer earl of Oxford, 1464.
with red and white roses, and the last in the list had ' a trayle of grene and the
grounde of Purple '.
Reference has constantly been made all through the foregoing analysis of
the earl of Oxford's testament and inventory to the decorative use of his arms
and badges. These throw such light on many of the ornaments and articles
described that it will be well to discuss them in detail.
First as to the earl's arms. These were, primarily those of Veer, quarterly
git/cs and gold with a silver molet in the quarter, as shown on the seal (fig. i),
which he had made probably on his accession to the earldom, since it appears
on a deed of 1466.' The Veer arms apparently were displayed by themselves
on many of the objects noted in the inventory.
1 Brit. Mus., Harley charter 57. c. ix. This has for counterseal a signet of the earl bearing his
badge of the calygreyhound. Another impression of this signet is used to seal another deed of the
same year (1466), Addl. Charter 30,421.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 305
But the earl also quartered with his own arms those of his mother, Elizabeth
daughter of Sir John Howard and suo jure baroness Plaiz, gules a bend and six
crosslets fitchy silver, as appears by a seal (fig. 2) that must have been made for
him shortly after his mother's death, 1 and a much later and coarser seal which
probably dates from the restoration of the earldom in 1485 (fig. 3). Mention of
' my Lord's arms and the Howards' ', generally quartered, likewise occur fre-
quently throughout the inventory.
There arc also constant references to the earl's arms in conjunction with
those of 'his late wiffes', or 'my old ladies', or 'my Ladyes that dede is', as she
is variously described. This was his first wife, Margaret daughter and heir of
Fig. 2. Seal of John de Veer earl of Oxford,
made after his mother's death.
Fig. 3. Seal of John de Veer carl of Oxford,
made probably in 1485.
Richard Nevill earl of Salisbury, who was married to him about 1465 and died
in 1489. Her arms were those of Montagu and Monthcrmcr quarterly, quar-
tered with Nevill (gnlcs a saltire silver with a label of Beanforf). These arms,
impaled or departed by the earl with his own, are described several times in the
inventory as being within the garter and surmounted by his helm. Now the
earl was not elected Knight of the Garter until 1486, consequently all the
numerous ornaments and pieces of plate ornamented with garters or with arms
within the garter must have been made after that year; or in other words,
directly the earl had once more become a wealthy man through the restoration
of all his honours and estates after his attainder.
1 A fine and perfect impression is appended to Brit. Mus. Addl. Charter 989 of the year 1496,
while Addl. Chr. 16,572 of the year 1509 has a fragment of the same seal.
VOL. LXVI. Q q
306 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
There are also a few things that may have been made shortly before his
death, since apparently they bore the arms, azure a gold bend, quartering silver
a saltire engrailed gules (for Tiptoft), of his second wife Elizabeth Scrope, whom
Fig. 4. List of the badges of John de Veer earPof Oxford (fromTillotson's MS.).
he wedded after 1507. For example, a cushion with a target of my lord's arms
and my lady's, and a little flat cup of gold having ' my Lordes armes and my
Ladies in the toppe of the cover'; but possibly, after all, the arms were those of
' my Lady that dede is '.
The evidence of the making of things new afforded by the arms is likewise
confirmed by the numerous badges used by the earl.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 307
Of these an interesting list is given by William Tillotson in his little
manuscript volume of Heraldic Collections, with the date 1594, now in the
Society's Library 1 (fig. 4).
The first seven of these badges, perhaps those actually seen and described
by Tillotson and removed from the ruinous buildings of the castle, are also to
be seen over the west window of Castle Hedingham church, where they may
have been put during a repair of the tower in 1616. They are, however, in different
order: (i) whistle and chain, (2) screw-jack, (3) molet, (4) boar under oak-tree,
(5) ox in a ford, (6) chair of estate, (7) eagle with a man's face (one-half lost).
Of these the first in Tillotson's list, the molet or five-pointed star, here dis-
played upon a scutcheon, is the well-known device
in the Veer arms, and is to be met with all over
Essex and Suffolk, wherever the earls of Oxford
had influence. It is described many times in the
inventory as accompanied by clouds, but no pic-
torial representation of this is known to me.
With the molet is often associated the next
badge on the list, the blue boar-pig, here ' under
an oken tree', that figures from an early date
as the punn ing-device or crest of the Veers, from
its Latin name of verres and the Old-French
form ver.
The 'maryner's whistell w"' a duble chayne'
has already been noted in connexion with the gold
badge of the earl's office of high admiral of England
which figures in the list of his effects.
The fourth badge in the list is a winding-
machine of some kind, encircled by the garter and
charged with a molet ; Tillotson gives a rough
drawing and merely calls it un clevis. This is almost
certainly the object so often described in the inventory as acranket, Gtcrancqnin
as it was called in France, defined by Littre" as an instrument which soldiers used
to stretch crossbows (instrument dont les soldats se servaientpour tend re les arbaletes}.
On the Castle Hedingham church tower the cranket is not unlike a coffee-mill, but
on the south door of Lavenham church (fig. 5) it takes the form of a long rod with
a hook for suspension at the top and a double hook for the crossbow at the foot,
and having the inner edge serrated throughout with a ratcheted handle that could
Fig. 5. Cranket and boar-pig badge
of the Veers, from the south door of
Lavenham church in Suffolk.
1 MS. iv, f. 124.
Qqz
3o8 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
be moved up or down. In front is a boar-pig charged on the shoulder with
a molet.
The bull, as Tillotson calls it, appears on the church tower as an ox crossing
a. ford with a scroll above lettered apparently rn. In other words, it is a rebus
on the earl's title, but does not occur either in the testament or the inventory.
The chair of estate, which comes next, is symbolical of the earl's hereditary
office of great chamberlain. It is many times represented in the clerestory
windows of Lavenham church, and is repeatedly noted as an ornamental device
on objects enumerated in the inventory.
The next badge is described in the inventory as a splayed eagle with an
angel's face, and by Tillotson as ' an angel or cherub w* mans face le winge
displayd eigle leggt & clawes in ceo in my lieu une molet 5 ps '. It may have
been, therefore, the fabulous creature known as the siren or the harpy. If so, it
was possibly adopted as a badge by the earl by reason of its reputed association
with mariners. But it has been suggested to me by the Rev. E. E. Dorling that
an eagle with a man's face may actually be the emblem of St. John Evangelist
in a form occasionally found, as for instance in a chancel window in Nettlestead
church, Kent. In that case the badge would allude to the earl's name. 1
The last badge in Tillotson's list is described by him as 'an antelop seyant
gardant fore parte leggt & clawes of an eigle hinder part legge and feet of an
oxe '. This is obviously the same beast as the pair that are shown upon all
three of the earl's seals as supporters of his boar-crested helm ; it is also the
device of one of his signets as early as 1466. But the beast is not an antelope,
and can be more accurately described as having the head of a wild cat with an
upright pair of horns curiously tufted or sprouting ; a tufted body with the hind
limbs and tufted tail of a lion or poodle ; and fore limbs ending in bird's or
dragon's claws. On all the seals, but not on the signet, the beast has around
the neck a jewelled collar from which hangs a chain ending in a ring.
This strange creature is quite unknown in the heraldic menagerie, and
Mr. G. C. Druce tells me that nothing like it is to be found in the bestiaries.
What then is it to be called ?
By a simple process of exhaustion all the earl's known badges have been
accounted for save one, namely the calygreyhound which is so frequently men-
tioned in both testament and inventory. This beast is as elusive as the other
creature's name, and he is not to be found in any dictionary, glossary, or other
source of information known to me. On the other hand, there is no mention in
testament or inventory of any beast answering to the description of that shown
1 It was used by the fifteenth earl as one of his supporters, and is finely shown on his monumental
slab of black marble in Castle Hedingham church (Archaeological Journal, xviii, facing p. 89).
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 309
on the earl's seals. I venture therefore to submit that this is the calygreyhound
we are in search of. 1 It is true that he in no way resembles a greyhound, but
perhaps the unknown prefix caly when interpreted will explain this. There is
no hint in the inventory as to his colour, but as he is described as appearing
indiscriminately on grounds of blue, crimson, purple, and green, he was perchance
a white or silvery creature, maybe with golden horns.
From its frequent mention in the inventory the ever beautiful and popular
flower called the columbine seems to have been another device used by the earl
as a mark for some of his silver, as an ornament of many pieces of plate, and the
subject of a magnificent livery collar. Basons chased with suns and wreaths of
columbines, and bowls with suns in the bottom and my lord's arms on the
cover, are items from the inventory that suggest another device, but neither the
columbine nor the sun is otherwise known to be associated with the Veers.
1 The same beast appears again on the monument at Castle Hedingham of the fifteenth earl as
his sinister supporter.
APPENDIX
THE LAST TESTAMENT OF JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD,
IOTH APRIL,
IN Dei Nomine Amen. I John de Veer Erie of Oxinford beyng in goode helthe and pfeyt
mynde not grevid vexed troubled nor diseasid with any bodily syknes knowyng and consideryng
well thuncerteyntie and vnstables of this wretchid lyfe And that there is nothing so certeyne
to any creature in this worlde lyving as is the deptuB from the same And natheless nothing soo
vncertayii as the tyme and howre therof Ordeyne and make this my present Testament the
x lh day of Aprill the yere of our Lord God m 1 v c and nyne and in the xxiiij" 1 yere of the Reigne
of King Henry the vij' 1 ' in maner and fo r me ensuyng vidett First I geve and bequethe my Soule
to thiniynitie fnlcy of Almighty Code Maker and Redemer therof /to the moost blessid and
glorious Virgyn oure Lady Seynt Mary Seynt John Baptist Seynt John thev u ngelist Seynt
Antony Seynt George and to all the holy Company of 1 leven And my body to be buried tofore
the Highe Aulter of our Lady Chapell in the Priory of Colne in the Countie of Essex in a tombe
whiche I have made and ordeyned for me and Margaret my late wif where she nowe lieth buried
My body thider to be brought according to my clegre And I renounce and revoke by this my
Testamet all other former Testaments bequest? and legacies by me made tofore the date for-
said Furtherly I woll that all my dett? sufficiently proved to be due by any writting or otherwise
and by me owyng to any psone be truely and duely contentid and paid. And in likewise I woll
that vnto all psones duely and sufficiently proving that I have injuried or wronged theym or
taken any good? of theym agaynst reason and goode Conscience be made recompense and
restitution as fare as my good? may extend or stretche orett? as myn Executours may entreat
theym for the discharge of my Cosciece Itm I bequeth to the figure at Walsinghm of ouB goode
and blissed Lady myn eagle of golde displaied and garnysshid Itm I bequeth in thonour of
the Holy and blissed Kyng Maiden and Martyr Seynt Edmond to his Monastery at Bury my
best hole sute of Vestment? of clothe off golde of tissue videlz for preeste Decon and Subdecon
Itm I woll and requyre myn Execute's that they as hastly aftir my depture as they can or may
provide shall cause M 1 M 1 . massez of Requiem to be saide and song for my Soule by Freest?
in man) and fo r me folowing videlicet. Euly FreeB beyng a Freest and abiding in any of the houses
of the Blacke Freer? in Cambridge /the blake Freer? of Oxford /and the Whit Freer? of Lyne
whiche houses of freert be of the foundacion of myn-Auncesters And also the Brethern of the
Charterhouse at London Shene and Syon beyng Freest? And also euly Monke chanon) and euJy
other religious psone beyng a Freest and abiding w'in any house of Religion of the foundacion
of any of myn Auncesters shall syng and say Flacebo Dirige & Comendacons And v. of the said
M 1 M 1 Massez And haue of my good? by thand? of myn Execute's iij" iiiH for his labour
And also euly other freer Monke Chanon) Anchorite and euly other man of Religion beyng a
Preeste w'in any house of Religion whatsoeu) it be in any of the Shires off NorfTblke Suffolke
and Essex shall syng and say Flacebo Dirige and Comendacons and three Massez pcell of the
1 Prerogative Court of Canterbury, u Feltiplace.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 311
Residewe of the said M 1 M 1 Massez assone as it may be done And to haue for his labour xviij' 1 .
And if all thesaide massez in fo r me above written to be saide and songe extend not to the full
nombr of M 1 M 1 massez. Than I woll that suche discrete and well disposid Preestt as myn Execute's
shall seme moost expedient aswell Regulars as Seculars shall syng and saye the Residue of the
same massis to the full nomber of M 1 M 1 massis And to have for their labour viij d ffor euly
Masse Placebo Dirige and Comendacons Also I woll that the Monkt of the Priory of Colne for-
saide whiche house ys of y foundacon of me and myn Auncesters shall euly day during the space
of oon monethe nexte aftir my depture syng dirige solemply by note for my Soule in the said
Priory And also syng oon masse of Requie daiely by Note and euly Monke there being a Prest
and so doing by all the saide space shalhave for his laboure and reward in that behalue x s . And
euly Nouice of the said house for the same tyme v s . Itm I woll that myn Execute's cause to be
said for me three TrentallC of Seynt Gregory accordinge to thordre of Seynt Gregories
trentallC in man) and fo r me folowing videlz thoon of the iij. assone as it may be aftir my said
burying. The Secunde assone as it may be done and said aftir my xxx" daye And the thirde as
sone as it may be aftir my yeris daye. And that myn Executours in anywise cause the saide iij.
Trentallt to be said by the moost vertuous preestC that they can prouyde aswell AnchorittC as
other And for euly of the saide trentallC I bequeth xij". Also I woll that myn Execute's assone
as they may aftir my departure doo fynde iij. Secular Preestt to sing and pray for my Soule/ the
Soules of my late wif / my wif that nowe is whan God shall call hir/my childern my Lord my
fader& my lady my moder/my brethern and my stisterii all myn Auncestris Soules/all my friendC
and good doers Soules and all Xpen soules in the Priory of Colne forsaid by the space of iij.
hole yeris taking yerely for their wagt euly of them x mrke. Also I geve and bequeth to the
Prio r and Covent of Colne Priory and to their Successotirs to thonour of Almighty God And to
the entent that Divine s'vice hereafter shalbe the more reQently mynestrid there of thorna-
mentt and Jewellt pteynyng to my Chapell thies pcellC folowing videlz. oon hole sute of Vest-
mentC for Preestt Deacon and Subdeacon of blake Velwet powderid with gartert flowrys and
mollettt. and orfraid w 1 rede velwet And iij. Copis of blake saten figury vpon tawny grounde/and
oon Cope of blake velwet purled Itrh ij. Aulter clothes of Whit damaske embrowderid and myn
Armes in diulse partt of the same w' a frontlett of the same wrought in the stole paly w' many
Werkt And a pece of rede clothe of golde of tissue at euly ende therof. Itm a Cope of Clothe
of Bawdkyn White orfreid w' blewe clothe of gold Itm ij. Copis of Crymsen Velwett powdrid
w' ffire yrongt thorfreis powdrid w' aungellt and molettt. Itm ij Copis of crymsen clothe of golde
w' a Monke on the hede It my Secund portues in the whiche the g'untt of thoffice of the
Great Chamberleynship of England made in tyme passid vnto Awbry de Veer Erie of Oxinford
myn auncester is written in thende It ij. great Candilstickt of silu) pcell gilte chased weying ciiij
vncC. It a Senso r of silv" w' liepardC fact weying xxvij vnc. di : It a Booke callid a Cowcher.
Itm A Crosse w'out Mary and John of silu) anneled on bothe sicl w' theu a ngelistt weying Ixiij.
vnct. Itm a paxbrede silu) and gilte w' an Aungell in the myddC vnder a glas holding a Vernacle
weying xvj vncC iij q u rters. Itm a chalice written aboute the boll Laudemus et supexaltemus eum
in seta, weying xxij vnct. Itm A Monstraunce of Buratl for Reliquys the fote and the coQyng
therof silu) and gilt w' Seynt Anne hauyng o r Lady in hir Armys weying xix vnct. Itm another
lower Monstraunce w 1 a buratt in the tope of y c coQyng and Seynt Margaret in the Botom
Weying ix. vncC iij q u rters Itm An Aungell silu) and gilt bering Reliquys Weying xvj vnct Itm
I geve and bequeth vnto thapparellyng of the Chapell of oure lady in the said Priory of Colne
where my tombe and the tombes of myn Auncestres and frendt tofore rehersid be nowe and
herafter shalbe made of the ornamentC and pcellt now vsed belonging to my Chapell in my
clossett viz. A Chalice of silu) and gilte w' the Trinitie in the Patent And in the foot of the
Crucifixe w' Mary & John And this Scripture folowing aboute the boll Calicem salutaris accipia
weying xvij vnct iij qrters Itm ij. small Candilstickt of silu) the borders gilt weying xxvj vnct
3i2 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
iij qrts Itm ij. small basons of silui and well gilt enbosed w' a ScriptuB aboute the borders
weying xxij. vnc? iij qrts Itm A paxbrede of Silu) gilt and enamelid w' a Crucifixe Mary and
John sett theryn weying vj vnc? j qrtr Itm ij. Cruett? Siiu) and gilt the borders with molett?
graven on the liddez of theym weying v vnc? Itm A Masse booke w 1 thies word? in the begyn-
nyng of the Secunde leff/post aspsione aque dicat sacerdos Itm ij aulter clothes of Whit
Sarcynet sett w' flowris garters and molett? on theym and a pane in the uppare clothe of Chekred
saten figury w 1 a Crucifix Mary and John sett theruppon/and on the nether clothe an Image of
our lady. Itm a payre of Vestment? of Whit clothe of gold of Tissue. Itm a payre of vestment?
of crymsen saten w 1 orfreis of blew velwett garnesshid Itm a payre of vestment? of crymsen
Clothe of Bawclekyn w' a orfrey of nedufl warke / and on the bake of the offrey a pellicane &
an Image of our) Lady. Itm ij. frontlett? of diQse sort? Itm iij. Corporasis w 1 the Cassis therunto.
Itm iiij. aulter clothes of lynnen to ley upon thaulters Itm ij aulters clothes of blake clothe of
golde Itm I geve and bequethe to the Highe Aulter of the Churche and Priory of Colne forsaid
ij aulter clothes of Russett Sarcynett powdred w' garter? and molett? and a pane in the mydd?
of crymsen clothe of Bawdekyn Item I geve and bequeth to the said Highe Aulter of the
Church & Priory of Colne forsaid my Crosse w 1 the foot silu) and gilte / the whiche is
accustomed to stande vpon the aulter in my Closset weying Ixix vnc? Itm I geve and bequeth to
the Priory and Covent of Colne forsaid and to their Successours tothuse and profile of the same
place and to thentent they shall the more hertely and more devoutly pray for me a stonding
cupe silu) and gilte w' a flowre in the botom whiche is my daiely cupe weying xx vnc? di. Itm a
great standing salt sixe square silu) and gilt w' a coOe pounced w' Vynes weying xxxix vnc? di. Itm
I woll that they have the basson and ewre Silu) and pcett? gilt that is accustomed to be caried
w' me weying iiij" viij vnc?. And that theis goodes forirDly by me to the said Prio r and Covent
yeven/be vnto theym deliQed by endenture triptite/thoon part w' theym to remayn/the secund
w' myn Execmo's/and the iij' lc to be deliQed by myn Execute's vnto myn heire at his full age/
And that vpon the cleliule of the said stuff Juell? and plate. The Prior for the tyme beyng shall
make a solempne othe that he during the tyme that he shalbe Prio r there shall not enbesell sell
nor putt away any of the said stuffe juell? or plate but the same alwayes to remayne and con-
tynue in the saide house to thuse above expressid. And that euly prio r that hereaft r shalbe
electe and chosen to be Prio r there shall vpon his Stallacon view and see the said stuffe. Jewell?
and plate and to make a like solempne othe for the goode keping and orderyng of the same
according to thentent tofore specified. Itm I geve and bequeth to the Belfray of the Church
and Priory of Colne forsaid xx li toward? the bidding of the same Itm I geve and bequeth to
the Monastery of Seynt John at Coilchester my ij. copis of crymsen clothe of gold of Luk?. Itm
I geve and bequeth to the Cathedrall Churche of Seynt John of Amyas in Picardy my best
Image of ouB Lady beyng in my clossett And myn Image of Seynt John Baptiste silu) and gilt
weying bothe togider Cl vnc? Itm I geve and bequeth to the Abbey of Woburn in the Countie
of Bukk. 1 wherof I am Founder myn Image of Seynt Andrew silu) and gilt accustomed to
stonde in my Chapell weying Ixvj vnc?. Itm I geve and bequeth to the Blake Freer? of
Cambridge myn Image of Seynt Peter Silu) and gilt, accustomed to stonde in my said Chapell
weying Iviij vnc? di. Itm I geve and bequeth to the Priory of Hatfeld Broodooke myn Image
of Seynt James silu) and gilt accustomed to stonde in my forsaid Chapell weying Ixiiij vnc?
Itm I geve and bequeth to the Nunry of Brosyerde in y Coutie of Suff. toward? the amende-
ment and repacons of the saide house xx" mrk? Itm I woll that euly house of Religion 2 hereafter
1 Woburn is actually in Bedfordshire.
8 The houses of religion referred to by the earl, with their reputed founders and dates of
foundation, were: Woburn Abbey (Beds.), Hugh Bolebec, 1145; Stratford Langthorne (Middlesex),
William de Montfitchet, 1135 ( r tne nunnery at Stratford-at-Bow, also in Middlesex); Hatfield
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 313
ensuyng beyng of the Foundacon of myn Auncestres aswell men as women viz. the houses of
Wobotirne Stratford Hatfeld Broodooke The Blake Freers of Oxford and Cambridge the House
of Seynt Osithe/the Nunes of S\vaffeh a m Hedingh a m Ikeltoii The houses of Threnmall Blake-
bourghe and Bromhill the Whit freer? of Lyne and the Houses of Blakamore Roiston Mendh a m
and Hempton And also suche pisshe churches where I have Mano r s land? and tentt: Shalhave
a reward of the stuff of my Chapell by the discrecion of myn Executo r s And if suche stuffe as
remayneth in my saide Chapell will not suffise therunto I than will that suche of the said
houses for whom it shall lake shalbe provided by my saide Execute's and deliuled to thentent
they shall the more hertly and devoutly praye for the Soules of me/ my wiffC and my childern
my lorde my fader my lady my moder/my brethern andsustern and all myn Auncestres Soules
and the Soules of all suche psones that in any wise I am bounden and have cause to praye for
And that euly house of my foundacion forseid at suche tyme as they shall doo Exequyes for me
my wiffC my childern my Lord my fader my lady my moder and other as is tofore rehersid shall
fynde. v. tapers aboutC myn herse to bren there during the tyme of the same exequyes And all
those that shall have busynes about? my same Exequies to haue for their labours by the
discrecion of myn Execute's Itm I bequeth unto myn olde frende S r Thomas Lovell Knyght a
Salt of Silu) and gilt w' a perle in the tope weying xxv. vnc?. Itm I geve and bequeth vnto my
moost loving wif of thornaments and JuellC pteynyng to my Chapell thies pcell? folowing viz
.ij. aulter clothes of blew clothe of golde lyned w 1 blew bokeram Itm a hole sute of Vestment? of
the same stuffe thoon of theym orfraid with Crymsen velwet sett w' fyne flowris of gold
enbrodred w 1 a Ragge Staffe in the fote of euly flowre And thoder orfraid w 1 crymsen saten
figury w' flowres of gold woven in the same Itm iij. Copis of like stuffe and according w' the
said vestment? Itm a vestment of crymsen velwett vpon velwet orfraid w' Whit darraske w'
flowres of gold woven theryn. Itm a vestment of White damaske orfraid w' purpill velwett sett
w' garters. It A Vestment of crymsen clothe of Bawdekyn. It ij. aulter clothes Crymsen velwett
vpon velwet sett w' water flowres Itm vj. aulter clothes of lynnen halowed to ley vpon aulters It
ij. curteyns of Rede Sarcynett Itm A crosse w 1 a playn fote garneshid with vij stones w' a vice to
open and to put in a pece of the holy crosse weyng xxxvj vnc? iij qrters Itm A payre of Candil-
stikk? of silu) and gilt w' Shank? pounced weying Iviij vnc? Itm a Sensour of silu) and pcell gilt
v' libard? fact weying xxvij vnc?. Itm A greate Chalice w' a patible Mary and John in the fote
ind written aboute the boll Hie est enim Calix novi testament! weying xxxj vnc? Itm another
-halice parcell gilt in the patent wherof Jftus is made in a knott weying xij vnc? di. Itm A holy-
water stocke of silu) w' a sprynkell which is accustomed to hang in my closett weying xxiiij vnc?
iij qrters Itm ij I mag? of silQ & gilte thoon of o r Lady and thoder of Seynt John Eu a ngelist that
be accustomed to stande upon the Highe aulter weying togider vj" & xviij vnc? Itm ij. Salt?
of Silu) and gilt w 1 a coule daiely accustomed at my borde weying togider xxvj vnc? Itm my
Broadoak Priory (Essex), Aubrey de Veer, c. 1135; Oxford Blackfriars, Isabel Bolebec, widow of
Robert earl of Oxford, 1221 ; Cambridge Blackfriars, Alice widow of Robert earl of Oxford, before
1275 ; St. Osithe's Abbey (Essex), Richard bishop of London, temp. Hen. I ; Swaffham Bulbeck
Nunnery (Cambs.), a Bolebec, late twelfth century; Hedingham Nunnery (Essex), Aubrey de Veer,
late twelfth century ; Ickleton Nunnery (Cambs.), ? Aubrey de Veer, 1190 ; Thremhale Priory (Essex),
Gilbert de Montfitchet, mid twelfth century; Blackborough Nunnery (Norfolk), Roger de Scales,
c. 1150; Bromehill Priory (Norfolk), Hugh de Plaiz, c. 1224; Lynn Whitefriars (Norfolk), Lord Bar-
dolf, temp. Hen. Ill ; Blackmore Priory (Essex), John de Sandford, late twelfth century; Royston
Priory (Herts.), Ralph of Rochester, c. 1184; Medmenham Abbey (Bucks.), Hugh Bolebec, c. 1200;
Hempton Priory (Norfolk), Roger de Sancto Martino, temp. Hen. I.
Colne Priory (Essex) was founded by Godfrey de Veer about noo; and St. John's Abbey at
Colchester by Eudo called Dapifcr, temp. Hen. I.
VOL. LXVI. R r
3i4 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
best ij. cruettC-with spowttt like dragons silu) and gilt weying togider xxviij vnc di. Item my
Secunde Antiphon) Itm ij grayles oon of the best another of the worst Itm iij processioners
Itm A legend complett Itm I geve and bequeth vnto hir of my plate pteynyng to my household
thies pcelle folowing viz. A Spice plate stonding gilt and w'out a coQe weyng Ixvj vnct It a
stonding cupe w'out a cou) silii) and gilt w' cheverons having myn armys in the botom weying
xxxv vnc Itm another stonding cup gilt and enameled w' blew Trulovys in the botom weying
xxvj vncet. Itm a stonding cup gilt w' a broken flowre in the botom enameled w 1 blew weying
xxxj vncee. Itm ij. potell potte gilt and chasid weying viij. iij. vnct di. Itm. ij. playn White
pottt of Silu) w 1 molettC in the coQryng weying vij" & xiij vnct Itfn! .vj. bollC w' a cou! pcell
gilt w' myn armys in the botom weyng iiijiij unct di. Itm a Salt of berall stonding w' an ymage
of a Morion vnder the Berall bering up the Salt w' a coule Silu) and gilt weying xxxv utice j
q u rter. Itm a playn stonding salt w'oute a cou) the Swagt gilt weyng ix vnct di. Itm another
lyke Salt weying ix vnc j qrt Itrh a payre of basons couered gilt w' a Scochion of myn Armys
and my late wife armys deptid in the botom of the same weying Cxvj vnct Itm ij. basons of
silu) chasid and eche other chace gilt w' baynes weying Cxj vnct Itrh ij ewers w' brode botoms
weying togider liiij vnct. Itm ij playn Candilstikke of silu) pcell gilt w' brochis for wax
weyng xxviij unct. Itm a greate candelsticke w' a nose and broche pcell gilt weying xviij
vnce j qrt Itm vj gilt sponys w' Rounde knoppis vpon thende weying vij vnce . Itm xij sponys
not gilt weying .xvij. vnct di. Itm I geve and bequth to my said wif w'out dymynucon
or restraint all maner appareill to her psone aswell clothe as sylkC and alman) of cheynes
ryngt girdelle devic bed broochis owchis precious stones and all other thingt beyng
pcell of hir appareill what soeu) they be Itrh I give and bequeth vnto hir of thapparell and
stuff of my household & chambres thies pcells folowing viz. A celo r A testo r and a Counter-
poynt of clothe of Bawdekyn crymsen and grene w' lyons of golde w' iij curteyns and a travers
of sarcynett and a Counterpoynt of grene tapestrie w' an Aungell in the midd The hangyng of
grene tapestrie of my device which ueth for the Hall Also a cupbordeclothe a tapet vnder
the wyndow and a carpet Itm a spervo r off grene clothe of gold of Bawdekyn the curteyns
therof of greene tartron It a Contpoynt of grene verdure A carpet and a cupbordclothe
accoustumed to be in my lodgyng chamber at Hedinghrh w' the grene hanging of tapestrie of
my device acoustumed in my said lodging chambr at Hedinghrh Itm ij. pec of Rede Say a
travars of silke accustomed to be in the gentitt womenys chambB at Hedinghrh .v. pecC of Rede
Say and a carpet pteynyng to my said wife closset theB. Itm ij ped! of Rede Worstede vsed to
be in the Wydratigftt of my Chambr there It a celo r and a testo r of Bawdekyn w' burdf of gold
iij curteyns of grene The Counterpoynt and all the tappettC of the History of Grissell a
cupbordclothe and a carpett vsid to lye in my Chambr callid the Kyngt Chambr at Hedinghm
w' all materassys and pailettt for to lye vnder bedd lying in any of the said Chambres there
Itm a celo r a testo r and a Counterpoynt of White and rede verdure paly w' tapettC of the same for
all the Chambr Itm a great Carpet to lye vnd) A borde and a carpet for a cupbordeclothe It a
Sparvo r of blew clothe of gold of Bawdekyn w 1 iij. curteyns White and blew tartron Itm I geve
and bequeth to hir beside all the pmissez iij payre of-fyne shet and x payre of courg shett .xij.
paire of shettC for s'v a nte iij paire of fustians viij paire of blankettC viij co91ett xij federbeddf w'
the Transoms and xij pilowes Itm in Stuffe of the Kechyn besidC the pmissez a newe garnyshe of
pewter vessell and iij garnyshe of household pewter vessell ou) and beside hir owne. Itm a brasse
pott called a Standard another brasse pott of v galons/ another pott of iij galons and a halffij.
posenette .iiij. panes ij. brochis Square ij Rounde and ij brochis for bird? .ij. Racke of yron a
gredyron & a cawdron Itm I woll that if I haue yssue male of my body laufully begoten that
than my same yssue male shalhaue the good and Juelle hereaftir ensuyng viz First myn
Image of the Trinitie Silu) and gilt /and my Crosse of gold wheryn lyeth ij. pec of the Holy
Crosse w' the garnyshing of the same which weyeth vj" & vij vnct and the Crosse of gold
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 315
waieth xv vnct Itm my bedcle of Roott whiche I hade by reason of myn Office of the Great
Chamberleynship of England at the KyngC Coronaclon Also my hanging of Tulius Itm a celo r
& a testo r of Riche Arrais w' a torney therin whiche I had at the Coronacon of the Quene / that
dede is / by reason of my said Office / It a celo r a testo r and a Counterpoynt of Crymsen saten
w' my helmet and device /and a hanging for the great Chamber at Hedinghm of tapestry paly
crymsen and tawny / Itm a celo r a testo r and a Counterpoynt of Crymsen saten of Bridges
enbrawdred w' blew borys molett and a pare Itm a celo r a testo r and a Countpoynt of Crymsen
damaske enbrawdred w 1 flowres borys and crankett / and ij Women fedyng a Popyngay in a
Cadge / the celo r and a testo r lyned w' Canvas and the Counterpoynt lyned w 1 bokeram Itm ij.
standing pottC silu) and gilt chacid w 1 myn Armys and the HowardC Armys in the toppis
weying viij" iij vnct Itm a payre of coQed bassons gilt accustomed to be in my Chapell
Weying Cxlij vnct Itm ij aulterclothes of White made and wrought by my lady my moder w 1
a frontlett of the same wrought w' myn armys. Itm a sute of vestmentC of White for preest
Deacon and Subdeacon Itm iij. Copes of the same colo r Itm ij. Censo r s of silu) w' the Caligrey-
hound weyng vj xx xiij vncf & j qrt Itm my best crosse silu) and gilt weyng Clxiiij vnc Itm my
beste garnyshe of silu) vessell marked w' Brikkettt w 1 iiij chargeo r s all weying M 1 CCCiiij xx
vnces / myn almes dishe with SwagC gilt weying Cxlvij vncC j qrt. My cupe of gold w' splaide
Eagles and a balace in the tope weying xlij vncC j qrt And my greatest CandilstickC weying
Cxxxj vnct i qrt And all this same tofore rehersid and to myn yssue male bequethed to be putt
in the Monastery of Bury or in suche other place as I shall name oretts there as myn Executo r s
or the more part off theym in nombre shall thinke most convenyent vnder sure and saulf keping
by theire discrecions All whiche stuffe juellt and plate I woll shalbe deliQed vnto my saide
heyre male whan he comyth to his full age of xxj yeres/and not afore/ And that it shalbe deliQed
vnto hym in this man) and fo r me shewing vnto hym that my veray will & mynde is that he shal
haue thuse of the same stuffe juell and plate during his lieff And after his decesse all the
same to remayn to theyres males of his body laufully begoten. And if it fortune me to haue no
issue male but yssue female or ffemales that then all the saide parcelH! shall go to the saide heyre
ffemale or heyres ffemales of my body laufully begoten And if there be moo doughters than oon
to be devided evenly amongt theym And if it shall happen me to dye w'out any suche saide yssue
of my body laufully begoten or having but oonly oon heyre male and he to dye tofore the saide
age or ellC w'out yssue male off his body laufully begoten Than I woll that the saide stuffe juellC
and plate to hym assigned as is aboue shall immediatly remayn to my Nevew John Veer sonne
of my broder Sir George Veer Knyght if he than be on lyve and not vnder the said age off xxj
yeres And my mynde to be expressid vnto him con3nyng the remaynder therof for theyres
males of his body laufully begoten And for defawte of suche yssue male all the same to be
deliQed vnto my Cousyn John Veer cousin and heyre vnto myn vncle Sir Robert Veer Knyght
if he than be on lyve And after his deth to remayn to theyres males of his body laufully
begoten And for defawte of suche yssue male All the same pcell to be disposed by myn Execute's
for the well of my Soule and the Soules abouesaid. And on God bihalue desire my saide
heyre male whiche shall fortune to be of my body laufully begoten And also my saide nevew and
Cousyn if it shall happen the stuffe juell and plate to come to his or their hand? by reason of
my bequest forsaid that they will in nowyse attempte for to breke this my Will in asmoche
as I of my goode mynde haue thus bequethed the sain) vnto hym or theym that shall succede
me as heyre male in the Erledome for their hono r and encrease Prouyded alwey that vpon the
deliQe of the said stuffe juellt and plate vnto any myn heyre or heyres whiche shalhaue right
therunto by reason of this my saide bequest I will that he or they shall make a sufficient dis-
charge of the same vnto myn Execute's and that they promyse and afferme to obs'ue my saide
Will in eu)y bihalf And if my saide issue male nevew cousyn or he vnto whom first deliutey
shalbe made of the saide pcell doo enterrupt or breke this my psent Will Than I woll that
R T2
316 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
my saide Executours shall make no deliQey of the saide good? juell? and plate but convert the
same to suche vse for the wele of my Sotile and the Soules tofore expressed as they shall
thinke moost convenyent Itm I geve and bequeth vnto my Nee? Dorathe and Vrsula vj c mrk?.
that is to sey to either of theym CCC mrk?. the same to be deliQcd vnto either of theym at their
agis of xxiiij 1 ' yeres / or bifore if they be maried. And if it fortune oofi of theym or bothe to
decesse tofore the saide age or mariage than that money to be disposid by myn execute's for
thexecucion of this my testament and of my last Will and Codicell And toward? the payment
of the saide sixe hundreth m a rk?. I woll that my Cheyne with the Whistell having sixe Score and
oon link? weying iiij" xviij vnc? di be solde And the Residue that shall lake to be made vp by
myn Executours of y c full of the same some Item I geve and bequeth to John Broughton a
payre of flagons of silQ like to botell? weying viij" xiij vnc? di. Itm I geve to Robert Broughton
his brother xli in money Item I bequeth to my said Cousyn John Veer of my plate and other
stuffe the value of Cli It I geve vnto the same John Veer my coler of garters and rede
roses of gold Itm I will that myn Execute's in as goodely hast as they reasonably may aftir
my decesse shall convay and cause to be convayd suche of my juell? plate stuffe and good?
moevable and suche evidenc? of myn as shalbe thought most convenyent by myn Execute's or
the more parte of theym to be putt in sure coffers and well lokked w' cliulse lokk? & keyes
beyng \v'in my Castell of Hedinghm at London at Wyuenhoo or any other place /vnto the
Abbey of Bury or to the House of Seynt Johns at Coilchestre orellys to suche places as my
saide Execute's or the more parte of theym in nombre shall thinke most convenyent to the
entent they may have their meatyng? there ffor thorderyng and disposicon of the same
for thexecucon aswell of euly Article conteyned in this my testament and in my Codicell as of
eQy article and clause conteyned and especified jn my last Will ffor the declaracion of the same
towelling the demean) ng and orderyng of my lond? and tent? beyng receded or to be recoQed
beyng or to be in feoffez hand? And the profitt? of the same for the pfo r mance of my said Will
Testament and Codicell Itm I woll that noo part of the legacies by me bequethed (except those
that I have willed vnto S r Thomas Lovell Knyght and to my wif) be deliuered till my dett? be
paid And oon yere aftir my depture exspired Oonles it be thought by \> c more pt of myn
Execute's that it is behouefull and conuenyent to deliule any part of the same w'in the said
yere for som cause reasonable And if any psone or psones to whom I haue geven or bequethed
any thing do intrupte lett breke or cause any part of my Testament Codicell or last Will to be
enterrupted or broken that than the same psone or psones that see doe shalhaue no pfitt by
my said testament Codicell nor last Will but that euly pcell vnto suche psone or to the chilclern
of such psonnes bequethed be solde by myn Executours and emploied for the well of my Soule
Also I woll that euly man beyng my s'u a nte and all other psones of what degre or condicion they
be of having any office fee or Annuytie by my mouthe or by my Writting during my pleasuB or
otherwise goyng owte of any honnds Mane's lond? and tent? of myn enheritaunce in fee syniplc
or of my purchase shalhaue contynue and enioye the same aftir my decesse w l lyke fees wag?
and pfitts during theire lyves as they hadde of me by my lif for thexecucion and occupacon of
the same Itm I woll that all Knyght? Esquyers gentilmen and other to whom I haue appoynted
certeyne Annuyties during their liff? for suche true and faithful s'vice as they haue done vnto
me whose names & the somes of their Annuyties are especified in a Codicell herunto annexed
as by the title of the same Codicell it doeth appere shalbe truly contentid and paid of their
said Annuyties during their liff? of thissues and profitt? of my said Mano r s land? and tent?
put in feoffamet for thexecucion of this my testamet and of my Codicell and last Will. And
that all other my 3unt? to whom I have yeven certeyn somes of money by way of Reward
whose names and their somes annexid to their names doe also appere in my said Codicell as
by the title written aboue their names there it cloeth appere Shall tritely be paid and contentid
of their said Reward? by myn Execute's of my good? and profitt? of my land? put in feoffa-
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 317
ment as is forsaid in suche convenyet tyme as by my same Executes shalbe thought reasonable.
Itm I woll that if it fortune any some or somes of money to be demaunded of myn Execute's
by any psone or psones for any man) of cause. Which by myn Execute's cannot be advoided but
that they shalbe compelled to paye or to compounde for the same And that my good? about
my bequest? suffice not to the contentacon therof and thissuez and profitt? of my lond?
receded or to bee recouped or putt in feoffament must goo for the tyme to the saicle payment?
so demaunded by reason wherof thexecucon of my testamet codicell and will for the pay-
ment? of the same must in many thinges be putt in delay till suche tyme as the said payment?
soo demaunded be paied. That than and immediatley aftir the said payment? so demaunded be
made and paid All suche psones and eu)y of theym which haue forbourn any pfitt in the meane
tyme of any fee Annuytie or reward or other profitt to theym or any of theym belonging by
reason of my said testament Codicell or Will shalbe aunswered contentid and paid of their said
feez Annuyties reward? and profitt? and all tharrerag? of the same in as hasty and reasonable
tyme as the profitt? of my said lond? may be receyved and gadred aftir the said demaunde be
paid by the discrecion of myn Execute's Itm I woll that my cousyn S r Henry Marney Knyght
shalhaue xl li in money in full recompense of suche good? as the same S r Henry claymeth or
may clayme in the right of his late wif the doughter of Wifold if the same Sir Henry can make
myn Execute's a laufull discharge for it ayenst allmafi) psones orellys not Itm I woll that my
best Antiphoner aftir my decesse be deliQed to the Churche of Stoknailond Itm I woll that if
my kynnesman Thomas Veer haue noo promocion by mariage or otherwise in my lif tyme by
my meanes that than the same Thomas shalhaue yerely during his lif xx'' m)k? of ftee going out
of my said lond? and tent? whiche are put in feoffament during xx li yeres next aftir my
deth Also I woll that myn Execute's w'in a qrfcer of a yere next aftir my decesse if it may be
convenyently done Shall pay and content my household unt? suche householde wag? as to
theym at that tyme shalbe due And also w'in the said qrter doo cotent and pay vnto efly of
my said s'u a nt? all suche legacies and reward? as to my same s'u a nt? by this my testament or by
my Codicell by way of yeste ' or rewarde ys bequethed vnto hym And bicause I wolde that my
household s'u a nt? shold haue reasonable tyme in providing of them new Maisters I woll that
my same s'u a nt? or asmany of theym as lisle to contynue in my household shalhaue meate and
drynke there for oon hole yere next ensuying my deth w'oute takyng of any wag? or other
reward or yeste ' Saving suche as is by me formlly appoynted And for that my said s'u a nt? shuld
cotynue and kepe togidre if they so lyke I woll that my household be kepte at the Priory of
Colne by the space of oon hole yere next my dethe Itm I woll that myn Executo's geve
toward? the making of the lies of the Churche of Lavenhm xx 1 ' ou) and besid? xx 1 ' whiche
I tofore have geven to the same Itm I woll that my said Execute's geve toward? the bidding
and making of the Churche of Harwich xx 1 ' Itm I woll that if any matier comprised w'in this my
testament Codicell or last Will be ambiguous or doutfull or if my said Executo's for any matier or
cause con9nyng my said testamec Codicell or laste Will or for any thinge by theym to be done
w l my good? for the wele of my soule hereaftir be in diQse opynions That than thenternretacon
ordering and doyng therof be hadde and made by the more part of my said Executes And if
theB be thing by me omytted out of my testamet or thyng theryn to be chaungid or thought
necessary soo for to bee by the more part of myn Executours Than I woll that the more part of
theym shall doo and be ordred theryn as they shall seme most convenyent and necessary And
that suche doyng alteracion and ordre by theym soo taken and made be as p*cell of my said
testament and of as goodc effecte and as vailable as thoughe it ware by me doon and here
expressid Itm I woll that all myn Executo's beyng on lyve or asmany of theym as convenyently
may shall oonys in the yere haue a genlall assemble in the Cilie of London so that they be the
1 Sic ; but query for yefte = gift.
318 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
more part in nombre tofore the Chief Justice of the Kyngt benche the Chief Judge of the
Comon place and the Maister of the RollC of the Kyngt Chauncery for the tyme beyng or ij. of
theym to thentent if any matier of weight happen to fall emongt theym for the defence
of myn heyre or his lond or for any thing for thexecucion of my last Will testament and
Codicell/or any of the same/or for any matier or thing theryn by theym to be doon/that they
shall shewe the same to the said Judges and Maister taking their advicC and counsaill for
thordre thereof/and their advic or advice of suche of theym as at suche assemblies can or wolbe
present had that than my said Execute's or the more part of theym in nombB to execute
suche thingt as by theym or the more part of theym shalbe thought reasonable And as often
as suche Meting? shalbe that repeating be hadde by my said Execute's aswell off suche
thingt as they tofore that day haue doon as of suche other thingC as by theym shalbe than
after their suche meting necessary to be done And the said J udgC and Maister at my costC and
chargt haue their dyner and for e3y theire payne and labo r there being psent x s Also I woll
that for all suche chargt and costt as shalbe susteyned by any of myn Execut! aswell for the
saide Meting at London as for any other Meting in any other place or for any other matier or
cause labour or cost by theym or any of theym done to their chargf for & aboute the execucion
of my Testament Codicell or last Will allowaunce shalbe hadde and made to euly of theym by
the more part of my same Execute's in nombre soo that noon off myn Execute's in any suche
allouance shalbe his owne oonly Judge nor yet take his reward or allowance hymself but by
thassent of the more part of his company in nombre as is forsaid And ou) that I woll that
noon of my said Execute's make any man) gu a nte nor make releas nor other discharge for any
matier touching my said testament Codicell or last Will nor make any Officez nor take any
recepte nor make any payment nor any other thinge do by auctoritie of my testament
Codicell or last Will w'out thassent of the more part of myne Execute's in nombre Whiche if
any of theym wilfully or obstynatly doo w'out suche saide assent and woll not be reformable
by the more part of my said Execute's That than he or they so doyng be clerely dismyssid from
all further medeling w' thexecucion of my testamet will and Codicell and not to haue nor take
any advauntage or profitt by any graunte bequest or reward to hym lymytted by this my testa-
ment by my Will or Codicell bicause of his obstynacy and misdemeano r but the residue of myn
Execute's to refuse his or theire company. Itm I geue and bequeth vnto eu)y oon of myn
Execute's beyng of the degre of a Knyght and taking upon hym the charge of thexecucon of
this my testament and of my last Will and Codicell ten poundt in money for his payne in and
abowtt the same and lykewise to eiiy other of myn Execute's taking vpon hym the lyke charge
ten m)ks in money And ffor the pfo r mance of my last Will and also of this my plsent last
testament w' my Codicell herunto annexed. I ordeyne and make myn Executes videlit First
Elizabeth my moost derest wif. Sir Thomas Level! Knyght. Sir James Hobert Knyght. Sir
Robert Drury Knyght. Sir William Waldegrave. Knyght. sir Robert Lovell Knyght. Willm
Cookt docto r John Veer thelder esquyer Humfrey Wingfeld Esquyre John Danyell Esquier
John Josselyn Esquyer and William Okeley gentilman In wittnes wherof to this my present
last testament I have setto my signe manuell And also- to the same and my last Will and Codicell
annexed togider haue sett the scale of myn armys the day and yere aboue written.
OXYNFORD.
This is the Codicell of me John de Veer Erie of Oxinford videlz I woll that all thies
psones whose namys be especified here vnder this clause shall receyve and haue euly oon of
theym an yerely Annuytie for terme of their lyvys according to the some annexid vnto eche
of their namys. the same to goo owt and be paid of suche my lands and tentt as myn Execute's
or the more part of theym shall therunto appoynt. Sir Thomas Tyrell Knyght vj 1 ' xiij" iiij d .
Sir Robert Drury Knyght vj" xiij* iiij d . Sir Robert Lotiell Knyght vj" xiij 8 iiij d . Sir William
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 319
Waldeg a ue Knight vj 1 ' xiij s iiij' 1 . Roger Wentworth Knight C s . William Fyndern Knight
C s . Henry Tey Knight C s . Robert Payton Knight iij 1 ' vj s viij d . John Grene Knyght iij 1 '
vj s viij' 1 . William Clopton Knyght iij 1 ' vj 9 viij d Robert Cotton Knyght iij 1 ' vj 9 viij d Gilis
Alington Knyght iij 1 ' vj s viij d My Cousyn John Veer ou) and besidC myn other bequestis in my
testament and last Will xx" John Josselyn x 1 ' John Danyell x" William Okeley x" Robert Brews
liij 3 iiij d John Goldingham liij s iiij d William Ayloff liij 3 iiij d John Aspelon liij s iiij d Humfrey
Wingfeld Iiij 3 iiij d William Pyrton thelder Iiij 3 iiij d John Fowhell liij 3 iiij' 1 Geffrey Gate liij" iiij d
George Waldeg a ue liij s iiij' 1 Thomas Tyrell the sonne of Sir Thomas iij 1 ' vj s viij d Richard Appulton
liij s iiij d William Sondt. iij 1 ' vj s viij' 1 John Earners iij 1 ' vj s viij' 1 Antony Danvers liij s iiij d Thomas
Veer liij 3 iiij d Henry Radclif liij 3 iiij d Thomas Brews liij 3 iiij d Robert Tyrell liij s iiij' 1 William
Waldeg a ue liij" iiij' 1 Thomas Tey Sen) liij 3 iiij d Thomas Tey Jun) liij 3 iiij' 1 William Pirton Jun) liij 3
iiij' 1 Ric' Wryght iiij 1 ' Thomas Lathbury liij" iiij d Thomas Rotheman liij 3 iiij d Thomas Radclif
liij 3 iiij' 1 Robert Skern liij 3 iiij' 1 Robert Dedyk' xl s Lewes Blodwell for keping of Campis Mewse
ou) and besid his fee for keping of the pare there lx 3 x d Laurence Younge xl s Roger Neve xl 3
Griffith Gough xl 3 George Reynew xl 3 George Traas xl 3 John Swayn lx 3 x d Henry Watson xl 5
John Hewet xl 9 William Dickson xl 3 Robert Broughton liij 3 iiij' 1 Laurans Forster liij 3 iiij d
Franc Burton C s Robert Goldinghfh liij 3 iiij d
OXINFORD.
And I woll That thies psones whose names be herunder written shall haue by thhandis
of myn Execute's Acording to the Somys annexid to their namys and no fee nor Annuytie but oonly
eche oon his some for oon tyme in reward Margaret Ryder liij s iiij' 1 Elizabeth Wingfeld liij* iiij d
Margaret Harleston liij 3 iiij' 1 William Towneley liij 3 iiij d Thorns Eyre liij 8 iiij' 1 Thomas Hogen
xl' WitTm Barton xl s William Holbroke xl s Ric' Jewellar xl s John Brond xl s George Hesketh
xl s Anlftny Freman xl 3 John Williams xl 3 Peter Barnehm liij 3 iiij' 1 John Legge xl s John Holme
xl 9 . Robert Rowse xl 3 Thomas Miinyng xl 3 Richard Wilton xl 3 William Woderofe xl s Thomas
Hogen xl 9 William Millt xl' George Turno r xl s Nicholas Jeve xl 9 Thomas George xl s Symon
Breyn xl 9 John Parker xl s John a Kent xl 3 Symon Dyestar xl s Thomas Estay xl s Olyver Hunt
xl 9 Laurens Houghton xl 3 Thos Garling xl 3 John Greeneleef xl 3 Water Symond xl" Thomas
Mayhew xl s Jamys Baldwyn xl 9 Robert Baldwyn xl 3 Thomas Jackeson xl s John Pigge xl 9
Laurens Skynn) xl s William Dallog xl 9 John Lewes xl 3 John Tolton xl 3 Rauff Goldern xl 9
Willrh Estay xl 3 Thomas Rively xl* Lewes William xl 3 Hugh Pigge xl 3 Dauid Roderford xl 9
Peers Sowth xl 3 Thomas Brett xl" Peers Barnard xl 9 Robert Bell xl 3 Richard Cook xl 3 William
Cratherode xl 9 John Cratherode xl 9 Robert Fenne xl 9 Robert Manche xl 3 John Nashe xl*
Thomas May xl 9 Robert Bryan xl' Thomas Porter xl 3 Thomas Bridgf xl 3 John Wode xl 9
Richard Dalton xl 9 Richard Pygot xl 9 Cornelius Thomson xl 3 William the Yoman baker xl 9
John Doye xl 9 olde Jegon the Parker xl 9 Richard Baker xl 3 Richard Barker xl 9 Richard Hardkyn
xl 9 Nicholas Benbury xl 9 Symon Gateward xl 3 William Elistoon xl 3 lyan Aleyne xl s William
Ring' xl 9 The Millar xl 8 John Harison xl* Robert Bucketon xl 9 John Davison xl s Thomas
the grome baker xl 9 Randoll Lyell xl 9 Andrew Fleccher xl* John Jegon the Gardyfi) xl" Kemp
the Gardyner xl*. ij. other Gromes of the Stable liij s iiij d The grome Chariotman xxvj" viij d
The Grome Brewer xxvj 9 viij d The Grome Cato r xxvj 9 viij d John Browne luto r xl s Stephyn
taborett xxvj 9 viij d Guyllam Fidellar xxvj s viij' 1 The Grome Slaughterman xxvj 9 viij' 1 The Grome
of the Squyllery xxvj" viij' 1 William Walker xxvj* viij' 1 Richard Pipar xxvj* viij d John Boye
xxvj 9 viij d
OXINFORD.
Probatum fuit testamentum supradicti defunct! hentis dum vixit et mortis sue tempe diQsa
bona & debita in diversis dioc' prouincie cant vnacum Codicello et vltima voluntate eiusdem
320 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
eidem testo annex' ac manu propria ipuis Comit? defunct! subscript et signal sigilloq3 suo
armor); sigillat et roborat &c. Administracioq3 ofn) et singuloi^. bonorum et debitorum dcm
comitem defunctum et eins testamentu et ultima voluntatem sive Codicellum quaTircunqj
concerneii Roberto Drury Willmo Walgrave Militibz ac Johanni Veer Johanni Josselyn et
Johanni Danyell Armigeris et Wittmo Okely generoso Executoribz in hmoi testamento noiatC
decimo die mensis Maij Anno Dili mittimo quingentesimo xiij comissa extitit prestito primitus
per dcos executores tact? scripturis sacrosanct? evfigelijs juramento corporali De bene et
fidetir admistrand 1 eadem ac de perimplendo contenta in dcis testamento ultima voluntate &
codicello eidem testo annex) Deqj fideli Inventario confident et exhibend Juraruntqj insuper
dci executores tactC per eosdem sacroscis ev'ngelijs ut prefertur q3 si et quatenus imposte)}.
sufficienter et Itime probat fuerit dcm defunctum aliud legatum sive aliqua legata per viam
Codicellorum vel afir alicui persone sive psonis reliquisse aut disposuisse preter et ultra iegata
in dict testo ultima voluntate et Codicello contenta per eu relict q d extunc hmo legat sufficienter
et Itime probat dicti Executores hmoi legatu sive legata et eo) quodfit perimplebunt seu
pimpleri facientet procurent/proutet quemadmodu hmoi legatum sive legata in dcis testamento
ultima voluntate aut Codicello ins't aut inscript fuissent Eciam comissa fuit similis ad Humfrido
Wingfeld exec, inpsona M r Xpofero Midd procuB sui &c. siTo Jurament prestan &c. Res'vata ptate
alijs Executoribz &c. xiiij die menst Maij predict comissa fuit consimilis ad &c. Dfte ElTz
Vere Comitisse Oxon in pso M r Witti Falke &c. xx Junij an predco comissa fuit ad & c
Roberto Lovell & Jacobo Hubberd militibz & Witto Cooke deinde xxviij Junij predict comissa
fuit ad Thome Lovell militi in psona Tho. Mercer & c executor juratf.
INVENTORY OF THE GOODS AND CHATTELS OF JOHN DE VEER,
131-11 EARL OF OXFORD, 151 3. 1
f. 71 Inuentariu oirh et singloi; bonoru debitoru catalloij. ac sumaru Pecuniai; nobilis ac
pipotentis viri dni Johannis de Veere comitis Oxon magni cafnlarii ac admiralli anglie vicecomitis
Bulbek et dni de Scalis fact et appreciat p me Thomam Mercer apparitorem gencralem
Reuerendissimi dni Witti Cant Archiepi vicesimo die Maii Anno diii mittimo qulgentesimo xiij.
At Coolne w'in the Priory in the White Chamber
In Primis w'in the wardropp a pece & a Renaunt of course blake clothe) ...j
conteynyng xxvj yerdes qrt di le yerde / xij sm j XXV J V11 J
Itm viij yerdes of blake Cotton ij
Itm a nother pece of xiiij yerdes price xiiij'
Itm a pece and Remnaunte cont xxxij yerdes price xxxij"
Itm v small pec cont xxij yerdes xxij*
Itm xxvj yerdes of narow broken coutton , v s
Itm an hanging of Redde Saye vj" viij d
Itm a sperver of old tartorn iij Hij' 1
Itm vij fetherbeddes w' bolsters p~)ce le bed x* sm iij" x s
f. 71 b Itm iiij large fetherbeddes with bolsters price le bedde xv" sm iij 1 '
Itm v matteres with their bolsters x*
Itm fyve large pair of blankett x*
Itm v olde pair of blankettC v*
1 Public Record Office, Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. iv, ff. 70-103.
viij s
xx u
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 321
Itm iij pair of fustians 1 of v breades iij yerdes di long sore worn price le pair) ...
iiij" sm J ^
Itm a pair of bustians 2 of the same lenght & brede iiij 9
Itm iij pair and oon fustians of iiij bredes iiij yerdes di long price ij* viij d le) . .... d
r IX 1111
pair j
Itm a white quylte w 1 small branches conFxx flemysshe ell xv 1
Itm a nother quylte of the same lenght & brede xiij 3 iiij d
Itm a nother quylt w' floure de lic and birdes vj s viij d
Itm a Counterpoynt 3 of tapistry w' the picture of Salamon lined sore worne) .... .... d
cont in lenght v yerdes & iiij brede j '^ U J
Itm a Counterpoynt of counterfeit arrais w' a man and a woman hawkyng) 8
and hunting worn cont in lenght v yerdes on qr / and iiij di brode f J
Itm a Counterpoynt of tappistry cont in lenght iiij yerdes di in brede iij yerdes) ....
di price j ^
Itm a Counterpoynte of olde verdure lyned w 1 a gripe* in hit iiij yerdes di)
long / and iiij yerdes di brode j
Itm an olde Counterpoynt of tapistry w' a man in the oon corner bering a]
hawke / cont iij yerdes di long ij yerdes di brode j
f. 73 Itm an olde Counterpoynt of tapistry w 1 a ma) in the fote of hit beryng an) .
herensewe r ' by the necke v yerdes long / iiij brode qrt! j
Itm an old Counterpoynt of grene verdo iiij yerdes long and iij brode vi s
Itm a Counterpoynt of olde tapistry lined iiij yerdes qri! long /and iij yerdes) ... a
qr? brode
Itm an olde counterpoint of palid white & Redde verdo r cont iij yerdes qrt!) .. s
long / ij yerdes iij qrt! brode j '-
Itm ij Counterpoyntf of old Redde saye broderid w* H and M knett w 1 a napkynj
and a man and a woman on horsebake/cont v yerdes long a pece and iiij [ xiij s iiij d
yerdes brode )
Itm A counterpoint of Red sarcenett in quylt worke lyned w' blue bokeram) 9
cont v yerdes long / iiij brode j '
Itm A Sperver of chaungeable sarcenett embrodrid w' crankettt with curteins)
of crane colo r sarcenet lined w' blue bokeram and a counterpoint of the' -,) ... s ....,,
same chaungeable sarcenet enbroderid w 1 an hundred di crankettf contA
iiij yerdes iij qrt long and iiij yerdes brode lined w' blue bokeram p)ce
Itm A Sperver of blue and crymsyn velvett palid and w 1 oon pale of cloth of)
gold of baudekyn w' viij panys of violett and Redde sarcenet p)ce j
Itm A tapet of tapestry, w 1 a gentil woman bering a Cupp of gold in the myddes)
cont iiij yerdes long iij yerdes di brode J
Itm A tapet of olde tapestry a man on horse bak in the myddes w' H and E)
vppon his brest knyt with a lace iiij yerdes long and iiij brode
viij d
vj 1 ' xiij* iiij' 1
xiij" mj"
Itm an olde tapett of tapestry w' a man in harnes fightyng w' a lyon iij yerdes) ..., ....,,
iij qrt long iij yerdes qrt di brode j
Itm an olde tapett of tapestry and a woman beryng a baskett w' grapes cont) f . t ...
in brede / iiij yerdes qrt and iiij yerdes depe
i i I '
1 Fustians, sheets made of coarse linen.
3 Counterpoint, a quilted cover for a bed.
'' Herensewe, a young heron or hernshaw.
VOL. LXVI.
2 Bustians, sheets of cotton twill.
4 Gripe, a griffin.
s s
322
THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm an old tapett of old toren arais a w 1 clowdes of whyte and purple in upper
borders cont / iiij yerdes qrt long and iiij yerdes brode
Itm an olde tapett of old toren arais w' a castell of brike in the middes on the
upper part cont vij yerdes di long iij yerdes depe and iij qrt
Itm an olde tappitt of counterfet areis /a man w 1 a crossebowe shoting at a
wilde best and in a nother corner a castell. vij yerdes qrt di long iij yerdes
iij qrt depe
Itm A Counterpoynt of tapistry w' the story of AlexandB cont in brede iiij
yerdes in lenght iiij yerdes qrt p)ce
Itm a tapet of olde arais w' scripture in the upper border in frenshe w' clowdes
white and Purple vij yerdes di long iij yerdes iij qrt depe
Itm an olde toren tapett of areis iiij yerdes di long iij yerdes di depe w' treis
rounde in the borders
Itm A tapet of tapestry iij yerdes qrt brode iiij yerdes qrt depe w 1 stones and
pies in the borders
f. 73 Itm a tapett of tapistry cont v yerdes iij qrt long and iij yerdes iij qrt depe
lined w' canvas 2 and a man leding a hounde and beryng a hawke uppon
his fist w' hosys stripid white and red price
Itm A tapet of tapestry in verdure lined w 1 canvas v yerdes iij qrt long iij
yerdes iij yerdes [sic] brode w' a man Ryding on an asse w' an whip in
his hand
Itm iij pecf! for hanging of conterfet bawdekyn cont all in lenght xj yerdes
iij qrt and iij yerdes depe
Itm an olde tapet of tapestry / iij yerdes iij qrt brode iiij yerdes qrt depe w 1
stones and pies in the borders
Itm a tapet of olde tapistry w' the grounde vdo r lyned w' canvas / iiij yerdes'
long/ iij yerdes iij qrt depe w' a man beringthe capp of his hawke in his
mowth by a string /an hawke on his fist
Itm A Seler and a tester of Red say and therein a wilde man Ryding on a
horse
Itm a couerlett of bery 3 makyng/ iij yerdes a qrt brode and iij yerdes qrt depej
palid w' whyte and Redde w' bourghcher knottf 4 J
Itm A couerlett of bery makyng ij yerdes brode ij yerdes iij qrt long
Itm a couerlett of bery makyng /iij yerdes qrt brode et iij yerdes qrt depe wM
bourgchers knottt 4 J
- 73^ Itm iij olde broken carpettt
Itm A litle carpet ij yerde long and oon eln depe
Itm v Cussheons of half a yerde brode euy" way ij of grene bawdekyn ij of)
satten and oon of velvett sore worn J
Itrn ij long Cussheons oon of tawny sateyn and a nother of Jewys werke worn
Itm A sptrver and counterpoynt of diap embrowderid with whistellt and)
cheyers j
Srh 1" vj" viij' !
xiij s iiij' 1
XX s
xxxi s viij' 1
xxvj s viij' 1
XXX s
IIJ 111J"
XV*
xxxiij" iij d
XXX s
v'
iij s ' 1
xx' 1
iij"
j s iiij' 1
' 1
y
v-
iij 9 iiij d
ij 9 viij' 1
XXX s
1 Arais, arras, tapestry made at Arras in Artois. Counterfeit arras was an imitation.
* Canvas, coarse unbleached hempen or linen cloth. 3 Bery = Bury St. Edmunds.
4 On the stall-plate of John Bourchier lord Berners, K.G., 1459-74, the mantling is of red with
gold billets and of white with black water-bougets and Bourchier knots. White and red were
apparently the Bourchier colours.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 323
In nj Veere chamber
Itm a hanging of Dornix ' vj s viij' 1
Itm A sperver of sarcenet olde broken and sore woren v s
Itm A fetherbed and a bolster w' a matreis x s
Itm a counterpoint of tapistry xx"
Itm a pair of fustians iij s iiij d
Itm ij Pylowes xx d
It iij Cusshins oon long and ij short of olde sylke v s
Itm in the next chambr to hit v pect of old dornex vj 8 viij d
Itm A Fetherbed with a bolster a matreis and a pair of fustians sore worn xiij s iiij d
Itm ij olde carpettf for cupbourdes v s
Itm ij greate Aundirons 2 iiij 3
Itm an old hale 3 and pavylion v 1 '
Itm A Chafer * v s
Itm A trussing bed 5 made w' Iron xl s
Sm xj 1 ' v s viij d
f. 74 In the Armery house
Itm viij xv salettC le salett xvj d sm) xj" xiij s iiij d
Itm Cj Brigandynes oon w 1 another ij s x 1 ' ij s
Itm vjiiij halbert price le halberde xij d sm vj 1 ' iiij 8
Itm ix newe Cootes price le cote vj" viij d iij 1 '
Itm Ixxvij peyer of splyntes price le peir on with a nother xij d ot> sm iiij 1 '
Itm v pair of old gauntlettC iij s
Itm xvj corsettC price le corset 6 oon w' another vj s viij d sm v" vj s viij d
Itm a pair of old Ryvett iij 9 iiij' 1
Itm vij olde bylles xlvj s viij d
Itm ij pair of brigandynes for my lordes body xl"
Itm his vambract polvornes '/ ij SalettC w 1 bavo"s & a hat of stele 8 ij gauntletrt) JJ- H
and his legharnes j
It vj bowes price on w 1 another / xvj d sfn) viij 1 '
Itm Ixiiij shefe Arowes w'out casys old liij s iiij d
It iiij Sheff w' casys vj" viij' 1
Itm iiij boundellC of bowe staves and in ev"y bounclell xvj stavys and viij oldel . - 3 -.. (i
stavys j
Itm A boore spere 9 xvj d
Itm Ixxxiiij pair of gussett le peir xij d sm) iiij" iiij*
Itm xviij gorgett xx"
Itm xxv aporns of mayle xxv'
Sm Ixvj" xvj 8
1 A fabric of silk, worsted, or wool, originally made at Dornick, otherwise Tournay, in Flanders.
* Andirons, fire-dogs. 3 A hale was a long tent used in the field.
4 A chafer was a vessel for heating water, or a saucepan.
6 A portable or travelling bed.
* Corset, corslet, defensive body armour.
7 Defences for the arms and shoulders ; see Archaeologia, li, 259.
8 Ibid. 260. Ibid. 237, 238.
s s 2
324 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
-74* In (nj Voyellys chamber
Itm A hanging of Red saye olde w l my lordes Armes in hit ij'
Itm A Seler a tester w' curteyns of blue bokeram vj* viij d
Itm a Counterpoynt of paly verdure x*
Itm a pair of fustians vj'
Itm ij pylowes and the beres ij*
Itm ij Carpett Cussheons iij'
It a fetherbed a bolster w' a matres. a pair of blankettC \iij s iiij d
Sm xliij"
In (n) Veerys S'uhtt chambr
Itm A fetherbed a bolster and ij matreis viij*
Itm a pair of blankett and an old counterpoint of Redde verdures and an olde) , -.-.j
tapett of tapestry & a broken couerlett of bery werke price }
Sm xiij s iiij d
In (nj Burtons chambr
Itm v pec of olde saye price v*
Itm A sperver of white lynen clothe olde and sore woren ij'
Itm A fetherbed \v l a bolster viij*
Itm a pair of fustians olde and sore worn iij' iiij d
It an olde quylt all broken ij'
Itm a pylowe with a bere xij d
f. 75 Itm A Matreis a bolster/ ij olde blankett? and an old counterpoint of verdure)
iij cussheons ij of bourde alisaunder 1 and oon of olde tapistry
Sm xxvj 8 iiij d
In the clerke of the kecheon chambr
Itm A sperver of white lynen cloth ij'
Itm A fetherbed old /a bolster/ an olde pair of blankettt / and a coueryng) - s -- d
of old Red saye j VJ
Itm a pylowe xij' 1
Itm a matreis w* a bolster and an olde coueryng of bury makyng iij'
Itm ij chestt vj' viij d
Itm A morter w' a pestell v s
Itm ix tt) of saffron le tb x s Sm iiij" x s
Srh v 1 ' xiiij" iiij d
In the armory chambr
Itm xv yerdes of blake clothe le yerde / iiij' iij"
Itm xv yerdes in RemnauntC and pecC le yerde iij' Sm xlv s
Itm Ixxij yerdes of course grene le yerde vj <! xxxvj'
Sm vij" xij d
1 Bourde alisaunder, bord-Alexander, a kind of striped silk made at Alexandria.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 325
(.76
In the plour
Itm iiij tapettf! of olde verdure paly
Itm a tester and a seler of the same
Itm v tapett of grene olde tapistry w 1 my Lordes worde l
Itm a grene tester
Itm x broken tapett of olde tapistry
Itm iiij tapettt of grysell - olde and sore worn and ij tapettC of ij tapyttC of) ... H
tapestry w' men of warr in them
Itm iij olde tapett sore worn
Itm ij tapett of old counterfeit aries
Itm a nother tapet of the same cont in lenght and brede/xl flemisshe stickes
Itm viij pect of olde Red saye
Itm A foote carpett
Itm ij pec of Dornix for an hanging
Itm A fetherbed w' a bolster /a pair of blankettC a pylowe a coueryngof bery
makyng an olde quylt
Itm iiij tapettt of tapistry lined a yerde depe w' canvas full of molettt in
clowdes and crankett cont in lenght and brede euy" pece / Ix flemysshe
sticke
Itm iij pec of the same cont euy* pece xxxvj stickt
Sm xxix 1 '
In the Ewery
Itm in CakC and tapers of wax CCCCj qrt and xxiiij tb price le C xliij" iiij' 1
Sm c
Itm in torches endes ix xlfb le C viij 8 iiij d
Itm in Rosen Cinj tb le C iij 9 iiij d Sm
Itm in torche weke and taper weke iffj vtfo
Itm a chafer 3
Itm viij diap table clothes of vij yerdes long oon yerde di depe
Itm iiij brekefast clothes of diaper /iij yerdes long
Itm xxxviij table clothes of household
Itm xij towellt
Itm viij towell of diap
Itm ij weightt of leede
Itm xvj napkyns of diaper
Itm iij Chestt and a waxe bourde
Itm a Cx tortes of broche
Sm xx 1 ' xvij" iiij d
In my Lordes greate chambr
Itm v litle tapettt of tapestry w 1 a celer and a tester of tapestry verdure
Itm A fetherbed and a bolster
xl-
xiij" iiij d
xiij s iiij' 1
X s
XX 9
XV s
iij 1 ' xiij s
in]
xxxnj" iiij d
xiij s iiij d
V s
iij' iiij d
xnj" inj c
iij 1 ' vj" viij d
ix 1 ' xiiij* ij d
iij 1 ' xviij 8
v 8 x d
iiij 3
x 9
xxvj s viij d
vj 9 viij' 1
xlvj 9 viij' 1
xiij" iiij d
x'
vj 9 viij d
x 9
vij"
xiij s iiij' 1
1 My lord's word or motto was En dicu cst tout.
3 Probably the story of the meek and patient Grissell or Griselda immortalized by Boccaccio and
Petrarch, and by Dan Geoffrey Chaucer in ' The Clerk's Tale '.
3 Chafer, a vessel for heating water.
326 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm a counterpoint of tapestry sore worn xvj"
Itm ij Cusshins of satten of brugis and a Cussheon of tawny veluet olde &) - s -,,
sore worn j *
Itm iiij carpyttC x*
f. 76 Itm a Fetherbed a bolster and a counterpoint xv'
Sm x 1 ' xij d
In the Inner chambr of my Ladies
Itm v tapett of tapistry verdure olde and sore worn xxxiij 5 iiij d
Itm A spu) of satteyn of Briggeis paly xxvj s viij' 1
Itm A Fetherbed and a bolster xxxiij 5 iiij d
Itm a pair of fustians of v bredes xiij* iiij d
Itm a counterpoynt of verdure xxvj' viij d
Itm a [Counterpoynt of struck ouf\ Spuer of Satteyn of Brugeis w' curteyns of I - K
yowlowe sarcenet and a counterpoynt of the same j
Itm A Seler and a tester of crymsen sateyn embroderid v"
Itm ix olde carpetC sore worn xxx 8
Itm vij olde Cussheons of veluet /iiij purple & iij grene xx s
Itm iij Cusshins of satteyn of Brugis sore worn iij* iiij d
Itm an olde travers of sarcenet viij*
Itm an olde sperver of blue and tawny Damaske xx*
Itm an Aundiron xx d
Itm a trussing bed of olde blue and crymsyn veluet paly and the curteynes) H
paned blue and crymsyn dainaske price J
Sm xxvj 1 ' xvj' iiij d
f. 77 In the gentilwomen chambr
Itm ij fetherbeddes ij bolsters iij matreis xxx'
Itm ij pair of blankettf and ij coueringC vj* viij d
Itm a nother fyne bcdde of Downe w' a bolster for my Lady xl*
Itm A spu) and a counterpoint of golde Bawdekyn sore worn iiij 1 '
Itm A Seler and a tester a counterpoint of grene bawdekyn iij''
Itm vj Curteyns of sarcenet for the saide ij beddes xl*
I tm an olde toren travers of sarcenet viij*
Itm a spuer of blue and white bawdekyn wore liij* iiij d
Itm an olde speruer of grene bawdekyn with curteyns of tartorn xl*
Itm a counterpoint of verdure sore woren xvj*
Itm A vestiment of blake tynsell w 1 orfrayes of white saten of brigeis en-) -, -j-j
browderid w' ij aulter clothes of the same
Itm iij Cussheons wrought in Rebonde xl*
Itm A splayde Egle of gold w 1 an angell face w 1 vj dyamoundes and xj perles) H
w' iiij Rubies gyven to our Lady of Walsinghm j
Itm an home of vnykhorn l harnesed and garnisshid w' gold iiij"
Sm Ivj" vij' iiij d
1 The twisted tusk of a narwhal was looked upon as the horn of an unicorn
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 327
In the Reuestry w'in the priory of Coolne
Itm ij pect and a half of tawny fustian xvj s viij d
f. , b Itm xj yerdes of RemnauntC of crymsen satten blake satten and tawny damaske) , s
price
Itm v doggf colers x s
Itm viij purses ij s viij' 1
Itm A pair of Ivory beedes 1 iij s iiij d
Itm xxj ellC of canvas v"
Itm an once of gold Ringf and Broches xxx s
Itm A tablet w' an Image of our Lady iiij 1 '
Itm ij garters xx*
Itm vij Chestt and standerdes xlvj" viij d
Sm xiij 1 ' ix s iiij d
In the Perlour vndr(nj Veeris chambr
Itm an hanging staynid w' Calygreyhaunds and Scalys & a pece of steynid) . ..- d
verdure j *
Itm A Fetherbed and a bolster xiij s iiij d
Itm a pair of olde fustians and a counterpoint of verdure sore worn viij 5
Itm a nother fetherbed w' a bolster a pair of blankett and an olde counter-) s
point w' crownes and sterrys w' a pylowe and a mattreis j
Sm xliij"
In(nj Walgroue is chambr
Itm A Sperver of Dornix, olde and sore woren x 3
C 78 Itm a fetherbed and a bolster xiij s iiij d
Itm [blank] pair of fustians and v breedes x s
Itm an old counterpoint of verdure w' Rokkt in hit vj s viij' 1
Itm ij Cussheons of chaungeable sarcenet ij s
It in his s'uht chambr a fetherbed a bolster A pair of blankettf and a couering) . ...,
of verdure sore woren w' conys in hit j '
r~* TS !:
bm nj"
In the chambr ouer the Porche
Itm ij fetherbedcles w 1 ij bolsters and a couling of bury werke xx s
Itm A Cofer vj s viij' 1
Itm x pair of shetf! of iij brecles and iij hedde shetis
Itm xiij pair of shetis of ij bredes dO xxxix s
Itm xij pair of ij bredes/ ij long pilowes w' beres and vj short pylowes w'out) xx -,
beres J
Itm iij pair of fyne shetis gyven to my Lady of iiij bredes and vj yerdes long iiij"
Sm x n xvij 9 vij' 1
1 Pair of beads, a rosary, or pair of paternosters.
328
THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
XXVJ 1 ' Xllj" Hip
Stuffe giuen to my yong Lorde of Oxenforde
Itm [v altered to\ iiij tapettt of counterfet Areis of thistorie of Tulius and) H
Mesius cont all in Lenght and dept xiij & xvj flemishe stickkf!
f. 78 b Itm v tapettt of tapistry damaske werke paly Redde and yelowe w' cheyresj
of estate blue bores and molettt in clowdes w' a skochion of my lordes I ....,; ,,
armes and my olde Ladies in gartures and thelmet aboue cont all to [
gither in lenght and dept CCCxxxvij stikk
Itm A Celer and a tester of crymsyn blue and white satteyn embrodrid w 1
Tres and RootC of gold w 1 a counterpoint of the same
Itm A Seler and a tester of crymsyn satteyn of briggeis enbrowderid w 1 a
parke powdrid w' boores molettt and Calygreyhondes w' a counter- \ xv"
point of the same
Itm A Celer and a tester w 1 a counterpoint of crymsyn satteyn of Brigeis
enbrodrid w 1 a garter and my Lordes helme and his armes and my Ladyes
that dede is in hit / w' his worde in hit
Itm A newe Celer and a tester w 1 a counterpoint of crymsyn damaske
enbroderid \v' ij gentilwomen standing on a mountain feding a popyniay
in a cage full of crankettf! molettt blue boores & water flo'es
Itm A Celer and a tester of old fyne areis in the celer a pavylion & in the
tester a to r nay of Knyghtt cont all in lenght and dept Ix flemisshe stikkf
B 11
Sm ccuj"
f. 79 Horsis and geldingC
Itm A Carte and iiij horses w' their harnes
Itm xvj horses geldingt and litle naggt price all togither as they were sold
Itm ij olde cloth sakke sadellC
Sm xix" xij 9 iiij d
In the Kechyn
It in olde Brasse and peauter as it apperith euy'pcell after the weight
Sm patz
Ix"
viij"
iiij"
xv 1 ' v* viij d
vj* viij d
xviij" x' viij d ob
It in wyne ij tonne of Gascoigne
In Wyne
Sm patz
viij 1 '
Stuff at Henynghm
Item a pair of Organs
Itm a peir of Portatyvys J
Itm A peyir of Orgayns small at Weuynghowe
Itm an olde celer and a testar of white verdure
Itm a celer and a tester of olde tapistry w' a gentilwoman
Itm a celer & a tester of bo r de alisaundr and a spQ of blue diap a litle tapetj
of tapistry & a counterpoint w' a condyt
Sm viij 1 ' vj s viij d
1
v"
XX*
xxvj* viij d
X'
iij' iiij d
vj' viij d
Portatives were small portable organs.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 329
79 b Plate and Jewellf in a greate standarde w'in the colege of Sudbery as hereafter folowith
Itm an Image of o r lady siluer & gilt poz Ixiiij oz le oz iij s vj d sfn) Sm xj" iiij s
Itm a nother Image of o r Lady of siluer and all well gilt \v l her childe in her]
armes / a crowne on her hed a septer in hir hande poiz C viij oz le oz[ xviij" xviij 8
iij 8 vj d Sm )
Itm an Image of saint John Baptist standing upon a base siluer and the camell) s - d
skynne all gilt and his mantell white poz xliij oz le oz iij s vj' 1 Sm j
Itm an Image of saint John Euhgelist silu) & gilt poz Ixxiiij oz le oz iij s vj d xij" xix s
Itm an Image of saint Petur siluer & gilt standing apon a base / & diademe) -H - s
vppon his hede garnisshid w' stones and pies poiz Iviij oz le oz iij s vj d sm} s
Itm an Image of saint Andrewe siluer and gilt poiz Ixvj oz le oz iij s vj d xj" xj a
Itm an Image of Saint James siluer & gilt poz Ixiiij oz le oz iij s vj d Sm xj 1 ' iiij"
Itm an Image of saint Barthilmewe siluer & gilt poz Ix oz iij qrt! le oz iij s vj d ) M -- s .. d ,
Sm j
Itm an Almes disshe w l swagt gilt poiz C xlvij oz le oz iij s vj d sfn) xxv" xiiij* vj d
Itm A spice plate standing gilt w'out a couer poiz Ixvj oz le oz iij s vj d Sm xj" xj s
f. 80 Itm A Crosse w' a foote siluer and gilt w l a vice in the bothorh and Imagf ) - n - s
enamilid in the tabernacles undr the sokett poiz xxxvj oz le oz iij s vj d Smj
Itm A Salt of Derail standing w' a morion vndr the berall \v* a cou) silQ) and) - n -, .-.. d
gilt poz xxxv oz i qrt! le oz iij s vj d Sm j x
Itm A Monstrant of Berall for Reliques the foote and the couering siluer and) ... M ..- s .... d
gilt w 1 saint Anne having o r Lady in hir armes poz xix oz le oz iij s iiij d Smj
Itm a nother Lower monstrant w 1 a berall in the topp of the couering poz ix oz) d ~
... G,-) . ~ . -;\ c *> & ^ f XXX s X d Oft
nj qrt le oz nj" ij' 1 Sm J
Itm saint Symond siluer and gilt w' a crosse rounde knoppes on thendes poiz) . n ..- s
Ixviij oz le oz iij 8 vj d Sm) ) *
Itm Saint Juyd syluer and gilt w 1 a ship poiz Ixiij oz le oz iij s vj d Sm xj" vj' 1
Itm Saint Philip w' a grene clotfo silu) and gilt poiz Ixiiij oz le oz iij s vj d xj" iiij s
Itm Saint Thomas of Jnde siluer & gilt w' a spere in oon hand and boke in) - n s
thother hand poiz Ixiiij oz le oz iij s vj d Sm \ *
Itm Saint Margaret siluer and gilt w 1 a cros in a dragons mouth poiz xxxij oz) M ... s . d
dD le oz iij" vj d Sm) } v
Itm saint Barbara siluer and gilt poiz xij oz qrti le oz iij* vj d Sm xlij s x d ot)
Itm Saint George siluer and gilt w' a bone of saint george vnder the burall) .- n . d
in his shilde poiz xlij oz qr? le oz iij 9 vj d Sin) j V1 J
Itm Saint Anne syluer & gilt poiz xxiiij oz dO dD qrt! le oz iij s vj d Sm iiij" vj s ij d q a
Itm a Litle Image of o r Lady poz vij oz dD le oz iij s vj d Sm xxvj s iij d
Itm A Litle Monstrant w' o r Lady in the topp silu) and gilt poiz vii oz le oz) .... .,
iij" vj d
Itm A Litle Monstrant w' the crucifixe in the topp w' a crosse floury poz iiij oz)
le oz iij' vj d Smi j ->
Itm A greate bason of syluer w' bollions ' pcell gilt for a founte poz Cxxxvij oz) ..,, ., ....
, & ~-., .... dc n \ xxii 1 ' xv) 1 vnr
le oz nj" mj d Sm j
Itm xj platters of syluer rrikid w' colombines poz CCCxlij oz le oz iij s ij d Siri) liiij" iij 8
Itm xij Disshes of syluer frfikid with colombynes poz CClxxxj oz le oz iij" ij d sm xliiij" ix 8 x d
1 Bollions, bullions (N. E. D.), knobs or bosses of metal.
VOL. LXVI. T t
330 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm xij Sawcers of syluer w' colombynes poz Clxxxvj oz le oz iij s ij d Sm xxix 1 ' ix 9
Itm ij chargeo r s of syluer pteynyng to the same garnisshe poiz Cxxiij oz le oz) H s - d
jljs jjd r xix ix vj
Itm A newe spice plate siluer peel gilt w' a couer and in the topp of the couer
a fane l having my Lordes armes and my olde Ladies armes on thone syde
and saint John baptist on thother syde the foote pounced w' molettt the
xxv 1 ' xiij" HIJ
in'-
.....
shanke pounced & enamilid & aboute the mydde shanke set w' molettt
poz Cliiij oz le oz iij s iiij d Sm
f. 81 Itm A spice plate siluer pcell gilt w' a blue floure in the top poz xxxiiij vnces) ,:
le oz iij' ij< J v
Itm A spyce plate siluer fpcell altered to\a\\ gilt w 1 a colomebyne in the bothom) . , ..., .... H
poz Iv oz j qrE le oz iij* vj d Sm } '* XUJ U ' J **
Itm A crosse siluer and gilt w' Mary and John w' xiij counterfet stonys & xvj) ..,1 ... d
pies poiz Ixix oz le oz iij 5 vj d Sm)
Itm a chafyng disshe 2 siluer pcell gilt poz Ixij oz dO le oz iij s iiij d sin) x" vj s viij d
Itm a nother chafing disshe siluer pcell gilt w 1 iij angelrC gilt on the syde/on) n 3
euy* angell a molett poz xxxj oz dD le oz iij s iiij' 1 Sm | v v
Itm vj goblettf! siluer all gilt w 1 a cou) made at brigeis 3 w' my Lordes armes in) ,. ... s .. d .,
a garter in the topp of the coiJe poiz Ixxxvj oz iij qrt! le oz iij 8 vj d Sm j XV "J VI J
Itm vj newe goblettf! all gilt with a couer chasid vv l floures de lyces/my Lordes]
armes and the howardes in the top of the cou) poiz Cxlj oz qrf le oz iij s vj d [ xxiiij 1 ' x s x d ot)
Sm) )
Itm A standing gilt salt w' a cou) vj square w 1 a castell in the topp of the couer) . n ...., . d
poz Iij oz dD le oz iij s vj d Sm) J l:
Itm A standing salt gilt vv'out a couer felowe to the same poz xxxij oz dDle oz) H ... s . (1
iij s vj d Sm j v XU J lx
Itm A salt siluer and gilt vj square the cou) therof borderid w 1 floure de licis) .,:
poz xlix oz clD le oz iij s vj d ( V " J
Itm a salt siluer & giltw' chac on chace 4 pousid 5 another plaine poiz xiij oz) ....
le oz iij- iiij" Srfi } V1 J
f. 81 b Itm A pair of saltt! of siluer and gilt w' oon couer graued w' floure de lices w'
my Lordes Armes and the Howardes in the topp poiz Ixxxvj oz dD le oz
* XV 1 ' 1J S lX d
iij 5 vj' 1 Sm
Itm A monstrant siluer and gilt callid a porte dieu w' iiij pillers and an angell)
wanting a wyng w' a cupp of burall to put in the sacrament the foote I H .-, .. d
garnisshid w* .x. counterfet stones and a couer w' a crosse lakking a bullion j
of silu) poiz vj vij oz le oz iij s ij d Sm
It [blank] parys bolles of siluer pounced like penys with a couer w' a colom-j . H ..., ...- d
" byne in the bothom poz CCxx oz le oz iij s iiij d Sm j J
Itm vj small bolles of syluer pcell w 1 a couer w 1 vj Signes of the monithes in) u .. .- d
the yere in the bottom poz Ixj oz le oz iij 8 ij d j l
Itm vj white bolles of siluer pcell gilt w'out a couer euy 5 of them w 1 vij Roundes) H ... d
in the Bothom poz ix iij oz dD le oz iij 8 iiij 1 ' Sm ' J *
Itm ij flagons w' bayles 6 chasid & pounced pcell gilt w' the Lyon in the topp) ... H ., ... d
poz vij iij oz le oz iij s iiij d Sm J 5
1 Fane, a banner-shaped vane. 2 Chafing-dish, a vessel for holding live charcoal.
3 Bruges. * Chace, a groove or hollow. R Pounced. Bayles, hoop handles.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 331
Itm ij flagons w 1 cheynes siluer pcell gilt \v' colomebynes on the side poz vnf vj
oz le oz iij" iiij d Sm f
Itm ij cruettf of burall the lyddes and fete of them syluer and gilt poz xvj oz
le oz ij s Sm
It A ship syluer all gilt w' a braunche of corall in the top afore & an acorn of
burial standing behynde poz xxiiij oz qrt! dD le oz iij s vj d Sm
f. 82 Itm ij Cruett w'out lyddes poz iij oz iij qrr! le oz iij 8 Sm
Itm A Senso r w' lieberdes hedes poz xxvij oz iij qrt! le oz iij 8 ij d Sm
Itm A nother Senso r w' like hedes poz xxvj oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm
Itm A chaleis siluer all gilt my lordes woorde En dieu est tout written in the
fote and the trinitie in the paten poz xxxviij oz dD le oz iij s iiij d Sm
Itm an holy water stojp siluer pcell gilt w 1 this scripture aboute vidi aquam)
egredient w' the sprynkell to the same poiz Ixxxix oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm J
Itm A girdell full of barres of gold euy'seconde barr like a cheire set w 1 stonysj
and ij small barres at thone ende and a powche of blake velvet garnisshid !
w' perles set in gold and a stone in the middes set in gold poz xliij oz le I
oz xxxiij 8 iiij d Sm )
Itm A greate chaleis siluer all gilt w' a patent and this scripture about thej
booll Laudemus et supexaltemus eum in secfa poz xxxij oz le oz iij s vj d Smj
Itm A Senso r with lieberdes hedt poz xxvij oz dD le oz iij 8 ij d Sm
Itm a nother senso r w' like hed poz xxvij oz iij qri! le oz iij 8 ij d Sm
Itm ij cruett siluer and gilt poz vj oz qrt! le oz iij' iiij d Sm
Itm ij Botellf siluer pcell gilt w 1 cheynes to bere th8 \v' poz viij x xiij oz dD le
oz iij 8 ij d Sm
f. 82 Itm A Standing salt siluer and gilt vj square w' the coule pounced \v l vynes poz
xxxix oz dD le oz iij 8 vj d
xxvij" x"
xxxij*
iiij" iiij 8 x d ot>
ix 8 ix d
iiij" vij s x d ot>
iiij" ij" iiij d
vj" viij s
c.
Xlllj" XXIJ
Ixxj" xiij 8 iiij d
v" xij 8
iiij" vij s j d
iiij" v s vj d
XX s X d
xxvij" xij s ij d
vj" xviij 8 iij d
Sm vnj xlvj" ij d q a
Plate and Juell in another strong Coofer all of Iron w' vj. lokkt vpon the same
Itm furst a cupp of gold w 1 a couer pouncid w 1 eagles w' angellt faces and
molettC the foote and couer set w' perle and stone poz togithers xliiij ozj- Ixxxj" xj s viij"
dD le oz xxxvj 8 viij' 1 Sm
Itrh A Cupp of gold w' a couer pouncid ful of Roundes like pellettC and a
redcle rose in the Bothom poz xviij oz le oz xxxiij 8 iiij' 1 Sm
Itm A Cupp of gold w' a couer pouncid \v l eagles w' angellC fact and molettf!
w' a balace l in the topp poiz xiij oz qrt! le oz xxxvj 8 viij d Sm
Itm A Salt of gold set w' bedes and pies in the topp/a diamound a Rubie and
vj pies poz xxj oz dD qri! le oz xxxvj' viij' 1 sm
Itm a greate cheyii of gold of xxij lynkf enamilid w 1 white and blue colom-
bines poz xxx oz qrt! dD le oz xxxiij 8 iiij' 1 Sm
Itm A Colar of gold made in garters w 1 redde Roses in the garters and a
george w' a dyamount and iij greate pies hanging in the dragons foote xiij"
xxxviij' 1 xiiij 5 vij' 1
1" xij 8 vj' 1
poz xxj oz le oz xl 8
f. 83 Itm A Colar of fyne gold of xxvij S and ij Porteculeisse w' a greate cliamounfj
in a red Rose and a Lyon hanging vppon the same Rose w' ij Rubies I , . , . ,;
and a diamount vppon the said Lion and ij greate Rubies /and iiij clia-j
mountt & ix greate perles vppon the .S. poz xiij oz le oz xlvj 8 viij' 1 Sm J
1 Balace, balas, a balas-ruby.
T t 2
332
Itm
Itm
Itm
Itm
Itm
THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
iij 1 '
x
Itm
Itm
f. 83 Itm
Itm
Itm
A greate cheyne of gold w'a maryners whistell & of viij and oon Lynkf!) rr ,...,;
poz Cxlvj oz le oz xxxiij 8 iiij' 1 Sm
a spone of gold w' my Lordes armes vpon thencle poz ij oz dD qrt le oz
xxx' Sm
A litle flat cup of gold w 1 a couer garnisshid w 1 molett and crankettt
having my Lordes armes and my Ladies in the top of the coule and the
bothom pouncid w' sonnes poz xiij oz le oz xxxiij 8 iiij d Sm
A goblet of gold w 1 a couer havyng my Lordes armes and my Ladies in
the topp of the couer poz xj oz dD le oz xxxiij 8 iiij d Sm
a crosse of gold garnisshid w' ij safres l and ij pect of the holy crosse
therein accustumecl to be in the lap of an Image of the Trinitie poz xvl- xxx 1 ' x 8
oz qrt le oz xl" Sm
an Image of saint George of gold poz xij oz le oz xxx 8 sm)
A salt of gold the hed and foote enamelid w' blue & set w 1 perle & litle)
knoppes enamelid w 1 red standing vpon a dissers hed 2 poz xj oz dD le oz/-
xxxiij' iiij d Sm )
An Image of the trinitie of siluer and gilt w' a crowne vppon his hed) .-,1 . . d
garnisshid w 1 stones w 1 ij litle angelt poiz vj oz dD le oz iij 8 vj d Sm j '
A litle salt of gold, the heckle and the fote w' Rubies & pies w' a safre) , H
in the topp \v' a Rose w'in the bothom of the salt poz vj oz le oz xxx' SmJ
A standing Cupp of siluer all gilt w 1 portculyous in the top of the couer)
& a bordf about the same of Roses and portculyows and floure delict \ v" xviij 8 iij d
poz xxxij oz qrt! le oz iij" viij d Sm J
A standing cup of siluer all gilt set vv' Roses and porculious in the top of[
the portculius :i a Rose poz xxxiij oz dD le oz iij s viij d Sm
viij d
xxj" xiij s iiij' 1
xx'
xviij 1 '
xix 1 ' iij s iiij' 1
V JH
v x" v
Itm
Itm a Cup w' a couer all gilt w' viij. qrters having in the top of the cou) a rose
oon qrter play ft thothcr chasid w 1 Roses portculius & pomegarnettt poz v" x"
xxx oz le oz iij s viij' 1
Itm A standing Cup with a couer of siluer all gilt having in the top of the'
couer a rose which &c. poz xxxi oz qrt! le oz iij s iiij d sm
Itm A standing cup gilt with a Rose in the toppe of the couer poz xxxj oz dD) ,-, , s - d
le oz iij s iiij d Sm j
Itm vj greate bollys all gilt w' a couer sett ful of molettf! and crankettt in the)
topp of the same couer w' perles and stones w' my Lordes armes vpon [ L 1 ' xvij 8 vj d
the same poz xiij xviij oz dD le oz iij s viij' 1 Sm
Sm vnj Ixxxiiij 1 ' xvj s ix d
In another standarcle bounde with barres of Iron
Itm a hole garnisshe of siluer vessell w 1 iiij chargeos merkid w' brikettf! poz) nr ...,. .. . d
MCCCIxxxij oz dD le oz iij; ij' 1 Sm j LLxvu J XV1 J X J
Itm xij disshes of siluer now bicause of iij newe disshes poz CCxxvj oz le oz) ... d
^ s -,, J \ XXXV 1 ' XV" Vllj d
Itm xij platters of siluer poz CCCliij oz qrt le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm Iv" xviij' vij d ob
Itm xij Sawcers of syluer now bicause of v newe sawcers newe made poz Cviij)
oz le oz iij s ij' 1 Sm
1 Safres, sapphires.
3 Sic, but query for ' cover '.
I
xvij 1 ' ij'
3 Disser, desour, disard, a jester or fool.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 333
...,; .- a M
*
vij 1 ' xij'
f. 84 b
Itm ij chargers of siluer pteynyng to the garnisshe aforesaid poz Cxlvij oz dO)
le oz iij s ij d j
Itm ij clisshes of siluer poz xlviij oz le oz ij s ij d Sm
Itm ij olde platters of silu) poz Ixix oz le oz iij 8 ij d x" xviij* vj d
Itm A platter of siluer newe made ayenst Whitsontycle mlkicl w 1 my Lordes) ....,; ... s ... d
armes and the Howardes armes poz xxviij oz le oz iij 8 ij d j *
Itm A Disshe of siluer newe made the same tyme w 1 the same mike poz xvj oz) ,.. s ... d
dO le oz iij s ij d Sm j
Itm A newe Sawcer of syluer newe made ayenst the same tyme w 1 the saide] s - d
mike poz ix oz dD le oz iij 8 ij d Sm j
Itm iij chargers siluer newe made the said tyme w' the same mike poz viij oz) n ... s ... d
dO le oz iij* ij d Sm j s
Itm A Pot of siluer all gilt w' a bayle chasid and pounsid poz CCxj oz iij qrtj
le oz iij 5 viij d Sm
xxxviij 1 ' xvj s v d
Itm A nother pott felowe to the same of syluer all gilt poz CCxj oz le oz) ... H -,
iij' viij d } *
Itm ij greate standing pottt siluer all gilt chasid one chase playii another \
pouncid and in the topp of the Lyddes my Lordes armes and the Howardes ! n -- s - d
armes quarterly & an angell w 1 wyngC behynde the lydde poz viij iij oz I"
le oz iij 8 viij d Sm
Itm A pair of gilt Basons siluer al gilt w' my Lordes armes and my olde Ladies
sett in the bothom chasid aboute w 1 a doble Rose poz Cxlij oz le oz
iij' viij d Sm
Itm A pair of Small basons siluer all gilt pounced and embosid w' scripture
the bordure poz xxij oz qrt! le oz iij s viij' 1 Sm
Itm A pair of newe basons siluer all gilt w' my Lordes armes and my old Ladies
in the Bothom chasid aboute the armes w' the sonne poz Cxvj oz le oz
iij 9 iiij d Sm
i Itm A pair of Basons syluer al gilt pounced & enbocid poz ix vj oz le oz
5ij s viij d Sm
Itm ij Basons siluer all gilt and chasid w' sonnes and wrethis of colombynes
in the Bothom and my lordes armes poz (no weight given] le oz iij s viij' 1
sm
xxvj" viij d
iiij 1 '
xxi 1 ' v s
XXXlllj" IJ 8
xxxiij" vij s vj d
Itm ij Basons siluer all gilt w 1 the Kingt armes in the Bothom wiche my]
lorde had at the coronacion of King Henry the eight by reason of his[ xxvij 1 ' vj s
office poiz vij xvj oz le oz iij" vj d Sm )
Itm a bason of syluer all playii the swagt gilt and an eagle w' an angelht face) _ n s
in the botom poz Ixx oz iij s Sm j '
Itm an Ewer to the same facioned like a tankard w' iiij hoopis gilt poz xxviij) ....,; -...,,
<v \ iv - O W r HI] 1111
oz le oz iij" Sm j J J
Itm A bason of sylu) pcell gilt new made ayenst whitsontyde all playfi in the] ... H .-,|
Bottom poz Iv oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm j v
Itm ij siluer Ewers w' colombynes poz Ixj oz le oz iij* ij' 1 Sm ix 1 ' xiij 8 ij d
Itm ij greate gilt pott siluer chasid one chase playn another pouncid w' a]
Ring aboute the Bely depting the chaces \v' my lordes and the Howardes V xlvij" xiij s iiij' 1
armes poz xiij oz le oz iij 8 viij' 1 Sm
Itm ij pottt syluer and gilt w' treyfoyles poz C oz le oz iij" vj' 1 Sm xvij" x'
Itm ij Pottt! of siluer all gilt euy" of them w' berys in the topp pond vj xv oz) 11 xv
le oz iij' viij' 1 Sm J '
334 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm ij greate pott siluer all gilt chasid w' boutons at the clapsys of the lyddes) .., ; ,,
poz Clxxv oz le oz iij" viij d Sm J XXXIJ xx
Itm A greate pot of Syluer all gilt playn w' ij bottons ouer the lydde poz vjj ..,.
le oz iij s viij d Sm J J
Itm A pott of siluer pcell gilt w' an angell \v' \ving on the lydcle and armes) ... H . 5 d
in the same poz liij oz dD le oz iij s ij d Sm J V1I J
Itm A nother pott percell gilt felowe to the same poz liij oz dD le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm viij 1 ' ix s v d
Itm ij playn pottis siluer the swagis gilt poz Cxvj oz dD le oz iij" ij d Sm Amount not given
Itm A greate standing Cupp siluer all gilt w 1 mylle pyk in the bothom chasid
poz Iv oz le oz iij s viij d Sm
Itm A standing Cupp all gilt \v' a cou) w 1 a doble down right 1 chase poz xliiij
oz le oz iij s viij d Sm
Itm A standing Cupp siluer all gilt playn w' a coO and having iij floures in
the bothom ij blue and oon youlowe poz xxv oz le oz iij s viij d Sm
Itm ij standing Cuppes siluer all gilt bell shapen w' ij couers cuy'of them \v l
colombynes floures in the botom poz liiij oz le oz iij s iiij
d
x" xx d
viij 1 ' xvj' 1
iiij 1 ' xj s viij* 1
ix 1 ' xviij 8
f. 86 Itm A Cupp siluer all gilt w 1 a couer w' a downe right 1 chace flatt and a purple
rose w' a grene garland ennamylid in the middes poz xxx oz le oz
iij 5 viij' 1 Sm
Itm A standing Cupp siluer all gilt w' a couer w' a cloble right downe l chace)
and plain chasid knoppid and a molett in the botom of the coueryng^ v 1 ' vj s viij d
poz xxix oz le oz iij s viij' 1 J
Itm A standing Cupp siluer all gilt cou9d and pouncid w' cheverns and my) . K -.. s .... d
Lordes armes in the Botom poz xxxv oz le oz iij 8 viij' 1 J *
Itm A Cupp syluer all gilt w 1 penys in the botom poz xix oz le oz iij 3 viij d Sm iij 1 ' ix 8 viij d
Itm A gilt Cupp of Saye wiche my lord had at the coronacion of King Henry) ... s
the viij" 1 by reason of his office poz ix oz le oz iij s viij d Sm j
Itm A Cupp of siluer all gilt w' a couer pouncid chasid w 1 a redde Rose w'in) ... Mi ... d
a garland in the botom poz xxv oz le oz iij 8 viij' 1 Sm I
Itm A playn Cupp of siluer all giltw 1 a couer and a broken blue floure in the) K -, ... d
bothom poz xxxj oz le oz iij 8 viij' 1 Sm
Itm A gilt Cupp of siluer playn w 1 a cou) lakking thennamyling in the bothom) ... H t ..,
'- '"-1 * "'c '", 1 r^cr r 111 XVI I
poz xx| oz le oz nj s viij Sm J
Itm A Cupp made of a gryppes Egge * cotJecl the foot silu) & gilt & in the topp) ...]j . 5
of the [floure struck througli\ cou) a blue floure poz xxxv oz le oz ij 8 Sm j *
f. 86 b Itm A Cupp of silu) pcell gilt all ennamylid w 1 blue and in the topp a pelycanej
poz xlij oz le oz iij 8 iiij' 1 Sm j ^
Itm a pott all of siluer for the barbour to warm in water for my lordes berd poz) ..,; ., . d
Ixxxj oz le oz iij 8 ij' ! Sm j ' ^
Itm A Callak :1 of silu) all gilt w 1 a crowne in the topp of the cou) \v' a lyon in) [iij 11 'xij 8 altered to\
the middle poz [xxxvj altered lo\ iiij xj oz le oz iij 8 viij d [addid] Sm J xvj 1 ' xiij s iiij' 1
Itm vj gilt bolles of siluer w' a couer \v' sonnes in the Botom and my lordes) Mi .... .,,
armes in the topp of the couer poz fx j oz le oz iij 8 vj d j
1 Downright, right down, vertical or straight.
2 A gryppe's, gripe's, or griffin's egg was actually the egg of an ostrich.
8 Callak, collok, apparently a tub-shaped vessel.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 335
Itm vj bolles of siluer all gilt w' a couer euy 1 of them having a sheperde and) ,.... .. s
shepe in the botom poz CClij oz le oz iij 3 vj d Sm } '
Itm A litle base boll w'out a coule poz xvj oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 sm) liij 3 iiij' 1
Itm ij leyers l syluer all gilt like unto perys 2 eche w 4 spowtt w 4 a gilt spone poz) - l{ .
xxxvj oz le oz iij 3 vj d Sm I
Itm A leyer of siluer and gilt pouncid w 4 Rosys poz xviij oz le oz iij 3 vj d Sm iij 1 ' iij 3
It A leyer of siluer the swagt gilt with buttons on the cou) poz xx oz le oz) ...,; - s ... d
.......i,-,C7 fllJViVll]
nj 8 mj d Sm j
Itm iiij litle siluer candelstickt w 4 nosys poiz xxiiij oz le oz iij s ii d Sm iij 1 ' xvj'
Itm iij prickittt of siluer swagt gilt poz Ixij oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm ix 1 ' xvj 8 iiij d
Itm a high candelstik w 4 a nose and a pryk sett on w 4 a vyce poz xj oz le oz) .... s ,,
-j f-t w f XXXIlll X
iij' ij rf Sm )
Itm A pott of Ivy 3 garnisshid w' silu) all gilt& in the top of the couer a saint) .,; -,,
Johns hed poz xxxvj oz le oz ij 3 sm J *
f. 87 Itm A nother lowe candelsticke of silu) all whyte w 4 a nose poz xj oz le oz)
iij' Sm J "
Itm A Snoff of siluer percell gilt poz viij oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm xxv s iiij d
Itm A litle candelsticke of silG)/ swagt gilt w' a nose poz iiij oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm xij s viij' 1
Itm vj Bolles silu) all gilt w 4 a cou) w 4 the monithes in the Bothom of euy"of)
them sett in gold the top of the cou) garnisshid w 4 small Perle and stones r xlvij 1 ' xvij s
set in gold all to githe poz CClxj oz le oz iij 3 viij' 1 sm Sm [sic] }
Itm the holy gost in a clowde silu) hanging in a steon silver and gilt w 4 a molet) , -,,
in the myddes poz viij oz le oz iij 3 Sm j '
Itm A litle bottell siluer all gilt w 4 my lorces armes and the Hovvardes on) s ...- d
bothe the sides w 4 a cheyfi poz viij oz le oz iij 3 viij d J '
Itm vj bolles playn w 4 a couer silu) w 4 fact in the Botom poz CCx oz le oz iij s ij' 1 xxxiij" v s
Itm ij spones all gilt w 4 Imagis on thendes poz ij oz le oz iij 8 viij d sm vij 3 iiij' 1
Itm ij spones base gilt w' flat knoppes poz iiij oz le oz iij 3 iiij' 1 Sm xiij s iiij' 1
Itm ij sponys base gilt \v 4 flat endes therin my lordes armes on thone side/and) -.- s ..,,
the Howarcles on thotTir poz vij oz le oz iij 8 iiij d j '
Itm ij spones siluer all gilt w 4 forkt for grene gynger poz iij oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 )
O B7 I X
Sm j
Itm xxiiij siluer spones w 4 slippes on thendes poz xxxv oz le oz iij 3 iiij' 1 Sm v" xvj 3 viij' 1
Itm an Angell w 4 wyngt siluer and gilt bering Reliques w 4 bonis of saint) i-- s
Ursula poz xij oz le oz iij 3 vj' 1 Sm J *
f. 87/5 Itm an Angell w 4 wingt of siluer and gilt bering Reliques poz xvij oz le oz) , a ,,
iij 8 vj d J
Itm A nother Angell w* wingt silver and gilt bering Reliques poz xvj oz le oz) i - a
iij' vj' 1 j
Itm A paxe brede gilt of tholde fasshion w 4 an angell in the myddes holding) *..., .... d
a vrnacle 4 poz xvj oz le oz iij 3 iiij' 1 Sm J
Itm a pax brede silu) and gilt poz vij oz le oz iij 3 vj' 1 Sm xxiiij* vj d
Itm A litle paxbreade silu) w 4 a vrnacle of mod? of perle poz j oz dD le oz) ,
iij 8 iiij' 1 Sm j v
Itm A Sacryng bell of siluer and gilt the clap Iron poiz iij oz dD le oz iij 3 Sm x' vj d
Itm A Sacryng belle of siluer all gilt poz iij oz le oz iij 3 vj d Sm x 3 vj d
1 Leyer, a laver or jug. * Perys, query pears, pear-shaped.
3 Ivy = ivory. * Vernacle, the imprint of our Lord's face on St. Veronica's handkerchief.
336 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm A paxbreade silu) and gilt garnisshid w 1 stones poz xxiij oz le oz iij s viij' 1 ) .... ..... .... d
Sm J *
It ij Skalop shellys of siluer and gilt poz iij oz le oz iij s ij' 1 Sm ix s vj d
Itm ij lytle spones of syluer all gilt \v' molettf on thendes poz one oz dD le) s ..,,
oz iij s vj d sm j v
Itm a pair of olde canstyck silu) pcell gilt w' prikkt poiz v oz le oz iij s ij' 1 sm xv* x d
Itm A litle Cupp of Maso rl the foote and coG) silu) and gilt poz vj oz le oz) s
xx d Sm
a nother
le oz ij s sm
Itm a nother pott of tree 2 \v l the cou) and lyppes of syluer and gilt poz viij oz) . s
Sm M Clxxxxviij 1 ' ix 9 ix d
f. 88 Plate in a nother cofer of woode barrid w' barris of Iron
Itm ij greate gilt pottt of oon suett and a daysy w 1 a wreth in the topp poz) ...,;
yf xvij ol le oz iij< viij" sm Sm [sic] \ XXV "J xv
Itm ij greate pottell pottt of siluer and gilt chasid poz viij iij oz le oz iij s viij d sm xxix" xvij 8 viij' 1
Itm .... preate pottC siluer all white w' molettf! in the topp poz viniiij oz) ..... ,
le oz iij' ij" | xxv Xlx 'J d
Itm ij pott siluer percell gilt w 1 molett? in the myddcs poz Ixxxij oz le ozj -K -. )
iij s iiij' 1 j *
Itm A pott of syluer all whyte poz xxx oz le oz iij s ij d Sm iiij 1 ' xv'
Itm A pott of siluer whyte poz xxij oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm iij 1 ' ix s viij d
Itm A siluer pott pcell gilt w' ij buttons gilt ouer the lidde poz xxv oz le oz) ...,. . .. d
iij s ij' 1 Sm J "J XIX 'J
Itm A bason of siluer w 1 blue water floures in the bothom poz xxxvij oz le oz) .._ ..,,
" d
.._ ..,,
v"xvijMj d
Itm A bason siluer callid the trussing bason poz Ivj oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm viij 1 ' xvij s iiij' 1
Itm ij playn basons sihD all whyte like to greate chargeos poz Cxliij oz le oz) .. H .. s (1
jjjs jjrt | XXIJ X1J X
Itm an Ewer of siluer w' a brode bottoii and a long spowte ooz xxvii oz) ...Mi ...
, 111] 1 ' V s V| d
le oz iij ij bm J J J
Itm ij Ewers w' brode bottons poz liiij oz le oz ij s ij' 1 Sm viij 1 ' xj*
f. 88 b Itm an Ewer of silu) poz xxxij oz le oz iij s ij' 1 v" xvj d
Itm A greate Crosse ennamylid on bothe sydes w 1 the iiij Euhgelistf poz all)
w' the tymftr and the pyn of Iron Ixiij oz wherof the silu) weyith by esti-[ vij"
macion xlij oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 Sm )
Itm A greate Crosse silu) and gilt w' a floure delice at cuy ende standing vpponj .. n ... d
a base w' xij pjnakles poz Clxiiij oz le oz iii s iiij' 1 Sm j *
Itm oon goblett w' a couer wherof the swagf be gilt poz xij oz le oz iij s ij d Sm xxxviij 8
Itm ij goblett siluer pccll gilt poz xv oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm xlvij' vj d
Itm vj goblettf made of a toothe of an Olyfaunt garnisshid w' silu) and gilt) .,
poz Ixviij oz le oz ij s Sm j x
Itm A goblet of siluer the swag gilt poz vj oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm xix"
Itm vj newe goblettt pcell gilt w' molettt and crankettt w' a coQ/w' my]
Lordes armes and the Howardes in the topp of the cou) poz Cxxxj oz le[ xxj" xvj* viij d
oz iij" iiij' 1 Sm )
1 A vessel made of maple wood. See a paper on ' The English medieval drinking bowls called
Mazers ' in Archaeologia, \, 129-93. - A drinking bowl or pot made of wood.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 337
Itm ij greate SaltC w' a coii all gilt vj square poz xlj oz le oz iij' vj d Sm vij 1 ' iij s vj d
Itm A litle gilt salt couled & chasid w' a bordo r of flourdelic in the bottom) .... ..
~ .. b ~, _ .... ..IOGT \ XX111]' V) d
poz vij oz le oz iij" vj" Sm j
Itm ij olde saltt pcell w' a couer poz xviij oz le oz iij s ij' 1 Sm lvij s
f. 89 Itm A salt silu) percell gilt uppon the swag w'out a couer poz ix oz le oz) ... s . d
iij* ij d J *
Itm vj bolles of siluer w' vj greate pounct on the botom vvherof one is gilt) .. .., d
~ /- !.. ~ | -v - i sj f XXII XII X
poz Lxhij oz le oz iij 9 ij u sm )
Itm vj greate flatt bolles of silu) w' a couer all play ft poiz ix oz le oz iij 9 ij d Sm xxviij 1 ' x s
Itm iiij Small bolles pcell gilt w' the signes of the monithes in the bottom) H s d
swagf gilt poz xxxv oz le oz iij' ij d j V
Itm ij small bollys of syluer all whyte pouncid w' greate Roundes in the bottom) .. ... s d
poz xlvij oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm j ^
Itm ij Parys Cuppes of silu) pcell gilt w' blue annelettf in the bothom xlvij oz) .. H ., ... d
. J i.. ....{TV w B \ vi)' 1 xvi s vnr
le oz nj s inj d Sm J J
Itm iij Cuppes of siluer pcell gilt w' Rosys in the Bothom poz xliij oz le oz) .. H ... .... d
V1 J uj U1 J
Itm ij flagons of syluer w 1 chaynes poz ix vj oz le oz iij' ij d xxix" ix'
Itm A standing Cupp of siluer all gilt w' a cou) poz xxvj oz le oz iij s vj d Sm iiij" xj'
Itm A gilt Cupp of A Saye l with my lordes Armes and the Howardes in the) ,
botom poz vj oz le oz iij' vj d Sm j ^
Itm A spone gilt poz an oz le oz iiij' iiij 3
Itm xij spones all gilt w' knoppes on thendes poz xiiij oz le oz iij s vj d Sm xlix'
Itm iiij spones all whyte poz iij oz le oz ij s ij' 1 Sm ix s vj' 1
f. 89 b Itm vj silu) spones w' snyppes in thendes poz vij oz le oz iij s ij' 1 Sm xxij* ij' 1
Itm iij newe candilstickt w 1 noosys on thone syde and prikettf on thother) . . - s ,,,
syde. poz lix oz le oz iij s ij d Sm j '
Itm iij playn candelstickt Swagt gilt w' prikettC poz xxviij oz le oz iij s ij' 1 Sm iiij 1 ' viij s viij' 1
Itm A Chaleis siluer and gilt w' a patent and this scripture aboute the booll/) n ... s .... d
hec est enim &c. poz xxxj oz le oz iij' iiij' 1 Sm J
Itm A Chaleis w' a patible in the foote poz xij oz le oz iij' iiij' 1 Sm xl"
Itm A Chaleis w 1 a vernacle in the patent and a crucifix uppon the foote poz) ... d
"^1 * j {-+ CT fXXvlVlll
vnj oz le oz uj s iiij' 1 Sm )
Itm A pair of Lowe candelstickt of silu) pcell gilt & chasid w 1 prikettt poz) ...-li -, .,,
xxvj oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 Sm )
Itm A pair of greate candelstickt chasid & pcell gilt poz Ciiij oz le oz iij 9 iiij' 1 Sm xvij 1 ' vj" viij' 1
Itm A pair of greate candilstikf swagt gilt w' my lordes armes and the) . ..,; . s ...,|
Howardes in the foote of either of them poz Cxxxj oz le oz iij" iiij' 1 Sm J
Itm A Senso r of silu) w' the molettC in the coueryng poz xxj oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 Sm iij 1 ' x'
Itm ij newe sensos of silu) w' ij Calygreyhondes uppon the toppes of them) , 4
m xx * <vi v , . . . . . . . t .' . f, i rXXlllllllij
poz vj xnj oz le oz uj s mj' 1 Sm )
f. 90 Itm A pixe and a boxe of the sacrament of siluer all gilt poz xxij oz le oz) ... H
- .,| ^ iij xvij
IIJ' VJ' 1
Itm A ship of silu) pcell poz ix oz le oz iij 9 ij d xxviij' VJ M
Itm A pair of kerving knyves w' gpentynes 2 haftt x"
Itm A pair of knyves thaftes gilt \v' molettC uppon thaftt xxvj' viij' 1
Itm ij Candilstickf pcell gilt w' shankf poz Ixij oz le oz iij' iiij d Sm x" vj' viij d
1 Assay. 2 Serpentine, a dark-green ornamental spotted stone found in Cornwall.
VOL. LXVI. u u
338 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm ij Cruettt gilt \v l Ravonbilles poz xxviij oz le oz iij 8 iiij' 1 Sm iiij 1 ' xiij s iiij''
Itm ij Chaleis w' the patent^ poz xxiiij oz le oz iij 5 iiij 11 Sm iiij''
Itm A Crosse w 1 vij stones poz xiij oz dD le oz iij 8 viij d Sm xlix* vj'
Itm ij Cruettf! \v l brode bottoms poz xj oz le oz iij s ij d xxxiiij 8 x' 1
Itm A holy water stop w 1 the sprinkle poz xxiiij oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 iiij 1 '
Itm A pott of silul w' my lordes armes in the topp poz xxxvij oz le oz iij 8 ij d Sm v" xvij' ij' 1
Itm A Cupp of Ivy ' w' a cou) poz xvj oz le oz ij' Sm xxxij 5
Itm A Chayne of gold \v l a george poz ix oz and a qrt! le oz xxvj" viij d xvj 1 ' xv 8 x d
Sm v xiiij 1 ' viij 8 vj d
f. 90 Plate at Coolne in diuerse offices as folowith
Itm vj Bollys w' a cou) ucell gilt w' my Lorcles Armes in the bottom poz) ... H .... s d
I ir\ t -' rlO r X1I1 1111 V
Ixxxuj oz di) le oz nj s ij" Sm j J
Itm A Cupp of Assaye siluer pcell gilt oon of the signes of the monith of) ... s ....,,
Nouemtr in the botom poz x oz le oz iij 8 iiij' 1 Sm j
Itm ij pottf! silu) pcell gilt \v l colombynes on the lyddes poz Ixxx oz le oz iij 8 ij xij 1 ' xiij' iiij' 1
Itm ij playii pottf of siluer all white like to Ravonsbillis poz iiij xv oz le oz iij 8 ij' 1 xv 1 ' x d
Itm A standing Cupp gilt w' a cou) w' a white molett in the bottom enamilid) ... n . s . (1
poz xix oz le oz iij' vj d Sm j J J J
Itm A nother standing Cupp w 1 a coin gilt poz xxj oz le oz iij s vj d iij 1 ' xiij" vj d
Itm iiij goblettf! swagt! gilt w' pounces like annelettt w 1 one couer poz xxiiij) ...,[ .,
oz le oz iij" iiij' 1 Sm j *
Itm ij Sall w 1 a coii> all gilt w 1 a gartir aboute the myddes poz xxvj oz le oz) .... H .,
iij s vj' 1
Itm ij lowe Rounde Saltt all white euy 1 of them having a hole in their sides) ,-- a
~ i ~ ... *^ o r Xll]
poz xiiij oz le oz nj Sm J
Itm a spone gilt w 1 a knopp in theiule poz an oz iij" vj d
f. 91 Itm a dos spones w' slijipes on thendes poz xvj oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 Sm liij" iiij
Itm A Chafing disshc of silu) all white poz Ixij oz le oz iij s ij d Sm ix" xvj 8 iiij' 1
Itm ij Basons of silul pcell gilt w 1 baynes in the Botom poz Cxj oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 xviij 1 ' x 8
Itm ij Mwers of silu) w 1 brode botoms poz Ixvj oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 sm xj 1 '
Itm ij lowe candilstickf siluer pcell gilt poz xj oz le oz iij s ij' 1 Sm xxxiiij 8 x' 1
Itm A Matteyns Boke w' a elapse of silu) wich my lorde was wont to vse) ,
hymself } '
Itm xxxvj Counters of silS thone sycle w' a facon and thother w 1 a Caly-j . s ... d
greyhonde poi? v oz le oz iij s iiij' 1 Sm } *
Sm Cv" xv s vij' 1
Redy mony at the howre of his tletti
Itm in Redy mony M'M'C"
In a nother standarde Chapelt stuff att Sudbury
Itm ij Aulter clothes on of white sarcenet & another of white damaske
enbroderid & wrought by nedill werk w' my lordes armes & a frontlett iij 1 '
of the same
f. 91 b Itm \sic\ Aulter clothes of blue and crymsyn velvett in the middis embroderid
iij"
Itm a vestyment w' ij Dalmatykkt for Deacon and subdeacon of blue cloth of
gold thoffrayes of crymsyn velvett
1 Ivy = ivory.
w 1 branch is vppon a Raggid Staff linid w 1 blue bokeram
vj" xiij 8 iiij d
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 339
I tin iij Copes of the same suett viij 1 '
Itm ij aulter clothes of crymsyn velvet embroderid w' water floures and a pane) ...,;
of blue velvett in the myddes j "J
Itm A vestyment of white bawdekyn 1 w 1 ij Dalmatykt thoftrayes of crymsyn) H
velvet w' iij coopes embroderid of the same
Itm A vestyment of crymsyn cloth of Bawdekyn enbroderid w' Imagery xxvj 8 viij d
Itm ij Aulter clothes of diaper enbroderid w 1 garters and thistill^ - vj s viij' 1
Itm A Frontlett :! of an aulter wrought in the stole xx"
Itm A vestyment of white Damaske with ij tunykles and a cope of white) .,.
satteyn enbroderid w 1 offreys of crymsyn velvett j V J
Itm A vestyment of Crymsy 5 Satteyn brugeis w' ij tunykles thoffreys of grenej . ... ... d
velvett enbroderid w 1 Calygreyhondes & garters j x V J V11 J
Itm ij Aulter clothe of the same price xxvj 8 viij' 1
f- 92 Itm A vestyment of white damaske of Bawdekyn w' ij tynukles thoffreys) .,;
enbroderid w' Imagery sett in gold w' my lordes Armes ) V J
Itm iij Coopes of the same and the offreys w' Imagery ix"
Itm ij aulter clothes of the same w' p r ple velvet in the myddes iiij 1 '
Itm A vestyment of crymsyn velvett w' my Lordes Armes and the Howardesj H
quarterly embroderid w' Imagery with ij. tunykles and a cope of the same]
Itm A vestyment of white gold damaske enbroderid w' splayde eagles beryng| K
my Lordes armes w' ij tunykles and iiij copys thorfrayes of Imagery
Itm ij aulter clothes of the same w' a lylly pott in thouer part and our lady in
the neyther part in cloth of gold
Itm A vestyment ij tunykles and a Coope of white right satteyn enbroderid
with molettt in Clowdes and crankettt the orfrayes gold enbrorid [sic] of
Ml,
111J
xvj"
iiij"
I magery
Itm A vestyment of crimsyn clothe of gold w' ij tunykles thorfrayes of grene) - u
veluett browderid }
Itm A coope of crymsyn velvett enbroderid w 1 crankett molettC & garters w'
orfrayes enbroderid
Itm ij coopys cloth of gold w' orfrayes enbroderid w' Imagery xv"
f. 92 Itm A frontlett of an aulter of Damaske gold wrought in the stole xl s
Itm A vestyment of blake velvett old w' orfrayes of molettt floures and garters xxvj s viij' 1
Itm ij clothes of clothe of gold for an aulter cont' in lenght and dept togither) Mi
viij yerdes j v
Itm an old Coope of blue bawdekyn thorfreis enbroderid xiij s iiij' 1
Itm iiij Coopys of white right satteyn enbroderid w' the Rot of days lys) ..,.
[daisies'] thorfreis enbroderid j V
Itm A Cope of crymsyn satten of brugC thorfrayes of grene velvett w' Rosys) ., ...,,
&CastelKofgold J s
Itm A Coope of blue velvett enbroderid w' crymsyn velvett w 1 sterris & water) ... n
floures j *
Itm iij Coopes of Redde worstid thorfreis of plonkit 4 chamblett enbroderid wM ,
blue borys and garters
Itm iij Coopys of blue worstid w 1 white molettC thorfrayes of crymsyn) ,
bawdekyn j
1 Bawdekyn, a rich gold brocade or cloth of gold. 2 Sic, probably for ' whistillt '.
3 Frontlet, a narrow strip of embroidery sewn along the front edge of the linen altar-cloth.
* Plonkit, plunket, lead-coloured.
U U 2
340 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm A vestyment of blue satteyn of brugeis thorfreis of Red satteyn of brug xiij s iiij' 1
Itm ij Coopys of white Damaske enbroderid vv l floures & thorfreys white) .-. n
molett in Red satteyn of Brigis
Itm ij copys of crysyn clothe of gold of tyssewe thorfrayes enbroderid w'| .... H
Imagery j J
f- 93 Itm an aulter clothe of olde Russett sarcenett w' curteyns longing to the same iij s iiij' 1
Itm A Cope of Purple velvett enbroderid w l calygreyhondes molett? &) H
clowdes and Orfrayes enbroderid w 1 Imagery j
Itm ij Coopes of cloth of Counterfeit bawdekyn xxx*
Itm A Canapy of crymsyn tynsyll satteyn w' the Dome' & chalessis xxvj* viij' 1
Itm A Canapy of course white tuke w* garters v*
Itm xij yerdes euy> way of baudekyn \v l porculius xx g
Itm A Coope of white Damaske enbroderid w' floures thorfreys of cloth) ... u
of gold
Itm A vestyment of P r ple velvett enbroderid w 1 molettf!. and clowdes thorfray) ... H
of cloth of gold j *
Itm A vestyment of Redde worstid enbroderid w' borys and garters vj 8 viij d
Itm A Curteyn of whyte cloth iiij 5
Itm A vestyment brokin of crymsyn velvett xx*
Itm A frontlett for an aulter wrought in the stole vj' viij' 1
Itm ij clothes for aulters of counterfeit bawdekyn grne [.V] & Red xx"
f. 93 Itm Whyte and Red Sarcenet paly ij ellt w' fringt Red and white x"
Itm ij vestymentt of bustian and bourde alisaundr and a lytle pyllowe of) ,
Bawdekyn J
Itm A vestyment of old Redde bawdekyn of gold xx*
Itm A Chest of Iron xl"
Itm ix. standardes iiij 1 '
Itm an olde vestyment of clothe of gold w' orfreys of crymsyn clothe of gold xxvj* viij' 1
Itm A vestyment of cloth of gold w 1 thorfrayes of crymsyn cloth of gold of) H
v
tissue I
Itm A vestyment of whyte Damaske w 1 orfreys of crymsyn velvett xx*
Itm a vestyment of white sarcenet thorfreys of Purple velvett xx*
Itm A vestyment of crymsyn velvett w' orfrey cloth of gold xl*
Itm A vestyment of grene bawdekyn w' orfrey grene x"
Itm A vestyment crymsyn Sarcenet thorfreys blue cloth of gold enbroderid w 1 ) .,
molettt and Calygreyhondes J >
Itm a vestyment of blue velvett thorfreis of crymsyn cloth of gold enbroderid) , a
w' water floures 2 j
f. 94 Itm A vestyment of blue cloth of gold of tyssewe w 1 thorfreys on the foresyde j
w' my lordes armes and the Howardes wrought in the stole of crymsyn'
colo r the Bakeside of crymsyn cloth of gold of tyssewe w' ij Dalmatykkt i
of the same w 1 thorfreys of crymsyn clothe of gold of tyssewe J
Itm ij aulter clothes of clothe of baudekyn iij"
Itm ij aulter clothes of clothe of cose gold enbroderid w' Imagery in the) ... H
myddis j " J
Itm A frontlett of crymsyn velvett enbroderid with whistillf white molett^j s
and cheyres. ij yerdes long j
1 Dome, the Doom or Day of the Great Judgement.
* Water flowers, probably the conventional lily-like flowers so common on medieval embroideries.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 341
Itm A Frontelett of an aulter of gold \v l iiij skochions ' and saint John Baptist) ,
in the myddes j *
Itm A frontelet of an aulter / iij panys of gold of damaske /and ij of siluer) s
bawdekyn j
Itm a frontelet of an aulter of old cloth of gold of crymsyn iiij 8
Itm A frontelet of crymsyn sateyn w' molettC xx' 1
Itm A frontelet of an aulter the ground of satteyn wrought in the stole w') , s
xxiiij skochions l j
Ilm ii aulter clothes of cheker satteyn Brigeis w' a pane of white satteyn in) -, ..-,,
u j i r v i vur
the myddes price ) J
f. 94 b Itm ij auher clothes of crymsyn satteyn enbrodericl w 1 garters and molett in)
the myddes and calygreyhondes / and a pane of blue velvet in the[xl s
myddes j
Itm an aulter clothe of white sarcenett enbroderid w' wati flowers and garters) ?
and molett in the myddes j *
Itm ij aulter clothes of white sarcenet w' bloode dropys x s
It ij aulter clothes of Russet sarsenett iij 3 iiij''
Itm vj. Corporas xx s
Itm ij old aulter clothes xij' 1
Itm ij sup altares 2 ij s
Itm v ImagC steynid in lynen clothe 3 ij s
Itm an Image of saint Margarett all gilt xij' 1
Itm ij Portuous an older and a newer an olde masse boke written /and a masse) ls
boke in prynte j *
Itm ij Psalter bokC on Reed 4 and the lesser blake lymnid xxx s
Itm A lytle Image w' a coffyn r> xij d
It a nother psalter couerid w' blake and silQ clapsys x s
Itm A Cope of white gold Damaske w' orfreys of blue bawdekyn xx s
Itm ij coopis of crymsyn gold bawdekyn w' offrays w 1 Imagery v"
f- 9.~) Itm ij coopys of crymsyn velvett enbroderid \v l Iron to stryke fire/and thorfreys) .. H
of eagles and molett? J V
Itm A foote clothe full of clowdes w 1 molettt in the same for the chapell x s
Itm A vestiment of white worstid enbroderid w' garters and molettf in the) ...,,
same w 1 orfrayes of purple velvett
Itm A blake furre of boge 8 xxxiij s iiij' 1
It a Case of Pypeis 7 xx'
Itm xj Arrowes for a Crosse bowe and ij Crosse bowes xiij* iiij' 1
Itm A pair of tables of boone iij" iiij' 1
Itm iij slanders / ij w* angellC and thother w' the blue bore, of sarcenet x s
Itm A Jakett of blake satteyn furrid w' old boge v"
1 Skochions, shields of arms.
2 Superaltar, a small portable altar slab of stone or marble.
3 Images painted or ' steynid ' on linen : a cheap and popular way of adorning hangings.
4 Bound in red leather.
* Cf. the alabaster image of Our Lady and Child with its painted housing, exhibited to the
Society of Antiquaries on 27th Feb., 1913 (Proceedings, xxv, 80).
B Boge, the fur called budge, of lambskin with the wool dressed outwardly.
7 Probably a set of shawms, or recorders.
342
THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
It a vestiment of Damaske Red and white
I tin A litle masse boke
Itm A stole of 1 ether
Itm an Image of o r Lady with the trinitie in hir wombe 1
Itm A Chest full of frenshe and englisshe bokt
Itm xxx surples cose \v' iiij albys for childcrn for the chapell
Itm a frontlett sattcyn brigC cnbroderid
Itm A frontelet of Bustian
95 # Itm A frontelett of crymsyn velvett enbroderid for an aulter \v l floures
I tin ij clothes for lectur clothis of sylke bawclekyn
Itm ij Curteyns olde Sarcenet w' gold floures
Itm an olde vestyment of blue veluet and thorfreys crymsyn
Itm A vestyment of blue worstid \v' thorfreys of Bawclekyn
Itm a crosse 2 afore the crosse of diap
Itm ij candelstickf of white boon
Itm iiij aulter clothes for ij aulters of diaper enbroderid \\' thistill 3
Itm A vestyment of white Damaske \v f orfreys of old crymsyn veluett
Itm ij aulter clothes of Luk gold w' panys of blake veluett enbroderid
Itm iij copys bustian enbroderid w' gart's
Itm iiij aulter clothes sarsenet lined
Itm ij aulter clothes of diaper broderid \v' garters and thistillf 4
Itm A masse boke w' clapsys of silu)
Itm iiij masse bok written in velom
Itm A greate Antiphon) a Legend complete ij grayles and iij processionallf!
Itm vij antiphoners price oon w' another
Itm vj grales & xx processionallt
Itm ij half Legendes
f. 96 Itm ij printid masse bokis
Itm vj aulter clothes of lynen clothe
Itm vij Pricke song bokis bounde in ledr '
Itm xij Prick song bokt
Itm iij pair of cruett
Itm A Gospell boke w' thone syde coue>d w 1 silu) and a picktur of o r Lordej
in it tnissid in a cofer w'in the college of Sudbury
Sin CCCxxxix" xj s iiij' 1
xiij" iiij' 1
X s
iij 11 vj' viij' 1
XX s
iij s iiij' 1
xij' 1
iij" jiij d
ij s viij' 1
xvj' 1
iiij 8
iiij 8
xij d
't.
xiij' iiij' 1
vj" viij d
xx*
XX"
X"
vj' viij' 1
xl 8
x"
vj"
iij"
iiij 8
vj s viij d
xlvj 8 viij d
XIJ
iij"
My Lordis apparett
Itm A gowne tawny chamblett e furrid w' old martron
Itm A blake gowne lynid w' blake sarcenett
Itm A gowne of grenc sylke chamblett lynid w' blake velvett
Itm A gowne of blake velvett furrid w' martorns 7
Itm A gowne of blake velvett furrid w 1 letuons * powderid
Itm A gowne of crymsyn veluett furrid w' martron
Itm A gowne of crymsyn velvett/ veluet uppon velvet pirlid furrid w' martron xij"
Itm A gowne of blake tynsell satteyn furrid w' sables xx"
1 See note ante, p. 300. 2 Sic, but query for ' veil '. 3 Perhaps a mistake for ' whistillt '
* Sic, but query for ' whistillt '. * Pricke song, plain song, music sung in unison.
" Chamblett, camlet, a cloth or stuff made of wool and silk or linen.
7 Martorns, martens' skins. " Letuons, lettice, a whitish-grey fur.
vj"
xxxiij 8 iiij' 1
iij"
viij"
vj"
v n
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 343
Itm A gowne of crymsyn velvett lined w' blake satteyn
' Itm A gown of crymsyn velvet lynid w' whyte sarcenet w' a hode
Itm A Mantell of blue velvet lynid w 1 white sarcenet
Itm the Robe of estate furrid w' myniver of crymsyn velvett w 1 mantell)
tabbard and circuitt and a hode price all to gither )
Itm iiij brode yerdes of fyne Russett cloth
Itm A Jackett of gold lyned w' grene sarcenet to were vppon harneis
Itm A nother Jakett of grene and white velvett
Itm iij shredes of crymsyn velvett and p r ple
Itm ij Cappis of mayntennce '
Itm a Doblet of blake satteyn
Itm A Jaket of velvet lynid w' sarcenet
Itm A horse harnes wrought corsewise w' bokyllt
Itm A typpet of blake velvet furrid / w' mariorns w' vij lopys of gold
Itm A Whistell of Ivory garnisshid w' gold
Itm iiij garters w 1 bokles and pendauntt of gold
Itm a gown old blake satteyn furrid w' blake boge
Itm A gowne of Russett furrid w' olde martron
Itm A Cote of blake satteyn furrid vv l blake Cony
Sm Cxj" x s
Wardrop stuff at Sudbury in the Friers
Itm A Counterpoint of Bawdekyn blue and whyte \\ l floures of gold
Itm A spver of the same w' white Redde and blue
Itm iiij Traversis grene
Itm ij Traversis plonkitt- and youlowe chaungeable ;1 cont' a pece in lenglit
and brede xx yerdes
Itm A Curteyn of Red chaungeable sarsenet
Itm iij Curteyns of Red tartorn
Itm A tapett of tapistry cont ij yerdes dO long and oon yercle dD depe
Itm A Counterpoint of crymsin satteyn w' my lordes armes in hit and a pey-
cock enbroderid in the myddes
Itm A pece of youlowe lawne and a pece of grene
Itm ij small Cussheons coulid w' redde taffata
Itm iij Cusshons of satteyn of Brigeis ij short and a nothr long
Itm an old Cussheon of crymsyn velvett
Itm A Cussheon of blue satteyn enbroderid w 1 ij lylly pottt & a crown in the
myddes
Itm ij olde Cussheons
97* Itm A Cussheon of blue worsticl
Itm A standerd
Itm xj pair of fyne shett le pair v" sm
Itm A fyne hedcle shete vj s
Itm xv pair of old shett xxx*
Itm ix pair of shett and oon of anotlTr sort xxvj*
1 See an article on 'The Cap of Maintenance' by W. 11. St. John Mope in English Coronation
Records by L. G. Wickham Legg (Westminster, 1901), Ixxxii-lxxxviii.
2 Plonkitt, plunket, lead-coloured. J Chaungeable = shot.
iij"
xv"
xxxiij s iii
XX s
X s
iij s iiij' 1
iij s iiij d
X s
xiij s iiij d
x 8
x*
xiij s iiij' 1
xl 8
iij"
iij"
XXX s
xl'
XX s
iiij"
iij"
x!'
X s
vj s viij' 1
iij"
xvj s
iiij 5
iiij s
iij s iiij' 1
iiij' 1
viij' 1
xx d
X*
IV
344 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm xiij pair of fustians one \\ l anothr iiij 11
I tin iiij pylowberes price ij* and iij other price xviij' 1 Sm iij' vj d
Itm iiij of the best fetherbeddes \v'in the Friers viij"
Itm viij of the next Fetherbeddes viij"
Itm xviij Fetherbeddes of another sorte ix"
Itm xv mattracis w' their bolsters xx'
Itm A Counterpoint of grene w' lyons vj' viij' 1
Itm A tapyt of Dornyx paly vj' viij' 1
Itm A nother tapyt of dornex lynid w 1 Canvas /ij yerdes iij qrt long/ij yerdes) ....
iij qrt depe } "J
I tm A tapyt of dornix v yerdes long ij yerdes iij quarters depe v'
Itm A tapett of paly dornix old and sore woren v yerdes long and ij yerdes)
iij qrt brode J 'J
Itm A tapett of paly dornix v yerdes long and iiij depe iij' iiij d
Itm a tapytt of paly dornix iij yerdes dO euy way ij 1
( 98 Itm A tapett of paly dornix iij yerdes long ij yerdes iij qrt depe v s
Itm A tapett of Dornix iij yerdes long and ij yerdes iij qrt depe iij' iiij' 1
Itm A tapet of Dornix iij yerdes long ij yerdes iij qrt depe iij 8 iiij d
Itm A tapett of Dornix iij yerdes long j yerde qrt depe xvj d
Itm A tapett of Dornix iij yerdes long ij yerdes iij qrt depe ij 8 viij d
Itm A tapet of Dornix cont' ij yerdes dO long xvj d
Itm a pece of dornix cont' iij yerdes euy* waye v*
Itm A tapett of Dornix ij yerdes iij quart's long and a nother litle pece iij' iiij d
Itm a tapett ij yerdes long and a yerde dD depe xvj' 1
Itm A tapett of Dornix iiij yerdes long and iij yerdes iij quarters depe iij* iiij d
Itm A tapett of Dornix iij yerdes long ij 8
Itm a notlir old tapett rent on thone side xx d
Itm a nothr tapet of v yerdes long and a yerde depe xij d
Itm a tapet of Dornix iiij yerdes long a yerde qrt depe ij*
f. yS b Itm A tapett of Dornix of iij yerdes iij qrt long v'
Itm a tapet of Dornix iij yerdes clD long ij yerdes iij qrt depe iij'
Itm A tapett of paly Dornix iij yerdes iij quarters depe iij'
Itm A tapett of ij yerdes j qrt euy> way xx d
Itm A tappett of Dornix ij yerdes iij qrt long and ij yerdes dD depe iij"
Itm a tapitt ij yerdes clD of dornix long xx d
Itm A tapett of Dornix iiij yerdes dD long ij yerdes qrt depe viij d
Itm a tappett of Dornix iij yerdes dD long ij yerdes qrt depe iij" iiij' 1
Itm A tapett of Dornix ij yerdes dD depe ij'
Itm A tapett of Dornix v yerdes qrt long ij yerdes iij qrt depe viij*
Itm A spveu) paly Dornix xij s
Itm a nother spu) of Dornix x s
Itm ij spuls of Dornix droppy paly xxvj* viij' 1
Itm an old spu) of Dornix iij s
Itm A tapett of Dornix viij yerdes long and ij yerdes qrt depe vj' viij' 1
Itm an old spu) of Dornix stripy ij'
Itm a tapett of Dornix iij yerdes long ij yerdes dD depe ij'
f. 99 Itm A sperver of olde saye w' the sonne beames xvj' 1
Itm an old tapett of tapistry w 1 a lyon in the neither ende eting of a best cont') %
iij yerdes long and iiij depe
X s
viij"
xx*
xv*
XX s
XV s
xl s
xxyj* viij' 1
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD
Itm A Counterpoint of tapistry iij yerdes clO long iij yercles qrt brode w' an)
antlop w' a cheyn
Itm viij Norwiche couerlett olde
Itm iiij longe carpettt olde and sore worn
Itm iij good carpett of a yerde dO long
Itm xj olde tapyttf
Itm A Counterpoint of fyne verdure olde vvoren cont' in lenght and Brede xx
flemissh stikkt
Itm A tapytt of tapistry w' saint george in the myddes cont' in lenght iiij
yerde & iiij yerdes dD depe
Itm A pece of olde grene tapistry w 1 my lordt worde and his armes and his
late wifft with molettt & clowdes vj yerdes long & iiij depe
Itm A nother pece of the same cont' iiij yerdes dD long
Itm a nother pece of the same of iij yerdes dD long
It a nother pece of iij yerdes iij qrt euy* way
It a nother pece of iij yerdes dD euy 1 way
It a nother pece of viij yerdes long iij yerdes dD depe
It another pece of vj yerdes dD long and iij yerdes iij quarters depe / muche
like thother price all togither one with a nother
Itm A tapett of olde counterfeit Arreis verduB cont vj yerdes qrt in lenght iij
yerdes qrt depe
Itm A tapet of olde tapistry verdure /v yerdes dD long & ij yerdes iij qrt depe
It a nother like stuff of vij yerdes
It a nother pece of old broken verdure w* bestC in it vj yerdes long and iij
yerdes depe
Itm an olde Counterpoint of tapistry iiij yerdes long & iij brode w e a
having a pott in his hande
Itm A Counterpoint of olde tapistry verdure w 1 a gentilman and a woman)
bering eche of them a hawke cont' iiij yerdes long and iij yerdes brode j *
Itm A Bankar 1 vij yerdes long and a yerde brode of olde verdure ij
Itm an old bankar w' an old Image of o r Lady in the myddes with Damaske) ..
floures j '-
Itm A lytle tapet verdure vndB a wyndowe xvj' 1
Itm ij pect of Dornyx paly for hangingC cont' both togither viij yerdes long v s
Itm a nothr pece of clornix paly lynid iij yerdes iij quarters long / ij yerdes) ,
iij qrt depe j v
Itm A standing bedde of Dornyx strypy vj s viij d
It a spu) of Dornix Droppy lined w' canvas xiij 3 iiij d
Itm A Celo r of old verdure w' fringC ij s
Itm a tapett of old fyne verdure cont' euy* wave ix flemisshe stick lined vj s viij' 1
Itm A narowe tapett of tapistry cont' in lenght and bredexij flemisshe stickkt xiij s iiij' 1
100 Itm A lytle tappett of grene w' my lordes Armes w l crankettf molettt and)
blue bores j
Itm iij pec of coQlett bery werke cont' all in lenght xviij yerdes lined wM ,..,
canvas & a yerde qrt depe
Itm A Counterpoint of vnykornes and a gryffyn of verdure tapistry olde vj' viij d
Itm an olde counterpoint of tapistry iij yerdes long and ij depe ij*
345
X"
X s
vj'
viij' 1
man) ... ....,,
{ xnj s iiij"
viij' 1
viij' 1
VOL. LXVI.
1 Bankar, banker, a covering for a bench.
x x
346 THE LAST TESTAMENT AND INVENTORY OF
Itm ij tapitt? of olde tapistry verdure w' shepe and sheparcles cont' both in) s
lenght xij yerdes v yerdes depe
Itm an olde tapett of Arreis vrdure counterfet cont' v yerdes qrt long/iijj s
yerdes dD depe j xv
Itm a tapett of the dome 1 accustumed to be ou) the high aulter cont' in lenght j , s
& brede xxviij flemisshe stickis
Itm iij olde Quylt? xiij 8 iiij' 1
Itm A quylt newe made w' floure clelic? and Roses xv 8
Itm a pair of blankctt? iij 8 iiij d
Itm xij pair of blankett? olde xij 8
Itm iiij Curteyns of dornex iij w 1 grene stavys and one paly viij 8
Itm a long pylowe and iij other large ones vj 8 viij' 1
Itm xv small pylowes downe xv 8
Itm iiij other small pilowes co r se xvj' 1
Itm iij feble fetherbeddes w' bolsters xx 8
Itm A Counterpoint of old verdure cont' xxx flemisshe stick? x s
f. ioo Itm x olcle Ousshcons of verdure vj"
Itm A tapet of old counterfet aries verduB cont' iiij yerdes lon<j and v and iij) . ...,,
qrt depe } \ XXV J V "J
Itm A small counterpoint of verdure iij yerdes long ij yerdes dD brode iiij'
Itm another olde counterpoint of verdure /iiij yerdes long/iij yerdes & a qrt) a
broclc j x
Itm A Canapy of grene saye enbroclerid w 1 crankett? and molett? v yerdes I -,, ..-.,1
long frengid j U J IU J
Itm v Cussheons enbroclerid v"
Itm [l>/ank] other Cussheons of stripy dornix ij 1
Itm v long Cussheons xx d
Itm A server 2 of crymsyn tynsell and grene damaske with curteyns of crymsyn) - K , 9
and youloo sarcenet lynid \v" blue boker3 j V J x
Itm A counterpoint of the same cont' xx yerdes euy'way lined w' blue bokera) iij 1 ' vj 8 viij d
Itm vj Curteyns and a sperver of white clothe old and toren iij 8 iiij d
Itm ix pylowes ix"
It an old coiJing of Norwiche makyng iiij 8
Itm ij counterpoint? of old verdure v*
It vj olcle spervers all toren a canapy of old satteyn of sypers w' a counter-)
point of old grene verdure
Itm an old counterpoint of olcle verdure broken w' vynes and grapes ij 8
It v bankers olde w' lambes w' an olde grene tappett w' molett? and my lordes) ..-, .... d
worde in it J U J U1 J
f. 101 Itm viij pec? of olcle grene saye iij 8 iiij d
It iiij pec? of Dornix. olde and sore woren ij'
It a banker of olde verdure ij'
It v pec? of olcle Red saye enbroclerid w' men and women x"
It xxxv old toren pec? of red saye xx*
Itm vij pec? of olde saye enbroclerid with gentilwomen on horsebake x*
Itm A sperver of old died diap of grene and incarnacion colour x*
Itm to litle furres of Otter to lye on a bed x 1
1 Dome, the Doom. 2 Sic, for 'sperver'.
JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD 347
Itm ij panys of old Redde furrid with myniver olde xiij s iiij d
Itm viij Canstykt and xij olde plates vj" viij d
Itm A cheir couerid w l old crymsyn velvet w l fringC of gold and silke x 5
Itm v chestt one w' another xxxiij* iiij d
Sm Cvij" vj s ij d
Stuff at Colchester w'in saint John is Abbey
Itm iij aulter clothes oon of saint John Baptist another of saint Petur and) . M
another of saint Thomas
It vij tapittf of counterfeit arreis w' morions 1 xxx 1 '
Itm vj tapyttt of tapistry w' dialers and whistillf! cont' all in lenght & dept) Mi
xiij stickkC J XJ
Itm iij old tapyttf of lylly pottf cont' in lenght & dept iiij stickk iij 1 ' vj 3 viij d
Itm A tapett of the viij valiauntC 1 olde and sore woren xxxiij 3 iiij d
f. 101 b i tm ijjj tapettC of the ix orders of Angellt conteynyng all in lenght & dept viij) u
stickC J *
Itm viij tapettt of olde arres sore woren xx"
Itm iiij tapettt of Porcenna and Cleoda :! cont' all in lenght and dept CCxvj) _ u - s
flemisshe stikk } '
It A Celo r & a testo r of red satteyn w' a lyon driving a Whilebarowe & a
counterpoint of y e same
Itm A quylt of Redde sarcenet \v* my lordes armes in hit vj 1 '
It a counterpoint of cloth of bawdekyn panicl red and blue 1 s
It a counterpoint of blue bawdekyn w 1 treis of gold and white greyhoundes iiij"
It an old bedde of Bawdekyn w' lions of gold xx s
Itm a litle Celo r and a testo r of white cloth of gold of bawdekyn and a counter-)
point of the same / iij Curteyns of sarcenett panid white and grene thatf-x 1 '
was for his ryding bed' and iiij angellt gilt vppon tymftr
Itm A Celo r and a testo r off) ne blue areis old and woren w' floure delict! of gold xl 9
It A Celo r and a testour of counterfeit areis after thistory of Daniell iiij 1 ' x'
Itm A Counterpoint of woodehouse 4 lyned w' canvas cont' in lenght and brode) n
xxx flemisshe stickf J
Itm A testo r5 and a testo r of counterfet areis of thistory of Kyng Alexanclr iiij" x*
Itm A Celo r and a testo r of blue counterfeit Areis of the passion of o r Lorde/j
& the salutacion of o r Lady and a counterpoint of the same of thassump-j- ix"
cion of our Lady
1 Morions, Moors, blackamoors, or black men. See also the description of a salt on p. 329.
'- The identity of the 'viij valiauntes' is somewhat doubtful. Originally there were nine valiants
or worthies: Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabaeus ; Hector, Alexander, and Caesar; Arthur,
Charles the Great, and Godfrey cle Bouillon. Dante, in the i8th canto of his Paradise, substilutes
three Christians for the three Pagans and suppresses David, bringing the number down to eight :
Joshua, Judas Maccabaeus, Orlando, William (the Conqueror according to Didron), Renaud (or
Rinaldo), Robert Guiscard, Charles the Great, and Godfrey de Bouillon. (See Didron in Annales
Archcologiqites, xvii, 299.) The Provost of King's, Dr. M. R. James, whose kind help in ihe first place
I must acknowledge, tells me, however, that he finds a difficulty in believing that Dante's selection
could have percolated (otherwise not coming to the surface) to the maker of tapestries, and suggests
instead the eight kings and knaves who appear in the packs of cards. Here, I fear, the matter for
the present must rest.
3 Sic, for ' Cloelia '. 4 Woodehouse, wodewose, a wild man of the woods. * Sic, for ' Celo''.
X X 2
348 JOHN DE VEER, THIRTEENTH EARL OF OXFORD
xlvj* viij' 1
xl*
xxvj* viij' 1
XXX*
viij*
v
f. 102 Itm ij olde tapiltt of hawking
Itm a tapell of hunting
It ij pect of bury makyng lined w 1 canvas
Itm an old Selo r of tapistry
Itm viij Cussheons of carpett worke
Itm iij Cussheons w' a man and a woman in them
It A Cussheon of tapistry w' a lyon in it
It ij olde carpittt
Itm ij Cussheons w' shepe in them
It a cussheon w' a mapull and an Oke in hit
Itm A Carpett w' a blue bore in hit
Itm A greate Carpit w' Rosys in hit with a garter
Itm A greate carpit the grounde red with molettt garters and crankittf!
Itm a nother carpit with thise wordes therein / In dno confido
Ilm another newe carpitt w 1 diuerse knottt! and redde Rosys therin
Itm an olde carpit longing to the closett w' Redde Rosys and Whyle
Itm A carpit and diuerse knottt! in the same & theryn in Dno confido
It A carpett the grounde carnacion and Red w' litle knottt in hit
Itm A carpit the grounde yelowe and Redde Rosys and White
Itm A nother carpit w 1 a trayle of grene & the grounde of Purple
Itm ij long Cussheons of clothe of gold
f. io2/> Itm A square cussheon of cloth of tisshewe
Itm ij square cussheons of gold bawdekyn
Itm A Cussheon of crymsyn velvett and crymsy" satten enbroderid w' skalop) . ....
shellis | V J V1 'J
Itm A long Cusslicon w' neclill werke w' ij Calygreyhoundes in hit xxxiij* iiij d
Itm iiij cussheons of purple veluett enbroderid w' crankettt
Itm A long Cussheon ot purple veluet enbroderid w' a target of my Ionics
armes & my ladies
Itm iij Cussheons of purple Damaske enbroderid w' Calygreyhondes
Itm A cussheon long and square of Rebon lact red and tawny stripid w' gold
Itm A Square Cussheon of Rebound lact white and grene
Itm A square Cussheon of lact Rebon Red and youloo
Itm A Cussheon of satteyn of Brugt stripid w' white and Red
Itm vj Cussheons of Nabugodoniso r is story 1 of counterfeit areis
Itm ij Cheyres couerid w' crimsin veluett
Itm ij standardes w 1 stuff
Itm ij litle carpettt w' knottt of beyonde see makyng
Itm A yelowe carpett w 1 knottt
f. 103 Sm Clxxxxij" xiij* V 1
xij d
xx"
xvj d
XXX*
iiij"
XX*
XV*
xxvj" viij d
x*
XX*
xiij* iiij' 1
xxxiij 8 iiij' 1
xiij 8 iiij' 1
xxxiij 8 iiij d
X s
xiij* iiij d
xxxiij 5 ii:j d
xxvj* viij d
XV s
xxvj* viij d
X s
viij*
vj s viij d
XX*
xxvj* viij d
XX*
X*
xvj* viij d
I-ebtis owing to the teslato r at the houre of his deth
It of debit owing to hym
Sm pat/
Sm to lis hui 9 ) .,: ... .... . ,
.. \ vm. ccvi xvii s vur obq
Inuentarii
IvICCCxxxiij" vj 8 viij' 1
f. 103* Endorsed in a later hand: Inuentariu orhj & singuloru bonoi^ Comitt oxon &c
1 The story of Nebuchadnezzar: see the Book of Daniel.
ARCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XXVII
A BRONZE OBJECT OF THE LATE-CELTIC PERIOD.
Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1915
IX. On a Bronze Object of tlie Late-Celtic Period recently added to the British
Musenm. By Sir CHARLES HERCULES READ, LL.D., F.B.A., Vice-President.
Read 28th January, 1915.
AMONG a large number of weapons and other objects recently transferred
from the Tower armouries to the British Museum is one of the curious stirrup-
like objects of bronze familiar as being found in Late-Celtic burials with the
remains of chariots or horses. Unfortunately it has no history.
The specimen that forms the subject of this communication is made of cast
bronze, highly finished, as is invariably the case with objects of this particular
civilization ; its length is iOg in. by y| in. wide (pi. XXVII).
The structure of the piece is that of a rounded bar, the projection at the top
being rather more massive than. the rest. This projection terminates in an open-
work ornament of a design somewhat unusual even among the remains of British
craftsmanship. Seen from either face it represents a vigorous letter S shape, the
serpentine line being continued over the top, so that the same figure is again
seen there, while in the middle of each S is a rosette.
The two sides of the arch differ considerably, one being a plain bar, while
the other expands in the middle of the curve into two loops with a cylinder
between, the design being accentuated by flutes and lines filled with dots.
The two ends are ornamented with helical motives, on one prong on both
faces, on the other on one only ; in both cases the open end is provided with
a bar, to which a strap might have been attached. Before arriving at the ends,
however, one encounters on each prong a rivet with a triple gable-end on the
inner side, and an ornamental capsule on the outer side. Working freely on this
rivet by a ring attachment, is a quadrangular socket, with a rivet hole in each,
but the rivet passed lengthwise in the one socket and transversely in the other.
From this feature it is clear that some attachment proceeded at more or less
right angles from the line of the prongs.
This example is the most elaborate of any that I know, and I think may
provide an explanation of how the instrument was used.
350 ON A BRONZE OBJECT OF THE LATE-CELTIC PERIOD
We have in the British Museum one pair of these, found with a horse's bit,
and two others, found singly. The pair is so decayed as to be of no help in the
elucidation of the problem. In the case of the single specimens, one has the two
prongs provided with simple loops, while the projection is a plain bar, bent at
right angles, entirely unornamented ; the other has its prongs furnished with two
loops projecting at right angles, while the end of the prong itself is exactly like
the half of a filbert shell ; the projection in this case is a plain solid filbert-
shaped knob. Here, again, is very little help.
From their occurrence with bridle bits, these objects have been considered
as having something to do with horses ; but the only definite theory as to their
precise use is propounded by Professor William Ridgeway, in his interesting
work on Tlic Origin and Influence of tlie Thoroughbred Horse. Here he makes
the suggestion that the purpose of these enigmatical objects is to prevent the
reins from falling on the ground and becoming entangled among the horse's
feet. This theory he founds on the analogy of certain wooden objects in the
Archaeological Museum at Florence which are shown pendent from the yoke
of an Egyptian chariot from Thebes, and believed to date from the fourteenth
century B.C. (op. cif., p. 225). I assume that there is some evidence that these loops
originally hung as shown in the figure, but no such evidence is given. They
are simply V-shaped objects suspended with their points downwards, and so far
resemble our stirrup-shaped bronzes. On p. 492, he gives under the heading of
' The Rein-rings ' a more particular account of their use, and there follow illus-
trations of two bron/e 'stirrups' from Ireland in figs. 138 and 139. These latter
have much the same characteristics as those already described. After a quota-
tion from 1 lomeric analogues and another from Irish texts, Professor Ridgeway
sums ii]) as follows :
' We may therefore conclude that the curious wooden objects on the Floren-
tine yoke were really a primitive contrivance for keeping the reins in place, and
that the Irish implements are simply a more elaborate form of the same type/ 1
Here I think the Professor is wrong, and this for two reasons. In the first
place, I think it is clear that the British peoples, whose art we are dealing with,
had already a much better and more practical contrivance for keeping the reins
from tailing to the ground, and in the second place the contrivances shown on
the stirrup now before us, contrivances not found on any other example known
to me, seem to prove conclusively that the stirrup was far more likely to have
been worn with its projection upwards than downwards.
To take the first point. The Society may remember my bringing to its
1 Wilde, Cat. K.I. A., p. 699, figures two of the stirrups, and argues as Ridgeway does.
RECENTLY ADDED TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM 351
notice, in 1904,' certain ornamental bronze rings from horse-trappings, known as
terrets. It was, I think, very satisfactorily demonstrated, both from the object
itself and from the analogy of both modern and ancient practice, that these terrets
were without doubt used for the purpose of holding up the reins at a point near
the horse's head. The best illustration that has occurred to me is to be found
on a hansom cab of to-day. If terrets were known, it would hardly be argued
that so awkward an instrument and one so much less practical as this stirrup
would ever be preferred.
With regard to the second point. Some of these stirrups have elaborate
decoration on the knob at the end of the projection ; if the knob were hanging
downwards this ornament would be hidden and useless. 2 This may seem a small
matter, but it is worth noting. A stronger argument is to be found in the pre-
sence upon the specimen now in question of the two rectangular sockets working
on the rivets at the ends of the prongs. It is in my opinion unquestionable that
whatever fitted into these sockets, whether a leathern strap or something of
metal, must have proceeded at approximately a right angle from the line of the
prong, and this seems to me to open up quite a new idea, and one that will
militate against the theory of the stirrup hanging point downwards. I feel
convinced that it was worn the other way up, and is in fact comparable with the
plumes seen on the heads of horses at many times and in many countries. In
our own time almost the only survival is to be seen on the heads of the horses
at a somewhat elaborate funeral. If this explanation be accepted, all the
difficulties vanish, in the light of the present specimen. The two prongs of
the stirrup would then be placed over the horse's neck, immediately in front of the
mane, and its attachment firmly in position would be the simplest operation. The
loops at the extreme ends of the prongs would serve for the attachment of a strap
which would go under the horse's neck, while a second strap would proceed from
the two sockets near the end of the prongs, and this could pass around the
animal's forehead. I venture to submit that this is more satisfactory as an
explanation, and meets the conditions better, than that given by Professor
Ridge way.
I have before mentioned that the two sides of the stirrup differ, one being-
much more ornamented than the other. This fact, taken in conjunction with
their being found in pairs, would lead one to think that the economy of ornament
was suggested by the consideration that any decoration would only be seen
from one side, and it was a waste of energy to decorate the inner sides of the
two ornaments.
1 Proceedings, xx, 56. 2 See Ridgeway's figs. 138, 139.
352 ON A BRONZE OBJECT OF THE LATE-CELTIC PERIOD
The Dublin Museum contains thirty-three examples ; of these sixteen are
damaged, and their width thereby changed, while seventeen are perfect. The
average width of these is 6 in. ; the greatest y| in., the smallest 5* in.
Mr. Armstrong writes :
' I tried one of the large ones on a big model race-horse we have in the Museum, and
it just fitted well. The objects are easily bent, and their present width is not the full
extent to which the arms could be stretched if necessary. I think your view as to how
they were worn is the most convincing that has been suggested.'
A spur-like object, with rivets and rivet-holes, all of iron, was found in the
Lake of Paladru, near Voiron (Isere) ; but this is not on so large a scale as the
Irish specimens, its total length being 8-6 in., the length of the stem 4-4 in.
(figured in Munro, Lake-dwellings of Europe, p. 301, fig. 93, no. 12; Keller,
Lake-dwellings of Switzerland (transl. J. E. Lee), pi. cxcii, fig. 6). In any case,
this specimen would seem to be more probably of the Merovingian or
Carlovingian period, according to the associated objects and in the opinion
of the accomplished excavator, Monsieur Ernest Chantre, of Lyons.
X. On the Topography of tlte Cistercian Abbey of Toiver Hill. By A. W.
CLAPHAM, Esq., F.S.A.
Read i8th February, 1915.
THE ground immediately to the east of the city ditch of London was
occupied in medieval times by three important religious foundations, an abbey
of Franciscan nuns, another of Cistercian monks, and the great hospital of
St. Katherine by the Tower. With the exception of one wall on the site of the
first-named house, no trace of any of them survives, though the great church of
St. Katherine remained until the last century. The Abbey of St. Mary of Graces,
with which we are immediately concerned, was the latest foundation of the
Cistercian Order in England; over half a century separates it from the latest
of the previous houses, and only a few Carthusian houses, the Bridgettine
nunnery of Sion, and some convents of Observant Franciscans are of later date.
The house was commonly known as Tower Hill or New Abbey, and is said to
have been also called Eastminster in contradistinction to the great Benedictine
house in the western suburbs ; for this title, however, I have not yet found any
ancient authority.
The history of the foundation is in some respects similar to that of the
London Charterhouse, for the sites of both of them had previously served as
cemeteries for the victims of the Black Death. The Tower Hill cemetery had
been acquired by John Corey, clerk, 1 from the canons of Holy Trinity, Aldgate,
and a chapel built there which was by him sold to the king, Edward III, when
that monarch founded the Cistercian house in 1350.'- The first establishment
consisted of five monks from Bcaulieu Abbey, :; with Walter de Sancta Cruce,
late Abbot of Garendon, as their Warden or President ; it was first termed
simply the Chapel of our Lady of Grace. The foundation was subsequently
enlarged by the addition of one monk in I358 4 by the king and by two more in
1375 as a condition of a bequest by Sir Nicholas Loveyne/' From this period
or earlier the superiors were called Abbots. The house was at first poorly
VOL. LXVI
1 Stow, Survey of London.
2 Cal. of Pat. Rolls, 1422 9, p. 89, and Add. Charters 39405.
3 Add. MS. 15664, fol. 138. * Add. Charters 394
a. o a. os, 1422 9, p. 9, an . arers 940.
Add. MS. 15664, fol. 138. * Add. Charters 39405. '" Ibid.
354 ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE
endowed, but by the close of the fourteenth century its revenues were consider-
able, and at the dissolution it stood third in annual value of the English Cis-
tercian houses, being only surpassed by Fountains and Furness. The erection
of the necessary buildings was at first very slow, and in 1368 Bishop Sudbury
refers to them as 'the church cloister and necessary houses not yet built'. 1
In 1374 the work was expedited by a papal relaxation of enjoined penance to
those who on the principal feasts of the year and on that of St. Anne, in whose
honour the church was founded, visited and gave alms to the church of the
Cistercian monastery of St. Mary de Gratiis. 2
In 1377 Countess Marie de St. Pol, widow of Aylmer de Valence, left
a bequest to the work of the church, 3 and in 137.9 the monks received a royal
grant of 100 marks for the necessary buildings. 4
In 1391 the financial position of the house must have vastly improved, as two
half-yearly accounts of the Bursar are preserved at the Record Office which
show expenditure on buildings and equipment of ^"112 8s. locf. and ^"125 6s. nd.
respectively.' 1 These accounts are detailed, and are of considerable interest.
The church was then practically complete, except for the paving, and the new
buildings in progress included the monks' farmery and several chambers in the
Abbot's lodging and elsewhere. The more important items are as follows :
To John Reynold, carpenter, for making a new house and 'camera' in the
abbey on the west side thereof, on the east side of the small garden of the
Abbot, and for three new tenements next the king's highway towards the west,
52 ; 650 ft. of new paving bought for paving our church ; for one boat load of
lime for making the foundations of the new farmery and carriage of the same,
145. ; to two mason layers for making the new foundations of the monks'
farmery, 125. ; for mason layers for the new pavement in our quire, about the
high altar and in the vestry, 205. ; to the same masons for works in the kitchen
and other, 45. io</. ; paid to Roger the smith for hinges, hooks, keys, and divers
other things of iron for the new tenements on Tower Hill, to the east of the
'Crouchhouse' there, and for other tenements in London, and for divers candle-
sticks of iron for our church and in our kitchen, 265. ud. ; to Walter Tyler for
tiling the new monks' farmery, 205. ; for one boat load of ragstone, 235. ; for 100
cstrebords for the doors and windows in the new farmery and carriage, 225-. 8d. ;
in freestone bought for the new chimney in the new chamber for the monks'
farmery, 185. 8d. ; in 3,700 tiles bought for paving our church, ^"18 us, 6d.\ to
John Reed, carpenter, for making two new doors in the church and for divers
1 Reg. Sudbury, fol. 105. " Cat. Papal Letters, iv, p. 199.
3 See Mr. Jenkinson's paper, infra, p. 433.
4 Madox, Formnl. Angl. 268. 5 P.R.O. Ministers' Accounts, 1258, No. i.
CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF TOWER HILL
355
Fig. i. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces : plan of the site (scale, 88 ft. to i in.).
(Reproduced, with additions, from the Ordnance Survey with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office)
Yy 2
356 ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE
other works, 125.; for a new and great ladder bought for the bell tower, 105. ;
paid for 1,406 ft. of pavement for paving our quire and vestry, ^"6 i6s. 6(/.
Chantries were founded in the church in 1380,' 1422," and 1442 3 by Richard
Rothyng, stock-fishmonger, Robert Fitzrobert, grocer, and Thomas Chinnor,
the last named in the chapel of St. Anne. In 1415 the Abbot and his successors
obtained the right to use the mitre and other episcopal insignia. 4
Nothing further is heard of the buildings until 1494, when Sir Thomas
Montgomery desired to be buried in the chapel of our Lady, which he had lately
new built. 5 The abbey was surrendered in September, 1538, when its revenues
amounted to ^602 us. io\d. gross and 547 os.6\d. net. 6
In the thirty-fourth year of Henry VIII (1542-3) the precinct of the abbey
was granted to Sir Arthur Darcy, 7 and remained apparently in his possession
until his death in 1562. According to Stow Darcy 'clene pulled down the
buildings ', but he probably retained a part, as he was living there when
he died.
The site shortly afterwards came into the hands of the Crown, and at the close
of the century it was used as a victualling yard for the queen's navy. 8 It served
for the same and other government purposes for the next two hundred years,
being a tobacco warehouse in 1799." In 1810 the whole site was cleared, and
the existing buildings of the Royal Mint were erected.
The materials available for the reconstruction of the plan of the buildings
and precinct fall naturally into two divisions, (a) post-suppression plans of the
site, and (/;) descriptions of the site in grants, etc.
The first of these categories is made up for all practical purposes of two docu-
ments, the first a sixteenth-century ' picture plan ' of a part of the site (fig. 2),
reproduced in the first volume of the London and Middlesex Archaeological
Society, the original of which, formerly at Carleton Ride, is probably now at the
Record Office, but I have been unable to trace it ; the second document (fig. 3)
is a large plan to a sixteenth scale of the victualling yard, amongst the Domestic
State Papers of Charles I. 10 It may be mentioned that there is a block plan of the
same site to a much smaller scale in the State Papers of James I," but it adds
nothing to the information given by the later plan, and may be neglected. Win-
gaerde's view of London shows only a church with a central tower without any
recognizable details.
1 Sharpc, Calendar of Wills, ii, 213. ' l Ibid., ii, 437. 3 P.C. of Cant. 15 Rous.
4 Cat. Papal Letters, vi, 465. '" Nichols, Test. Vetus., 396.
6 Valor Ecclesiasticus, i, 398, 399. T Pat. 34 Hen. VIII, pt. 3, m. 15. 8 Stow, op. cit.
9 See Horvvood's Map of London, 1799. I0 S. P. Chas. I, vol. 301, no. 42.
11 5. P. Jas. I, vol. 156, no. 14.
CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF TOWER HILL
357
Fig. a. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces: plan of the Farmery and Gardens in the sixteenth century.
(Reproduced, by permission, from lite Transactions of tl\t London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, vol. i)
358 ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE
The second category includes the Bursar's accounts mentioned above, the
description of the site in the grant to Sir Arthur Darcy, and casual references
to parts of the church in an early sixteenth-century list of burials. Compara-
tively few wills of persons buried here are preserved, and few of these give any
particular reference to the building.
It will thus be seen that the available information on the subject is un-
usually scanty, but as the plan of the latest Cistercian house must be of con-
siderable interest, and the use of the present building on the site negatives any
attempt at excavation, it will perhaps not be valueless to attempt to reconstruct
the plan.
The Precinct is represented with tolerable accuracy by the bounds of the
existing enclosure of the Royal Mint, and is thus described in the grant to
Sir A. Darcy, dated 1542-3 ''from a certain wall called the brick wall,
towards our said tower of London up to the Farmery there, and thence by
a certain other wall called a brick wall adjoining the said Farmery up to
a certain wall called a cross mud wall, adjacent to a piece of land looking
towards a certain tenement there called Coppid hall on the east part, and
thence direct to a certain lane called Hogg-lane towards the north, and then
turning west up to a certain wall called a mud wall, and thence by the said
wall to a certain place and garden there in the tenure of Elizabeth Hawte,
widow, up to a wall there called a brick wall standing in the same garden, and
thence direct to the tenement of the said Elizabeth Hawte on the south part.'
From this description it is possible to identify the precinct on the large plan,
andthelimits approximate to thcpresent boundaries of theRoyalMint. Thesouth-
eastcornerof the site is excellentlyshownontheCarletonRideplan, which enables
us to identify the buildings there sketched as the Farmery. The grant goes on
to mention particularly the farmery and all that garden called the 'Pyne appletre'
garden, the tenement formerly in the occupation of Elizabeth Hawte, the
tenement and garden adjoining formerly in the occupation of Antony of Naples,
a close called Bartholomew Close formerly in the occupation of Sir William
Rothe or Roche, alderman, the whole cemetery, a garden called the Convent
Garden, and one Dove-house. The Pine Apple-tree Garden and the Convent
Garden are shown on the Carleton Ride plan, and the Dove-house is no doubt
the timber-framed structure also shown there. The house and garden of
Antony of Naples are described in a grant to him as being 120 ft. from east
to west, and 50 ft. from north to south, and lying within the gate of the said
former monastery next to the church on the north part.
Pat. 34 Hen. VIII, pt. 3, m. 15.
CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF TOWER HILL
359
Fig. 3. Abbey of St. Mary of Graces : plan of the site in the early seventeenth century.
3 6o ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE
The northern boundary of the site, called in the grant and plan Hogg
Lane, had by the early years of the seventeenth century become known as
Rosemary Lane, and is so denominated in the James I plan. It has now again
changed its name to Royal Mint Street.
As will be seen, the grant makes no mention of the buildings composing
the monastery itself, except the farmery. The Bursar's accounts, however, also
mention the farmery, the church, and the Abbot's lodging, but the site of these
would be quite indeterminate without the aid of the plan among the State Paper-.
Before turning to this it will be well to note that the church was not
complete until over forty years after the foundation, and there can be little
doubt that during those forty years the monks made use of the chapel founded
by John Corey in the time of the Black Death.
Turning now to the plan among the State Papers, it will be noticed that
nothing can be gathered from the drawing as to the antiquity of the various walls,
but on the other hand certain features are easily recognizable as having formed
part of the monastic plan. The great gatehouse with its great and little portals
was still standing fronting Tower Hill, and is an extraordinary example of the
continuity of the building tradition in London, for it is represented almost
exactly by the northern of Smirke's two modern gateways into the Mint. This
gate opened on to an open space called on the plan the Great Court, and to
the north we may place the houses and gardens of the Italian, Antony of
Naples, and the widow Elizabeth Hawte. On the south of the court was the
conventual church, and its position is generally defined by the preservation in
the plan of the monastic cloister, which was a slightly irregular oblong enclo-
sure no ft. by 60 ft, with alleys about 12 ft. wide. Adjoining the north side are
two long enclosures, which probably represent the monastic nave, and together
have a length of 103 ft. and an internal width of 23^ ft. On the north side is
a small projecting porch in about the usual position for such features. If this
identification be correct, the nave was aisleless, and considering the fact that
the abbey was founded after the practical extinction of the Cistercian convcrsi,
by whom the nave was chiefly used, there is nothing surprising in this. It is
also not unlikely that the nave represents the original chapel of John Corey,
which would account for the north porch, a feature unknown in any other
English Cistercian house. The eastern arm and the transepts are represented
on the plan by various walls, about the age of which it is of course impossible
to be certain, but those I have shown on the reconstructed plan probably
represent the old lines. The south transept, though the south wall has dis-
appeared, is easily identified by the great night stairs from the dorter which
still remained against its west wall, and the door from the cloister to the south
transept suggests the impracticability of an eastern processional entrance in the
CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF TOWER HILL
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VOL. LXVI.
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362 ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE
usual position (at the east end of the nave) and the existence ot the pulpitum
under the west arch of the crossing. The walls of the eastern arm indicate
a presbytery (75 ft. long), with a large chapel rather overlapping it on the north
side, and this may well be the lady chapel rebuilt by Sir Thomas Montgomery.
There was probably an aisle also on the south side.
A collateral proof that the east end of the church has been rightly identi-
fied is provided by the item in the Bursar's accounts of 1,406 ft. of paving for
our quire (which can only mean the quire proper and the eastern arm) and
vestry. The area of the quire according to the plan is 1,720 ft., but from this
must be subtracted the area of the stalls themselves and the various steps, say
some 460 ft., which leaves some 140 ft. for the vestry, which is a very fair
approximation.
Of the ritual arrangements of the church but little can be said. The list
of burials mentions the lady chapel, a chapel without the quire on the south
side of St. Anne's chapel. There are also burials on the north and south sides
of the quire, before the high altar and at the quire door. The chapel of
St. Anne is also mentioned in the will of Thomas Chinnor, 1442.
The first noticeable feature in the list is the existence of a definite lady
chapel in a Cistercian church. The dedication of the high altar is also puzzling.
The first chapel on the site was dedicated to St. Mary, the abbey was always
St. Mary de Gratiis, but the papal relaxation expressly states that the church
was dedicated to St. Anne. To add to the confusion, we find in the list of
burials a chapel of St. Anne, having no connexion with the high altar.
Returning again to the plan, the eastern range is easily recognizable, and
in its walls are some early windows ; the chapter-house, however, cannot be
defined. Projecting from the south walk is a long building which from its
extraordinary angle can hardly be medieval, but which seems yet to preserve
the tradition of the characteristic Cistercian Prater. An early doorway is also
preserved in the middle of this walk.
The two buildings of the Farmery shown on the Carleton Ride plan agree
admirably with two represented on the State Paper Office plan, having a narrow
alley between them. The existence of the three doors implies that they were
approached, probably by a pentise, on the 'south side. The eastern of the two
buildings was undoubtedly the Farmery hall, and the western may well have
been the misericorde.
Nothing more can be recovered as to the buildings, but by setting out the
plan on the modern Ordnance map, it will be seen that both the west and east
ends of the church lie in the open courtyards of the present building, and it is
not unlikely that if digging should ever take place there, some remains of them
will come to light.
CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF TOWER HILL
363
A year or two ago, during alterations on the extreme south of the site,
some twelfth-century and later stonework was discovered, but none of it was
in sit it, and all of it may well have been brought from elsewhere. It includes two
pieces of rich twelfth-century work and some fragments of fourteenth or early
fifteenth-century window tracery.
Impressions of three seals of the abbey have been preserved :
i. The first common seal (fig. 5, 2): circular, with the Virgin and Child in
a niche flanked by smaller niches containing on the left a figure of the founder
Edward III, and on the right three monks offering a book; at the base is a
shield of the royal arms. Inscription : SIGILLV COMVNQ MOHKChOR B3K5e
DQ GRftCIIS.
Fig. 5. (i) Seal of Abbot Paschal.
(2) Common Seal ot the Abbey.
2. Seal of Abbot Paschal, c. 1420^22 (fig. 5, i) : a pointed oval with an abbot
/// f)ontificalibus and holding a book and crozier, in a canopied niche ; on the left
the royal arms, on the right those of the city of London ; under an arch at the
base the arms of the abbey. Inscription : Qigitlu Ipascbali0 abbi0 monaetvit btc
agatie tie giaciis.
3. Seal of an abbot (after 1415 when the abbots received the mitre): a pointed
oval with an abbot in pontificalibns under a canopied niche ; on the left the arms
of the founder, on the right those of the abbey. A very poor impression with
the inscription destroyed.
In conclusion I should like to call attention to the very unusual form of
the abbey arms ; they are preserved on two of the seals just described, and may
be blazoned as party pale wise, the first pale parted also fesswise, with a fleur-
Z Z 2
364 CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF TOWER HILL
de-lis in the base and a leopard face in the chief ; in the second pale a crozier.
So far as I am aware such an arrangement is unparalleled in English heraldry.
The first half is evidently in reference to the arms of the royal founder.
APPENDIX
P.R.O. Ministers' Accounts, 1258, No. i.
Inprimis Johanni Reynald carpentario pro nova domo et camera faciendis infra
Abbatiam viz. ex parte australi Abbatiae predictae juxta parvum gardinum Abbatis ex parte
oriental! ejusdem gardini situata et pro tribus novis tenementis ibidem juxta vicum Regis
versus australe ibidem lij li. Item in vj et di. de novis pavementis emptis pro ecclesia nostra
pavianda Iviijs. vjd. Item in uno batallato de calce empto pro fundamentis novi infirmatorii
faciendis et cariagio ejusdem xiiijs. Item solutum diversis laborariis daubers et aliis xvjs. ijd.
Item in lorn empt. vjs. viijd. Item in cariagio viijs. xd. Item in cariagio alias ijs. Item
duobus cementariis leggeres pro novis fundamentis novi infirmatorii monachorum faciendis xijs.
Item laborariis vjs. xd. Item solutum Waltero Tyler pro duobus domibus tegulandis et
emendandis in london et pro quinque novis tenementis de novo tegulandis super le Tourhull
ex parte oriental! de la Crouchehous et pro tegulis et clavis ab ipso Waltero emptis xxiiijs.
Item solutum aliis duobus cementariis leggeres xijs. Item laborariis vjs. xd. Item cementariis
leggeres pro novo pavimento paviendo in choro nostro coram magno altare et in vestiario xxs.
Item eisdem cementariis pro certis diebus pro operibus in coquina et alibi iiijs. xd. Item
laborariis pro eisdem operibus ixs. viijd. Item in cnij panystyl et j quart, xijs. vijd. Item
solutum Rogero fabro pro henges hokes clavibus clykets et aliis diversis rebus de ferro pro
novis tenementis super le Tourhull ex parte orientali de la Crouchhous ibidem et pro aliis
tenementis in London et pro diversis candelabris de ferro pro ecclesia nostra et in coquina
nostra Ixxvjs. xjd. etc. Item Thome plumbario iiijs. vijd. Item Johanni Randolf tymberman
London pro diversis merimiis, latthes, clavibus, quarters, tabulis de Estrichebord et de planche-
bord et in aliis diversis rebus emptis pro idem tempore xiij li. iiijd. Item Johanni Colyn tylmaker
pro xxiiij mill, de tegulis ab eo emptis pro novis tenementis super le Tourhull ex parte orientali
et pro aliis tenementis et domibus tegulandis in London et in Abbatia pro idem tempore x li. iiijs.
Item Petro Sykes lymbrener pro calce arso ab eodem empto pro diversis operibus pro idem tem-
pore liiijs. xd. Item diversis laborariis viijs. Item aliis laborariis vijs. Item cementariis leggeres
viij. Item eisdem cementariis alias viijs. Item in uno batallato de calce empto xijs. Item in
alio batallato de calce empto alias xijs. Item duobus cementariis leggeres et laborariis pro
diversis laboribus factis pro idem tempore xjs. vjd. Item duobus cementariis leggeres viijs.
Item duobus laborariis iiijs. Item aliis laborariis pro tribus septimanis xijs. vjd. Item in pur-
gatione fossarum de le Crasschmyll xls. Item alias pro purgatione dictarum fossarum xls.
Item Egedio Carter pro diversis cariagiis factis xvs. viijd. Item aliis laborariis viijs. vjd. Item
Waltero Tyler pro tegulatione novi infirmatorii monachorum xxs. Item eidetn Waltero Tyler
pro tegulatione trium novorum tenementorum ibidem xijs. iiijd. Item in uno batallato de
petro Ragge empto pro idem tempore xxiijs. Item pro cariagio ijs. Item mj de estrichebord
emptis pro hostiis et fenestris inde factis pro dicto novo infirmatorio ibidem et pro cariagio ejus-
dem xxijs. viijd. Item alias in uno batallato de calce empto et pro cariagio xiijs. iiijd. Item in
tabulis emptis viz. pro rotula molendini nostri aquatici empta xij. Item in clavibus emptis ad
idem operi xijd. Item in cariagio de uno Milleston xxd. Item pro factura de uno Spyndal ad
idem operi, de ferro empto iijs. iiijd. Item pro coggetymber empto ad idem operi xxd. Item
in carpentariis locatis et dauberes et laborariis pro Richardo Olyver xvijs.
Summum cxij li. viijs. xd.
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I
XI. On the Contracts for the Tomb of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of
Richmond and Derby, mother of King Henry VII, and Foundress of the Colleges
of Christ and St. John in Cambridge; with some illustrative documents.
Communicated by ROBERT FORSYTH SCOTT, Esq., M.A., Master of St. Johns
College.
Read 29th April, 1915.
THE design and execution of the tomb of the Lady Margaret, with its
recumbent figure, in the south aisle of the chapel of King Henry VII at West-
minster, have long been attributed to Pietro Torrigiano, a Florentine artist.
Until the documents here printed came to light in the Treasury, or Muniment
Room, of St. John's College this seems to have been a matter of inference or
tradition rather than a fact based on documentary evidence.
The monument of Henry VII in his chapel was, according to Stow, made
by one ' Peter T. a painter of the citie of Florence '. This Peter T. George
Vertue identified with Pietro Torrigiano, to whom he also ascribed the tornb
of the Lady Margaret, and this was adopted by Horace Walpole. 1 Again, in
Archaeohgia 2 we have printed the draft of a contract for the erection of a tomb
to King Henry VIII and Queen Katharine. This was communicated to the
Society of Antiquaries on 15 January, 1807, by Mr. W. Illingworth, the original
being among the papers of Cardinal Wolsey in the Chapter House of West-
minster Abbey. This is dated 5 January, 1518, and begins with a recital
that by deed dated 26 October, 1512, Peter Torrysany of the city of Florence,
graver, then resident in the precincts of St. Peter, Westminster, had contracted
to erect a tomb to the memory of King Henry VII and Elizabeth his queen
for the sum of .1500; the tomb for Henry VIII and Queen Katharine was to
be one-fourth larger, and was to cost 2,000.
1 Anecdotes of Painting in England, ed. R. W. Warnum, 1849, vol. i, 102, 104.
2 xvi, pp. 84-88.
3 66 ON THE CONTRACTS FOR THE
A description of the tomb of the Lady Margaret is given in T/ic History
and Antiquities of the Abbey Church of St. Peter, Westminster, by E. W. Brayley
and J. P. Neale, 1 and it is there stated, ' The Tomb of this illustrious lady is
supposed to be the workmanship of Torrigiano ; but the real fact has not been
ascertained '.
The Lady Margaret died 29 June, 1509, in the Abbot's house at Westminster,
as Canon E. H. Pearce has recently shown. Probate of her will, dated 6 June,
1508, was granted to the executors by William Wareham, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, 22 October, 1512.
I. THE CONTRACT FOR THE TOMB.
This endenturc betwcnc the Right Reuerendc faders in Criste Richard Bisshop of
Winton, John Bisshop of Roffen, Charles Somerset, knight, lorde Herbert, Chambcrleyn
to our soueraigne lord the king, Thomas Lovell, knight, Henry Marney, knight, John
Seint John, knight, Henry Horncby and Hugh Ashton, clerkes and Excecutours of the
testament of the late excellent princesse of noble memory Margarete the moder of
our late soueraigne lorde king Henry the vij" 1 and Graundame to the king that now
is on the oon partie And Petir Thoryson of florencc graver on that other partie ;
Witnesseth that the said Petir hath couenaunted and bargayned and by these pre-
sentes couenaunteth and bargayneth with the said Executours to make or cause to be
made at his owne propre cost and charge wele, clenly, sufficiantly and workemanly,
A Tabernacle of copper with an ymage lying in the same Tabernacle and a best called
an yas lying at the fote of the same Tabernacle, With like pillers, bases, chaptrels,
gablettes, crokkettes, anelles, fynials, orbs, housinges, Scocheons, graven with porte-
colcyses and Roses, all of copper and in like makyng length and brede according to
A patron drawen in a Cloth the which is sealed with the scale of the said Petir and
subscribed at the oon end with his owne hande, and is remaynyng in the custodye of
the said executours, And the said Petir couenaunteth, grauntcth, promytteth and
byndeth hym by these presentes that he shall aswell and as sufficiauntly, or better,
gilde or do to be gilded all the said Tabernacle, ymage, beest and all the premisses,
as any ymage or ymages of any king or queyn within the Monastery of Westminster
is or haue been gilded and that to be avewed and adiuged by such indifferent persons
as by the said executours thereto shalbe assigned. And furdermore the said Petir
couenaunteth, grauntcth, promytteth and bindeth hym by these presentes to the said
Executours that he at his own costes and charges shall wellc, sufficiauntly, clenly and
werkcmanly make or do to be made A Tombe otherwise called the case of a Tombc of
good, clcne and hable towche stone with all such werkmanship in the same as shalbe
1 Vol. i, Account of King Henry VII Chapel, 69-70.
TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT 367
according to a patrone drawen and kerven in Tynibre and signed with thand and sealed
with the scale of the said Petir and remaynyng in thandes of the said executours and
a stappe or a grets of marble stone rounde aboute the same Tombe to knele vpon of
syght hight and bredeth as shalbe assigned by the said executours And also shall grave
or do to be graven wele, clenly, werkemanly and sufficiently viij sufficient and clenly
scoucheons in such places of the same Tombe or case and with such armes as shalbe
assigned by the said executours, And also at his owne costes shall make or do to be
made wele clenly and werkemanly such borders graven all of copper aboute the creest,
lydger or edge of the same Tombe with such scriptures the letters thereof graven out-
wardes as shalbe assigned by the same executours. And the same Petir shall also gilde
or do to be gilded the same borders and scriptures as well and sufficiauntly as he shall
gilde the foresaid tabernacle, ymage and other the premisses. And also the said Petir
couenaunteth and graunteth by these presentes that he at his owne costes and charges
shall well sufficiauntly and clenly polisshe all the said Tombe or case and scocheons.
And the said Petir couenaunteth and byndeth hym by these presentes that he shall at
his owne costes and charges finde all the copper, touchestone, gold and all other stuff
that shalbe spent and occupied in about and vpon the said tabernacle, ymage, beast, tomb
or case and all other the premisses. And also that the same Tabernacle, ymage, beest,
tombc or case and other the premisses shalbe wele and sufficiauntly wrought made
graven and gilded after the fourme abouesaid and also shalbe sufficiauntly framed ioyned
fixed and set vp in the south Isle of the Kinges new chapell at Westminster onthisside
the first day of feuer the which shalbe in the yere of our lord M'.V c .xij. And that in
the said Tabernacle, ymage, beast, Tombe or case and other the premisses or in any
part or parcell of them shall neither be brek, flawe, erasure nor any other deformyte.
And that the lidger of the said tombe shalbe in length vij fote viij ynches of assise and
in brede iij fote viij ynches of assise and all the other werk of the same tombe shalbe of
sufficient length brede and height as shalbe aduised by the said executours or their
assignes. And furdermore the said Petir couenaunteth, graunteth, promytteth and
byndeth hym by these presentes that he from henssforth contynewelly and daily at all
tymes conuenient, shall put hymself in his faithfull devoir and diligence to werk or do
to be wrought in vpon and about the werking & making of the foresaid tabernacle and
tombe and other the premisses for the true expedeccion performauncc and finisshement
of the same after the fourme abovesaid without any delay. And that it shalbe leeffull
to the foresaid Bisshop of Roffen and Henry Horneby and to William Bolton priour
of the monastery of Seint Barthilmew in Westsmythfeld of London and to euery of
them and their assignes, at all tymes conuenient before the full finisshement of the said
Tabernacle, tombe and other the premisses after the fourme aboue declared without
any let or contradiccion of the said Petir, or of any other persone or persones, to enter
and haue the oversight of the same tabernacle and other the premisses, and to avewe
and ouersee that the same Petir do his faithfull labour and diligence in werking of the
same tabernacle and other the premises without delay. And furdermore it is couc-
naunted, condescended, and aggreed betwenc the said executours and Petir by these
presentes that yf hereafter at any tyme or tymes before the finisshement of the foresaid
368 ON THE CONTRACTS FOR THE
tabernacle and other the premisses it shalbe thought by the said Bisshop of Roff, Henry
Horneby and priour, or by any of them, that any thyng expressed in the said patrons or
in eny of them may be refourmed and made better or otherwise than is expressed in the
same patrons, or in eny of them, that than the same thing and thinges so found contrary
to their myndes shalbe refourmed and made after such fourme as shall be aduised by
them by thaggrement of the said Petir the couenantes before expressed in eny wise
notwithstonding. For the which tabernacle, ymage, beast, tombe or case and all other
the premisses by the said Petir to be wrought made gilded and in all things fully
finisshed and set vp in the place abouesaid after the fourme abouerehersed and for all
the copper, gold, touchestone and other Stuffes that shalbe spent and occupied, in,
vpon and aboute the same The said executours couenaunte, graunte, promytte and bynd
them by these presentes to the said Petir to pay or do to be paid to the same Petir to
his executours or assignes foure hundred poundes sterlinges at the ensealing of these
presentes, Whereof the same Petir holdeth hym wele and truly contented and paid,
And thereof and of euery part thereof clerely acquiteth and dischargeth the said
executours and euery of them by these presentes. And the said executours for them
and their executours woll and graunte by these presentes that yf the said Petir wele
and truly perfourme obserue fulfill and kepe all and euery the couenauntes grauntes
and premyses abouesaid the which on his partie owen to be perfourmed obserued
fulfilled and kept in maner and fourme aboue rehersed, that than an obligacion of
the date of these presentes, Wherein the said Petir and Leonard fristobald and John
Cawalcant ' merchauntes of florence be hold and bound to the said executours in fyve
hundred poundes sterlinges, shalbe void and had for nought, and els it shall stond in
full strength and vertue. In Witnesse whereof the said parties to these endentures
chaungeably haue set their scales yoven the xxiij day of Novembre the third yere of the
Reigne of King Henry the viij th .
perme PIERO TORRIGIANI Schultore fiorintino.
Signature of Torrigiano, from the contract or the Tomb of the Lady Margaret.
1 First written Cawalcant, and then the C erased.
TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT 369
This contract, it will be observed, is dated 23 November, 1511, a little more
than two years after the death of the Lady Margaret, and eleven months
before probate of the will had been granted.
Probably for the ' best called an yas ' we may read ' best called an yal (or
yale) '. It is tempting to believe that the word was written ' yal ' in the draft,
and that the engrosser mistook the / for a long s.
The supervision of the work, it will be observed, is assigned to John Fisher,
Bishop of Rochester, Henry Hornby, then Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge,
who had been Chancellor and Secretary to the Lady Margaret, and William
Bolton, the Prior of St. Bartholomew's. Bolton seems to have been better
known for his skill in design than for theological learning. Weever 1 describes
him as 'a great builder'. Cardinal Wolsey appears, about the year 1518, to
have recommended Bolton to King Henry VIII for the bishopric of St. Asaph.
But Richard Pace, writing to Wolsey, states that the king preferred Richard
Standish, a Franciscan, ' a grete lernydde man and an honest man : and that
bi thiese ij qualities he must have better knowliege off the cure of sowle than
the sayde Prior, in whome he doeth not know suche lernynge. And where as
your Grace doeth make mention in your lettres off diverse presidentes off the
Kingis predecessors declarynge howe theye dydde promote unto like dignities
the Maistres of their werks ; hys Grace sayeth that itt is not lykely that they
so dydde for thys qualitie oonly that they couith goodde skele in byldyngs, but
for sum other greate qualities (as profounde lernynge) annexidde unto the
same. Nethelesse hys Grace sayeth that he is content to remembre the sayde
Priors labors wyth sum other smaller promotions than bushoprychis.'
It seems probable that Bolton had a considerable share in the design of
the tomb. This appears from some further documents preserved in St. John's.
First we have a volume of the Accounts of the Executors ; this does not seem
to be a complete or final account, but rather a copy of such part of the
accounts as concern details regarding the payments for the Colleges of Christ
and St. John, incidentally including some other items. This account contains
the following entries with regard to the tomb :
[i. August 1511]
paiede to the prior of seint Bartholomews the first day of August for my ladys
tombe in Westminster, bi a bill ,40
1 Funeral Monuments, 434.
3 Sir Henry Ellis, Original Letters illustrative of English History, y<\ series, vol. i, 186.
VOL. LXVI. 3 A
370 ON THE CONTRACTS FOR THE
In a further section of the accounts dealing with the period 19 June, 1512,
to 18 January, 1514-15, are the following entries:
Also the said bisshop [i. e. John Fisher] chargeth hym self gratis apon this accompt of
xxx/j. xjs. xd. of the rest of a somme of xl/i. which was delyuredc to the prior of seint
Barthilmews apon a prest towarde the making of my ladies tombe, as it apperith in the
last accompte, of which xl//. the seid prior expendet abowt the seid tombe but ix/j. viijs. \}d.
as it apperith by his bill of parcellis.
Paymentes for my ladies tombe.
[27 December 1511]
First paide the xxvij day of December in the iiij' h yere of the reigne of King
Henry the viij th to M. Garter the king of haroldes for makyngand declaring
my ladies armes in viij schochyns for my ladies tombe and deliuerede to
the florentyne 135. $d.
Item paide the xxvij" 1 day of December the seide iiij th yere to M. Erasmus for
the ephitaff aboute my ladies tombe, by my lordes commaundement 205. od.
[22 June 1513]
Item paide the xxij th day of Junij in the v th year of the reigne of Kinge Henry
the viii th to Maynarde paynter for makinge the picture and image of the
seide ladye 335. $d.
[16 March 1513-4]
Item paide to the seid Maynard the xvj th day of Marche in the fifte yere of
the reigne of the seid kynge for making of diuerse patrons for my ladies
tombe /4 135. $d.
Item to the prior of Seint Bartilmews for his counsell in devisynge the seide
tombe, and for his labour and costis and expensis in surueyinge and
controllynge the werkmen of the same tombe at diuerse and sondry tymes
and for scndyngc for diuerse werkmen from beyende the sea for making
of the seide tombe [blank]
There is a note : ' non hie, quia postea in pede ' ; and later on a further note :
' Memorandum, the prior of Seint Barthilmews is no thinge allowed yet for his labour.'
Again, in a parcel of miscellaneous warrants for payments, or receipts for
such payments by the executors, we have the following relating to the tomb.
for my lady the kinges grandame
whose Soulle god pardone.
firste for making of iij patrons in paper for her Tombe eche of theym diuerse
facions summa 135. ^d.
TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT 371
Item for ij patrons made in cloth beyng the length of her tombe wrought with
colours whereof the one Remayned in the executours handes and the oder
in Master Petirs handes at xls. the pece And for his costes and lett of other
besynes at diuerse and many tymes attending vpon the priour of seynt
Bartilmewes and vpon the foresaid Master Petir by the commaundment of
the executours summa 4
Summa totalis 4 135. ^d.
[Countersigned] Jo. ROFFS.
Memorandum, payd by Morgan Mores on monnday the iij dc daye of nouember
the iij rd yere of the raigne of kyng Henrie the viij th for his boot hyre from
London to Mortlake and frome thens to London Whyen he and the
franchmen was with my lord chamberlane with the pateron of my ladeys
Towme 25. ^d.
Item payd by hym on tvysdai the fovrte day of the same movnth for hys bot
hyr from stangate to london and from london to stangate iff.
Summa 25. 5</.
[November 1511]
Memorandum that I Maynarde Vewike of London paynter haue ressauid the vij daie
of february the thrid yere of the reigne of kynge Henry the viij of the Reuerend father
in God John bushop of Rochester thre poundes sterlyng in parte of payement of a more
some for a certen table and ij patrones drawen for my ladie the kynges grandamm tombe
In witnes where of I the saide Maynarde haue subscribed this bill with my own hand
MEYNNART WEWYCK.
It would appear then that the design for the tomb was the subject of
a good deal of consideration. Perhaps we may put the steps of the process
as follows : Bolton conceived the general idea, summoned to his aid Meynnart
Wewick, the painter, referred to as Maynard, and also as the Frenchman,
perhaps a Fleming ; he drew alternative patterns, of which one was selected,
and two copies of this painted on canvas, of which one was handed to
Torrigiano, the artist artificer.
The following, undated, letter from Bishop Fisher to Prior Bolton shows
that the work was inspected from time to time. The letter is written by
a secretary and signed by Fisher ; the postscript, in brackets, is added in
Fisher's own hand :
Brother prior I pray you to delyuer vnto the brynger hereof, Roger Notte, for my
ladyes power folke at Hatfield ciiij". And this bill assigned with my hande shalbe
your discharge. From Lambeth Marsh, the xiiij" 1 daie of June.
Jo. ROFFS.
3 A2
372 ON THE CONTRACTS FOR THE
[And I pray you do so moch to se Peter's work for my ladyes tomb and when ye have
oones seen I will comm my self thyder.]
Addressed : To the prior of Sent Bartylmewes this be delyuered.
These documents clearly establish the fact that the tomb of the Lady
Margaret was the work of Torrigiano, and we may safely infer that it was his
first commission in England. Incidentally they show that the statement of
Brayley and Neale, 1 ' there is no reason to suppose that Torrigiano arrived in
England previously to the year 1512', is a mistaken one.
With regard to Torrigiano's sureties, we find that John Cavalcant was to
act also as surety in the contract for the tomb of Henry VIII, 2 while the name
Fristobald occurs in the following letter preserved in St. John's College :
My lord I haue been at frystoball and lowes la fauour ys banke to know the best
manner of change and their they hold a dukette large at iiiis viijW. And a dukette de
Camare at iiijs vijW. but I thynke they wyll abate ob in the dukett. Onn of them
shewed me he had benn with you Ther is anodre that wyll delyuer a duket large
for iiijs \\\d, and de Camare for iiijs vd. ob. And it pleys you to command me at your
pleasure when I shall come to you and with Mr. Metcalfe to write your stuffe. I trust
now I shall shewe your lordshippe where it may be well and save.
By your owenn subiect the pryour
of Ledes.
Addressed : To his singler good Lorde my Lord of Rochester.
The reason for this letter was the following: In 1512 Fisher and others
had been appointed by Henry VIII to attend the fifth Lateran Council
summoned by Pope Julius to meet at Rome in April of that year. This com-
mission was subsequently revoked and others sent, but Fisher's appointment
was again renewed in 1515, in which year he appointed Richard Chetham,
Prior of Leedes in Kent, and another, to be his proctors for the transaction of
episcopal business in his absence. As a matter of fact, he did not go, but this
letter, written either in 1512 or 1515, seems to show that Richard Chetham was
making inquiry as to foreign moneys for the journey.
1 /. c., p. 54. z Archaeologia, xvi, 85.
ARCHAEOLOGIA
VOL. LXVI PLATE XXIJ
THE GRATE AND TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT
IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY CHURCH
Published bv the Socittv of Aiiliauaries of London.
TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT 373
II. THE CONTRACT FOR THE GRATE.
This Indenture made betwene Maister Nicholas Metcalf clerke, Maister of the College
of Seint John the Evangeliste in the vnyuersitie of Cambridge, And William Longford
clerk on that oon partie, And Cornelyus Symondson of the parishe of Seint Clement
Danes without the barres of the newe Temple of London in the Countie of Middlesex,
Smythe, on that other partie, WITNESSETH that it is couenaunted bargayned and
aggreed betwene the seid parties by these presentes in manner and fourme folowyng
that is to sey, The seid Cornelyus couenaunteth, grauntith, and hym byndeth by these
presentes that he shall make frame fynysshe and sett vp, or cause to be made framed
fynysshed and set vp, a grate of Iron to stande aboute the Tombe of the moost
excelent pryncesse lady Margaret, late Countesse of Rychemond and Derby, sett in
the Isle of the Southside of the newe Chapell of King Henry the vij" 1 at Westmynster,
of Suche maner and fourme as hereafter shalbe rehersed, that is to wete, first the
Soyle of the seid grate to be made of Iron lettyn into the Steppe of hardstone goyng
round aboute the seid Tombe, and in euery syde of the said Tombe shalbe iij prynci-
palle poostes of Iron, that is to say two corner postes whiche shalle aunswere to the
werkes both at ende and atte syde that they serue for, and oon poste of Iron in the
myddes on euery of the two sydes to aunswer to his werkes, and euery poost shall
haue a butteras with a baase to aunswere booth weys, with a water Table in the middes
to aunswere lykewyse and with a Chaptrell above and a Creste of three ynches and
a half brode to goo rounde aboute the said werke and to be joyned to the seid
Chaptrelles, the which creste shalbe made and vented after the fasshon and werkmanship
of the creste aboute the grate of my lord of Seint Johns Tombe, above the whiche creste
euery principall shalle ryse a foot and a half and shall bere a Repryse with a busshe
of Daysyes vpon it, and the foresaid creste shalbe made with a casement of two ynches
and a half, the whiche shalbe garnysshed Rounde aboute with perculyus and roses, cche
of them to stand within half a ffoot of a nother. And the seid grate shalbe in hight from
the vppersyde of the Soyle vnto the neyther syde of the crest foure foot and a half to
be garnysshed with arres barres of three quarters of an ynche square, wele and clene
hamared, So that the denies of the hammer be not seen in them, fyxed in the seid
soyle, and to the seid creste, aboue the whiche creste shalbe a dowble crest booth within
and without after the crest of Seint Johns aforesaid. And the said barres to be sett
eche within three ynches of other rounde aboute the seid grate, And over the seid creste
there shalbe fflowredelyces rounde aboute to shewe lyke good in werkmanship aswell
within towarde the seid Tombe As without, And betwene euery flowredelyce a spere
point, to shewe likewise, vnder thendes of the flowredelyces aunswering eyther a flowre-
delyce or a spere point to euery Arras barre that standeth vnder ALL THE WHICHE seid
grate with almanar scochyns, flowredelyces and other thynges thereto perteyning, the
said Cornelyus couenauntith grauntith and hym byndeth by these presentes that they
374 ON THE CONTRACTS FOR THE
shalbe made of bylbowe Iron wele, clene and workemanly wrought, and shalbe
fynysshcd and sett vp in alle and euery thinge atte propre costes and charges of the
said Cornelyus onthisside the feast of Easter whiche shalbe in the yere of our Lord
M'CCCCC and xxviij" FOR THE WHICHE seid grate in all thynges apperteynyng to Smythcs
craft after the fourme aforeseid to be made and sett vp, The seid Maister Nicholas
Metcalf and William Longford couenaunte and graunte by these presentes that they
shall pay or cause to be paide to the seid Cornelyus or his assignes twenty and fyve
poundes of good and lawfull money of England in maner and fourme folowyng that
isto wete, in hande atte ensealyng of these indentures, fyve poundes in'- iiij d - wherof
the seid Cornelyus knowlegeth hym self wele and truly contented and paide, And
thereof acquyteth and dischargeth the seid Nicolas and William their executours and
assignes by these presentes, And the Resydue to be paide for the seide werke after the
Rate of the weyght, as the same werke gooth forward IN WITNESSE whereof the seid
parties to these indentures interchaungeably haue sett their sealles YOVEN the xiij"' day
of Decembre the xviij th yere of the Reigne of Kyng Henry the viij 1 ' 1 .
This contract, it will be observed, is dated 13 December, 1526, the parties
being Nicholas Metcalf, the Master of St. John's, William Longford, the
President or Vice-master of the College, and Cornelius Symondson.
It is perhaps worth noting that while Torrigiano was paid his fee down,
Symondson received a sum down on the execution of the deed, and was to be
paid by instalments as the work proceeded ; the grate to be finished before
Easter, 1528.
The grate was erected at the cost of St. John's College, and the successive
payments appear in the College accounts, showing that the grate stood upon
a stone base. I have extracted from these accounts all entries relating to the
grate ; the words in italics are written in the margins of the accounts.
s. d. s. d.
Michaelmas Term 1526 a gratfor my lades tome
Item to the Smyth at Temple barr in Ernest 13 4
Hilary Term 18 Hen VIII [Jan-Feb 1527] my lades tombe
Item paid in part of payment to Cornelys Smyth for makynge a
grate of I rone at Westminster ouer my lady the Kynges
mother the vij th 4 10 o
Easter Term 18 Hen VIII [1527] my lades toivmbe
Item paid in part of payment to cornellys smyth for makynge
the Kynges grandmother tumbe at Westminster 500
Trinity Term 19 Hen VIII [May-June 1527] my ladys Tombe
Item Cornelys the Smyth in parte of his payment for my ladys
tombe and in full payment of xj/ i o o
TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT 375
s. d. s. d.
26 October 19 Hen VIII [1527] my lades tombe
To Cornelys Symsonn in part of payment for making a Grate
of my lades tombe 400
Easter Term 20 Hen VIII [1528]
Item to Cornelis the Smyth in parte of payment for my lades
tombe and in full payment of xxli 500
Michs Term to end of Hilary Term 20 Henry VIII [Michs. 1528-
Jan 1528/9] expensae pro tumba fundatritis
Item to Cornelis Symondson in parte of payment for makyng
the grate abowte my lades towmbe i 13 4
13 February 1528/9
Item to the Smyth for my lades grate 200
Term of St John Mids 1529
Item to Cornelys Symondson in full payment for the grayte
aboute my lades tombe our foundres i 6 8
Item in rewarde amoynst the Smythes seruantes that made the
grayte for our foundres tumbe 4
25 38
Stonework :
Michaelmas to Hilary 20 Hen VIII [1528-9] pro tumba
fundatricis
Item to Raynold Bray in parte of payment for makyng the
baysses aboute my lades towmbe in Westminster 10 o
Hilary Term 20 Hen VIII 1528/9
Item to Ranald Bray for stonework to set the grate vpon about
my lades tombe 10 o
13 February 1528/9
Item to the fremason for stonework 13 4
Easter Term 20 Hen VIII 1529
Imprimis to the fremason in full payment for the stoneworke
to set the grayte upon about my lades tombe 40 1174
Gilding :
Michaelmas 1529
Item for gylding the grate about my ladys tombe 200 200
29 i o
A few vouchers for these payments have been preserved, of which the
following may serve as examples. Symondson always signs with a mark.
This bill Witnesseth that I Cornelys Symonson haue received of Mr Doctor Metcalf at
divers tymes as appereth by sondre bokes \vli. in part of payment of xxv/i for the
376 TOMB OF THE LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT
makyng of a certen grate betwext me the sayd Cornelys and the sayide Mr doctor
apoynted and barganed, of the which xv//' I the sayd Cornelys knowlege myself truly
contented and payd and the said Mr doctor and his assignes thereof do clerly acquite
and discharge by these presentes for euer. In wittenes whereof I the said Cornelys to
these presentes haue setto my scale the xxvj day of pctobrc Anno xix henrici octaui
Sigillatum et pro vere factum deliberatum in presencia mei Raunoldi Hall, Willielmi
Lamkin, by me Gabriell metcalf.
[26 October 1527]
Be it knowen to all men by these presentes that I Raynold Bray, Citizen and fremason of
london haue receaved this present day of maister Doctor Medcalff xx5 sterlinge in partie
of payment of a more somme. Of the whiche xx5 I knowledge myself welle and truly
contented and paide by these presentes. Sealed with my seall, yauen the vj day of
February the xx th yere of the Reigne of King Henry the viij" 1 .
[6 February 1528-9]
XII. Recent Discoveries in the Abbey Church of St. Austin at Canterbury.
By Sir WILLIAM ST. JOHN HOPE, Litt.D., D.C.L.
Read loth June, 1915.
IT is a matter of common knowledge that for some years past excavations
have been in progress on the site of St. Austin's Abbey at Canterbury, and the
Society of Antiquaries has shown a practical interest in the work by occasional
help from its Research Fund. There is every reason, therefore, that the Society
should be made acquainted with certain discoveries of exceptional interest that
have lately been made within the abbey church by the authorities of St. Augus-
tine's College.
It is somewhat unfortunate that only a small part of the site of the nave, a
triangular piece at its eastern end, 1 belongs to the college, the remainder being
the property of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. That corporation has, how-
ever, generously leased to the college, for a nominal yearly rent, the rest of
the north aisle and a broad strip of the length of the nave, but it is impossible for
more to be acquired owing to a vitally interesting portion of the site being
covered by the hospital laundry, which can not at present be moved for lack of
funds.
For a long time it has been the confident belief of some of us that, should
the opportunity for the search ever arise, there would be found under the nave
of the abbey church, not only the ground plan of the minster built for St. Austin
by Ethelbert king of Kent at the very beginning of the seventh century, but
the burying-place of St. Austin himself and of his immediate successors as arch-
bishops of Canterbury, which is so particularly located by the chroniclers of the
abbey.
The ground had been prepared to some extent a little time ago by the
excavation of the site of the monks' quire, which, with its screens, occupied the
crossing under the middle tower, as well as the eastern part of the nave. This
area when cleared showed a raised platform of earth between the transepts,
intersected in its western extension by the foundations of the pulpit inn and rood-
1 This, however, includes the greater part of abbot Wulfric's building, and the tombs of the
Saxon archbishops, described in this paper.
VOL. LXVI. 3 B
RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
loft, with the place of the nave altar beyond. In view of the interesting ques-
tions involved it was decided to remove the earthen platform, leaving the screen
foundations to be dealt with later. The result was somewhat startling, for there
gradually came into view, as the earth was taken away, a ring of strong stone
piers, arranged about a wide central space, with traces of a circumscribing
ambulatory (fig. i). To enable this discovery to be followed up, careful plun>,
Fig. j. St. Austin's Abbjy, Canterbury. Remains of abbot Wulfric's building, looking west.
notes, and photographs were taken of the screen foundations, which were only
of rough chalk blocks, and then these too were cleared away. Further discoveries
forthwith followed, which suggested investigations in other directions and with
the same success.
The whole of the work was carried out by the college authorities under the
competent direction of the sub-warden, the Rev. R. U. Potts, but I was able from
time to time to be present during the operations, and to give advice when neces-
sary ; I also undertook the measuring up and planning of the remains uncovered.
This essential proceeding shows that underlying the area of the tower and
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY
379
the first three bays of the nave, as well as the adjoining parts of the transepts
and aisles, are the foundations of a very remarkable building (plate XXX).
It consists of a circular area about 25 ft. in diameter, enclosed by a ring of
eight huge segmental blocks to carry piers, each 82 ft. thick, and expanding in
width from 5 ft. to 6 ft. on the inside to 8 ft. to 10 ft. on the outside. The interspaces
also have diverging sides as well as varying widths, from 3! ft. to 5 ft. within to 6* ft.
Fig. 2. Pier-foundations of abbot Wulfric's building, looking east.
without (fig. 2). They open into an encircling ambulatory 6 ft. wide, round
within, but octagonal outside, with an opening towards the west 9! ft. broad. 1
There is a wall 25 in. thick, constructed of Roman bricks, upon the outer edge of
the eastern side, with a doorway 61 ft. wide in the middle (fig. 3). The sides
of the octagon measure 262 ft., and the total width of the building externally is
64! ft. The masonry is constructed throughout of rough pieces of thin oolitic
sandstone, carefully laid, and faced with a thin layer of mortar or plaster.
The ground plan of the church of San Vitale at Ravenna (begun by bishop Kcclesius, 526 34)
a similar circle of eight massive piers with an encircling aisle of eight sides.
3 HZ
3 8o RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
The building is unfortunately overlaid to a considerable extent on the north
and south, especially as to the outer ring, by the broad and massive sleeper walls
of the late eleventh-century work which superseded it (see fig. 4), but there is no
reason for thinking that any important features are thereby hidden.
There are several minor points to be noticed. First, the considerable depth,
51 ft. from the top of the sleeper walls, to which the building is carried. It has
Fig. 3. East face and piers of abbot Wulfric's building, looking west.
also outside the north-west side a set-off 2 ft. wide, which possibly extended all
round, except on the east side, where it is lacking ; the south-west face is unhap-
pily beneath the hospital laundry. The west wall, for some reason, includes the
set-off in its thickness, which exceeds by so much that of the other seven sides.
It likewise slightly oversails on the west a thick wall of earlier date.
From this description of the remains of the building we must pass to inquire
into its history.
It is clear from the several chronicles of the abbey that, in the middle of the
eleventh century, the great church of St. Peter and St. Paul, begun by King Ethel-
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY
bert in 598 and hallowed in 613, had to the east, but separate from it, a lesser
church or oratory of our Lady, built by Ethelbert's son and successor Eadbald,
on his conversion from paganism in or soon after 620. Between the buildings
lay the cemetery of the monks.
It was the intention or ambition of the fortieth abbot, Wulfric, who succeeded
in 1047, to enlarge the greater church by coupling to it, by an intermediate
Fig. 4. Part of the north side of abbot Wullric's building.
structure, Eadbald's oratory of the Blessed Virgin. Soon after Wulfric was sent
to Rheims to pope Leo IX, from whom he sought and obtained leave to carry
out his purpose.
One of the chroniclers, Gocelin, a contemporary inmate of the abbey, states
that on his return home, Wulfric accordingly ' first demolished his temple ', that
is the great church, ' from the front ', or east end. Then
he threw down also the western part of the oratory of the holy mother of God, together
with the 'porches' (portidbus} with which it was surrounded, and, when the cemetery
of the brethren hard by had been cleansed, he takes the whole space between the
382 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
two churches for the building, raises walls, and constructs columns and arches. Knit
rejoiced in the new work, although the want of skill of the builders had made it un-
suitable for a monastic habitation. 1
But the new work was not allowed to go on, for the Blessed Virgin, so write
the chroniclers, being displeased with the destruction wrought on her chapel, the
unfortunate abbot was smitten with a disease from which he died in 1059.
Wulfric's successor, Egelsin, apparently made no attempt to finish or inter-
fere with the new work, which remained as it was left until the coming of another
abbot, Scotland by name, in 1070.
This man (says the monk Gocelin), after he like the rest of his predecessors had
been established in his monastery, when he began to put forth his great mind to the
building of his church now further to be lengthened, was sorely troubled by the work
already standing (and) awkwardly extended ; he was troubled also by the narrow
space for the proposed plan. He was afraid moreover of the judgement of the mother
of God against the previous abbot for her church which he had overthrown : he was
afraid of the danger of ruin with respect to the old monastery consumed by long
decay. In the midst of these anxieties he is carried off to Rome on a royal embassy
to pope Alexander. There, after the king's business had been settled, he receives
from the same pope counsel and benediction concerning the translation of the
saints, the pulling down and building up of his basilica according to his own
wishes, and with the sanction of the gracious Being on high
Then the faithful abbot, amazed and thankful in consequence of the testimony of so
great a man, hastens home, and pulls down the unfinished portion of the new work.
But the remaining part of the virgin oratory of the exalted Mary awaited his attack. -
After describing at some length the removal from the building of the body
of St. Adrian and of various bishops, abbots, and other holy men who had been
buried within it, Gocelin continues :
So when the aforesaid church had been thus emptied of its relics, it is thrown
down and levelled to the ground, and soon on that very front that was battered down
1 'templum suum a fronte diruit .... Partem quoque ab occidente oratorii sancte Dei Genetricis
cum porticibus quibus circumcingebatur dejecit.- 1 et inter utramque ecclesiam fratrum cimiterio quod
adjacebat purgato. totum spacium ad fabricam corripit. parietes erigit. columnas et arcus componit.
Letabatur novo opere Cantia. quamquam monastice habitacioni incongruum fecisset artificum imperitia.'
Lib. ii, cap. iii, Cott. MS. Vesp. B xx, f. 127.
- ' Hie ut ceteri antecessores ordinatus in suo monasterio. cum in ecclesie sue longius protendente
edificium largum extenderet animum. graviter offendebat eum asstans opus impediose productum.
offendebatet angustum decrete machine spacium. Terrebat vero Dei Genitricis in abbatem superiorem
de prerupta ecclesia sua judicium .- 1 terrebat de veteri monasterio longa carie consumto ruine periculum.
In his angoribus rapitur legatione regia Romam. ad Alexandrum papam. Ibi post regia responsa. J con-
silium accipit ab ipso papa et benedictionem. de transferendis sanctis. de destruenda et reformanda
basilica sua pro suis votis. ac nutu superne largitatis.' Lib. ii, cap. vi, ibid. f. 128.
'Turn abbas fidelis ad tantum tanti viri testimonium obstupescens et gracias agens . J domum
properat. incoatam molem novi operis subvertit. Verum residua pars virginalis oratorii summe Marie
ejus impetum morabatur.' Lib. ii, cap. vii, ibid. f. 128.
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 383
the forepart of the new ' hall ' is erected and embraces all that interior of the old site
with much more room. In that same first and choicest place of hers the highly exalted
Virgin acquires a new crypt and the resting-place of Austin; the 'house', too, of the
princes of the apostles (i.e. St. Peter and St. Paul) is elevated above. 1
A later chronicler of the abbey, William Thorn, adds that
Abbot Scotland finished that new work beginning from the abovesaid oratory of the
Virgin to the aisle of St. Austin in which he formerly rested. 2
Now there can not be any question as to the position and extent of Scot-
land's work, since the crypt which he undoubtedly built, and wherein he was
buried, has been discovered and excavated, as have the remains of his transepts,
tower piers, and eastern part of the structural nave. Moreover, the massive
foundations of these works overlie the remains of a building which was obviously
pulled down to make way for them, and this building we are plainly told was
Wulfric's. The octagonal structure under notice must therefore have been that
begun by Wulfric, and carried up as high as the arcade story (which Scotland
destroyed), between his visit to Rheims and his death in 1059.
How the building was intended to be finished is an interesting question.
Its plan suggests a round dome, perhaps for a lantern or tower above, supported
on strong piers and arches, with a vaulted ambulatory on all sides. The dome
itself was also of course a vault. The eastern side seems to have been connected
with Eadbald's church of our Lady, perhaps by a screen or arcade with a door-
way in the middle. There wa's also a wide entrance on the west from the nave
of the great church of St. Peter and St. Paul, to which the building was joined,
and the principal apse or presbytery of this had apparently been destroyed to
make way for it.
Analogy with other early buildings in France, Italy, and elsewhere, suggests
that Wulfric perhaps intended his new work to serve as a baptistery, like several
such that he might have seen abroad, and it is interesting in this connexion to
recall what had been done in the rival monastery of Christchurch so far back as
the middle of the eighth century. There, it is recorded by Eadmer, archbishop
Cuthbert (741-758), amongst other good works,
built a church on the cast part of the greater church, almost touching the same, and
solemnly hallowed it in honour of the blessed John Baptist. He constructed this church
to this end : that baptisms might be held therein and inquiries of courts of justice
1 'Sic itaque predicta ecclesia suis pignoribus evacuata. ad solum evertitur et complanatur. moxque
in ipsa fronte arietata nove facies aule erigitur. totumque ilium veteris spacii uterum. cum ampliori
capacitate complectitur. In ipso priori atque electissimo loco suo criptam novam altissima Virgo nan-
ciscitur. et Augustini thalamus. et principum apostolorum domus desuper cacuminatur.' Lib. ii, cap. xvi,
ibid. f. 132.
2 ' Perfecit autem abbas Scotlandus ipsum opus novum incipiendo a supradicto virginis oratorio
usque ad porticum Sancti Augustini in qua antiquitus quiescebat.' Thorn, col. 1790.
384 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
appointed for divers causes which are wont to be held in the church of God for the
correction of evil-doers ; also that the bodies of the archbishops might be buried in it,
the ancient custom being thus taken away by which hitherto they were wont to be
buried outside the city in the church of the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul,
where are laid the bodies of all his (i.e. Cuthbert's) predecessors. 1
Unhappily there are no remains left to us of this church of St. John Baptist,'
nor any record as to whether it was round, eight-sided, or rectangular.
Buildings specially constructed as baptisteries seem, however, to have gone
out of fashion before Wulfric's time, and in the middle and north of France,
according to M. Enlart, polygonal baptisteries had ceased to be built during the
Carolingian period. 2 M. Robert de Lasteyrie points out as the reason for this,
that owing to changes in the ancient practices relating to the administration of
baptism, baptisteries gradually lost their utility. 3 Their use, nevertheless,
continued in Italy, but in Gaul it seems to have ceased about the time of
Charlemagne, and in the Romanesque period baptisteries were not built at all.
Circular buildings to hold the remains of the dead were common even in
Roman times, and a well-known Christian example is the tomb of Theodoric
at Ravenna. A more pretentious round building for the same purpose is the
church of St. Constance in Rome, erected towards the end of the reign of Con-
stantine to hold the tomb of his daughter. This has an inner ring of twelve
pairs of coupled columns, with a circular aisle with recesses, and a porch covering
the entrance. 4 The round part of the church of the Holy Sepulchre also had
a ring of columns with an encircling aisle.
To come down to a period nearer to that of Wulfric, reference may be made
to the church of Neuvy-Saint-Sepulcre (Indre), which was founded in 1045
' ad formani Sancti Scpulchri lerosolimitani '. 5 This has a ring of ten massive
round columns with an encircling aisle and a later upper story with a dome.
But there is a somewhat earlier building of the same type, to which
Mr. John Bilson has called my attention, the round part of the church of
1 ' Is inter alia bona quibus totum vitae suae tempus coram Deo et hominibus clarificabat, fecit
ecclesiam in orientali parte majoris ecclesiae eidem pene contiguam, eamque in honorem beati Johannis
Baptistae solemniter dedicavit. I lane ecclesiam eo respectu fabricavit : ut baptisteria et examinationes
judiciorum pro diversis causis constitutorum, quae ad correctionem sceleratorum in ecclesia Dei fieri
solent, inibi cclebrarentur, et archiepiscoporum corpora in ea sepelirentur : sublata de medio antiqua
consuetudine, qua eatenus tumulari solebant extra civitatem in ecclesia Beatorum Apostolorum Petri
et Pauli, ubi posita sunt corpora omnium antecessorum suorum.' Eadmer, De Vila Brcgwini arcln'cf>.
Cant, in Wharton, Anglia Sacra, ii, 186.
- Camille Enlart, Manuel d'archeologieJraHfaise: architecture rcligieuse, \ (Paris, 1902), 192.
1 R. de Lasteyrie, L' Architecture religieuse en France a repoquc romane (Paris, 1912), 280.
4 Lasteyrie, op. cif. 130, figs. 112 and 113.
' Victor Mortet, Recueil de tcxtcs relalifs a I'histoire de I' architecture (Paris, 1911), 123-5.
r> Lasteyrie, op. cit. fig. 269, p. 276, and Enlart, op. cit. fig. 65, p. 216.
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 385
St. Benignus at Dijon, which resembles Wulfric's structure in that it connects the
east end of an earlier church with an older chapel to the east. Its plan shows
an inner ring of eight columns, and an outer ring of sixteen columns, with an
encircling aisle flanked north and south by round staircases to the upper works. 1
This was begun by abbot William of Volpiano in 1001 and consecrated in 1018.
As Mr. Bilson says, ' it would be interesting to know if any connexion can be
traced between Wulfric and the school of William, who was a great influence in
his time '.
Another round building of similar plan to that at Dijon, also connecting
the nave of a church with an apsidal presbytery and encircling chapels to the
east, formerly existed at Charroux in Poitou, but only some fragments now
remain. It was built in the eleventh century, and consisted of three concentric
rings of columns with an encircling aisle. 2 Other buildings which seem to come
within the same category are Rieux-Merinville (Aude), which has an arcade
forming a polygon of seven sides, with an encircling aisle of fourteen sides ; 3
and the little building attached to the north side of Saint-Leonard (Haute-
Vienne), which has a ring of eight round columns and an encircling aisle, also
round, with four small apses projecting from its cardinal faces. 4
If the theory be accepted that these later buildings were imitations of the
church of the Holy Sepulchre it is quite possible that, like it, they were meant
to contain a tomb or tombs, and that Wulfric began his round structure to hold
eventually the tomb of St. Austin and other notable persons. But of this there
is no documentary evidence. 5
1 M. de Lasteyrie (op. cit.) gives a plan (fig. 270) and section (fig. 271) of this remarkable building,
from drawings published by Dom Plancher in his Hisioire de Bourgogne in 1739-81. See also llistoire
de teglise Satnt-Be'nigne de Dijon, by Abbe L. Chomton (Dijon, 1900).
2 Lasteyrie, op. cit. 277-8, and plan, fig. 272. I am indebted to Mr. Sidney Toy for calling my
attention to the Charroux building.
3 Plan and description in the volume of the Congres arche'ologiqne de France (Carcassonne and
Perpignan), 1906, pp. 54-6.
4 L'Eglise Saint-Leonard et la Chapelle du Sepidcre, by Rene Fage, in the Bulletin Monumental,
Ixxvii (1913), pp. 59-72, with plan and section. Plan in Lasteyrie, op. cit. fig. 276, p. 282.
* In the thirteenth-century chronicle of Abingdon abbey, it is recorded of St. Athelvvold, a monk
of Glastonbury and pupil of St. Dunstan, who was made abbot in the days of King Edred, 947-55,
and became bishop of Winchester in 963, on finding that the abbey of Abingdon had been ruined by
the Danes, that
Tune coepit sanctus Athelwoldus aedificare ccclesiam hanc habentem formam. Cancellus rotundus erat,
ecclesia et rotunda, duplicem habens longitudinem quam cancellus ; turris quoque rotunda est (Chronicon
Monaslerii de Abingdon, cd. J. Stevenson (R. S.), ii, 277).
This might mean that the church had an apsidal or round-ended presbytery, a nave with central
ring of pillars and an encircling aisle of a diameter twice the length of the presbyter)', and a dome
carried up as a round tower.
Mr. Micklethwaite, whose attention I called to the passage in 1896, thought that it referred
VOL. LXVI. 3 c
386 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABI'.HY CHURCH
It has already been pointed out that Wulfric's building partly oversails on
the west the thick foundation wall of an earlier structure. It also breaks through
on the north-west what seems to have been an apse belonging to this same early
work (fig. 5 and fig. 4).
These traces'of an older building have been exposed for some months,
along with the remains of Wulfric's octagon ; but it is only lately that they could
Fig. 5. Part of an earlier apse overlaid by abbot Wulfric's building.
be further elucidated, and again by the sacrifice of certain screen foundations
that stood in the way.
Baeda tells us that when Austin died in 605,
his body was placed out of doors near the church of the blessed apostles Peter and
Paul .... because that had not yet been finished nor hallowed. But as soon as it
was hallowed, it was brought within and decently buried in the north aisle (f>oiiicu)
of it ; in which were also buried the bodies of all the succeeding archbishops, save
two only, namely Theodore and Berctuald, whose bodies were placed in the church
to a rebuilding or restoration of the abbey church as founded in 675, described in a previous entry in
these words :
Habebat in longitudinc c.et xx. pedes et erat rotundum in partc occidental! quam in partc oricntali (Chronicon
Monasterii de Abingdon).
That is, it had an apse at each end. [See his paper, ' Something about Saxon Church Building ',
in The Archaeological Journal, liii, 296, note 2.}
But in face of the recent discovery of Wulfric's building, it seems possible that Athehvold's may
have been similar in plan as regards its round nave and tower.
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 387
itself, because the aisle aforesaid could not take any more. This (aisle) has, almost in
the middle of it, an altar dedicated in honour of the blessed pope Gregory, at which
their services are solemnly celebrated every Saturday by a priest of that place. 1
The Book of Customs of the abbey, compiled c. 1320-30, says that
The mass of the Mother of God was wont of old time solemnly to be sung by note
daily at the altar of the same Mother of God in the crypts until the time of the lord
abbot of pious memory Nicholas of the Thorn (1273-83). But he, by consent of the
whole chapter, transferred that mass to the altar of St. Stephen and St. Mary Magda-
lene which is in the aisle on the north part of the nave of the church where the Blessed
Austin was first buried and there rested for five hundred years until his translation. 2
When William Thorn, one of the later chroniclers of the abbey, wrote to-
wards the close of the fourteenth century, the chapel of St. Stephen and St. Mary
Magdalene had come to be known as that of our Lady, and after quoting the
statement from Baeda noted above, he adds
This aisle was in the old church where now is the chapel of the blessed Virgin. 3
This chapel occupied a corresponding position to the old Lady Chapel in the
cathedral church, in the eastern part of the north aisle, and outside the screens
that formed the western barrier of the quire.
The excavation of its site has brought to light, first, the base of a massive
/all running north and south, with large stones built into it, and what looks like
the start of an apse on the east, but this is cut off abruptly by the outer wall of
^ulfric's building (fig. 5). A little to the west is the angle of a much older
btructure, with part of a wall going eastwards ; a wall running southwards, broken
off and interrupted by Scotland's great sleeper wall; and at a much lower level the
foundation of a wall continuing westwards, which has since been followed to its
return southwards at a distance of 53 ft. These walls are only 21 in. thick, and
irgely built of Roman tiles and faced on both sides with a thin coat of plaster.
1 ' Defunctus est autem Deo dilectus pater Augustinus, et positum corpus cjus foras juxta ecclesiam
bcatoruin apostolorum Petri et Pauli, cujus supra meminimus, quia ea necdum fuerat perfecta nee
dedicata. Mox vero ut dedicata est intro inlatum et in porticu illius aquilonali decenter sepultum est ;
in qua etiam sequentium archiepiscoporum omnium sunt corpora tumulata, praeter duorum tantum-
modo, id est, Theodori et Berctualdi, quorum corpora in ipsa ecclesia posita sunt, eo quod praedicta
porticus plura capere nequivit. Habet haec in medio pene sui altare in honore beati papae Gregorii
dedicatum, in quo per omne sabbatum a presbytero loci illius agendae eorum solemniter celebrantur.'
Ilncdae Historiae Ecclesiasticae Gentis Anglontnt, lib. ii, cap. iii.
2 ' Solebat antiquitus missa Dei Genetricis cantari solempniter per notam cotidie ad altare ejusdem
Dei Genetricis in criptis, usque ad tempora piae memoriae dompni abbatis Nicholai de Spina. Sed ipse,
de consensu tocius capituli, illam missam transtulit ad altare sancti Stephani et sanctae Mariae Magda-
lenae quod est in porticu septentrionali parte navis ecclesiae ubi beatus Augustinus primo sepultus
erat et per quingentos annos usque ad suam translacionem ibi quiescebat.' ed. Henry Bradshaw
Society, 1902, i, 144.
J ' Haec porticus erat in veteri ecclesia ubi nunc est capella beatae virginis." W. Thorn, col. 1765.
302
388 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
As will be seen presently, there can also not be any doubt that they formed part
of the church begun by King Ethelbert in 598 ; they also enclose the very
Portions or aisle in which St. Austin and his immediate successors were buried ;
and standing in line against the north wall are three of their actual tombs
(fig. 6).
The first of these occupies the north-east corner of the building, and has at
its foot the standing fragment of the east wall. To the west of the second tomb,
and between it and the third, is a patch of an early cement floor, with a bright
Fig. 6. Remains of the north porticus of King Ethelbert's church, with the tombs of
archbishops Laurence, Mellitus, and Justus.
red surface of pounded Roman tile. To the west of the third tomb at 29 ft. from
the east wall is a foundation only 13^ in. thick and plastered on both sides, which
apparently carried a wall or screen enclosing the burying-place on the west.
Just beyond this are the remains of a concrete platform, perhaps for an altar.
Before dealing with the tombs themselves, several other features must be
noticed ; and first, another patch of red cement flooring. This lies opposite the
interval between the first and second tombs ; but it is to the north of the wall
against which they stood, and clearly belongs to a later extension of the building.
This extension probably included the destroyed apse to the east, and it neces-
sitated the taking down of the north wall of Ethelbert's work for its whole length
to enable the new floor to be continued over its line.
The extent of the new work can approximately be fixed. Its east wall
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 389
remains with the beginning of an apse. Its western limit may be indicated by a
foundation 2! ft. wide which crosses Ethelbert's building near its west end. The
north wall seems partly to have been preserved as a base for abbot Scotland's
aisle wall, and is still visible on the cloister side for its whole length. The
two works are readily distinguished by a difference of colour in the mortar,
and the rubble masonry here and there is rudely laid herring-bone fashion. The
enlarged aisle was apparently 52 ft. in length. Its date is an open question,
but I think it may be connected with a dedication of the church in 978 by arch-
bishop Dunstan, in honour of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and of St. Austin, 1
an event which evidently points to some unrecorded reconstruction or rebuilding
on a large scale.
It must of course be borne in mind that these discoveries on the north part
of the church ought to be balanced by similar finds of quite corresponding in-
terest on the south part of the site of the portions or aisle of St. Martin, wherein
were buried St. Letard, Queen Bertha, King Ethelbert, and King Eadbald and
his queen Emma, but for these we must await the removal of the hospital laundry
which so unhappily and effectually stands in the way. Until this has been re-
moved and the rest of the nave laid open it will also be safer to reserve for con-
sideration several questions relating to the original plan and enlargement of the
church.
Meanwhile, it is somewhat unfortunate that our present investigations are
limited in two directions : to the north, by the deep foundations of abbot Scot-
land's aisle wall ; to the south by the strong and broad sleeper wall of his nave
arcade. The first is not very serious, but the southern obstruction overlies much
that we would fain have seen. Moreover, it is 10 ft. broad and nearly 6 ft. deep,
and its extraordinary solidity makes it difficult to burrow into or under. Its
removal too is both undesirable and inexpedient, owing to its forming an
important chapter in the history of the building.
The story can, however, be continued by the description of certain features
south of it.
Partly overlaid by the western wall of Wulfric's building, and more or less
in line with the eastern wall of Ethelbert's work, is a broad concrete foundation
nearly 7 ft. thick. It has a clear face to the east, but the west side is very rough
and much cut about. It appears to mark the eastern limit of the nave of the
Saxon church, but I am inclined to associate it with the tenth-century recon-
struction rather than with Ethelbert's work. Parallel with it to the west, at a
distance of about 2 ft., is the foundation of another wall, 25* in. thick, of doubtful
purpose and date.
1 978. ' Dedicata fuit ista ecclesia a beato Dunstano in honore sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli
et sancti Augustini.' Thorn, col. 1780.
390 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
At the base of the great sleeper wall, here 5 ft. 10 in. deep, there extends
westward from below the thick cross wall on the east, the concrete foundation
of an older wall which has been traced for about 25 ft. from the face of Wulfric's
octagon. At a distance of 23^ ft. from the same point it suddenly rises vertically
to a higher level, 4 ft. 9 in. below the sleeper wall, and forms a jamb of Roman
brick. Eastwards of this the foundation is set back 15 in. for a length of 6 ft.
This apparently marks the place of a doorway, which, as will be seen from the
plan, comes exactly in the middle of the burying-place to the north, wherein
stand the three tombs. The conclusion, therefore, is irresistible, that we have
here the south side of Ethelbert's portions, with the place of the entrance into it
from the nave of the church, but it is curious that this wall is not parallel with
the one to the north. It has also not been possible as yet to fix its thickness.
This was greater than that of the outer wall, but the inner face is everywhere
overlaid by the sleeper wall, and burrowing under this has not so far shown what
is wanted. It is also much to be feared that for the building of the sleeper wall
everything upon its line was first cleared away, and there thus have been lost
many features of interest. What these were must next be inquired into.
' The book of the translation of St. Austin the apostle of the English and of
his fellows', now amongst the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum, 1 which
the monk Gocelin wrote towards the close of the eleventh century, 2 is of special
interest as being a contemporary record of the works that were carried out in
the abbey church under abbots Wulfric, Scotland, and Wido. The first of these
began to link together the two early churches with his octagonal structure ; the
second replaced the Saxon church of our Lady and Wulfric's building by a new
presbytery with the existing crypt and transepts ; while Wido continued Scot-
land's work down the nave.
Before each of these operations was begun, it was necessary temporarily
to transfer elsewhere the remains of the saints and famous men who had been
buried in the building about to be dealt with.
In 1030 the remains of St. Mildred, through the gift of King Cnut, had been
translated to St. Austin's from Minster in Thanet, and laid before the principal
altar of St. Peter and St. Paul. Here they rested until the destruction of the
presbytery by Wulfric for his new building, when they were moved into the aisle
of St. Austin and placed against its north wall.
The destruction by Scotland of King Eadbald's oratory of our Lady involved
the translation of the remains of St. Adrian, the seventh abbot ; of Albin his
1 Vespasian B xx.
* In the prologue to Book I he describes the miracles wrought ' per hoc fere ab ipsa translatione
septennium ', that is, in the seven years following the translation by abbot Wido in 1091, which would
give 109735 the date of his work and that accepted by the Bollandists. [Note by the Rev. R. U. Potts.J
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 391
successor and several other abbots ; and of the bodies of four kings, including
Eadbald, who built the chapel, and Lothair, the son of St. Sexburg. All of
these, with the exception of Adrian, abbot Scotland (according to Gocelin)
placed in a western tower of the monastery before the altar of the Holy Mother of
God, until the new church being rebuilt they could be re-deposited with new honour. 1
Gocelin gives a minute account of the removal of the altar and tomb of
St. Adrian, whose body was found entire within ' a large sarcophagus of white
marble '. At the suggestion of Odo bishop of Bayeux, who happened then to be
at Canterbury, the body was not taken out.
And so the beloved Adrian, together with his great block of stone beautifully
decorated, is lifted out entire upon very strong beams ; he is borne forth with melo-
dious organs of praise that reach the stars; into the aisle of the most beloved father
Austin his most welcome colleague is conveyed : and among his most blessed asso-
ciates and near to his first successor, that most holy archbishop Laurence, is
entombed with fitting reverence. -
It was Scotland's intention, on the completion of the new presbytery which
he had built above his crypt, to translate thither the bodies of Austin and his
successors, as well as the relics already noted, but his own death in 1087 delayed
for a time the carrying out of this plan.
Scotland was succeeded by Wido, who, in 1091, effected the translation of
all who had been buried in Austin's porticus, but not until their remains had nar-
rowly escaped total destruction through the impatient throwing down upon them
of the building that stood to the east. The story of this extraordinary proceeding
is eloquently told by Gocelin, but he goes on to say that
when such great heaps of stones, beams, and leaden roofs, which had overwhelmed
the sacred bodies, had been removed, all the sepulchral monuments of those men,
although they were fragile and of tilework, and also the sculptures and angelic images
with the Majesty of our Lord, wonderfully wrought over the tomb of the noble Austin,
appeared unhurt, while all acclaimed the wonderful works of God.
Meanwhile (continues Gocelin) the south wall remained near which lay the kindly
Austin and the holy Deusdedit, and this being at length loosened by much batter-
ing, while it was believed that it must certainly crush the saints, straightway by the
1 ' in occidental! turri monasterii omnia composuit ante sancte Dei Genetricis altare. donee nova
ecclesia reedificata. novo reconderentur honore.' Lib. ii, cap. xiii, ibid. f. 131.
'- ' Totus itaque desiderabilis Adrianus cum saxosa mole sua speciosc- adornata robustissimis tra-
bibus excipitur. cum dulcimodis laudum organis astra ferientibus effertur. in porticum desiderantissimi
patris Augustini gratissimus collega deponitur. et inter beatissimos ipsius consortes. ac juxta primum
ejus successorem Laurentium archipresulem sanctissimum condigna sanctitate reconditur.' Lib. ii,
tap. xi, ibid. f. 130 b.
392 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
unspeakable mercy of God it made a sort of a leap, and fell down flat, all in one solid
mass, to the south, against those who were pushing it. 1
Despite this careless treatment of the most sacred relics of the church, they
were eventually taken up and translated in 1091 into the new presbytery, under
circumstances described at length by Gocelin, which may for the present be
passed over. He inserts, however, in his story, a chapter that is of special interest
in connexion with recent discoveries, to this effect :
It is a sacred duty to let posterity hear, what is no longer to be seen, in what
position the saints formerly rested here. Austin first of all occupied the south side
of his aisle, and with his sacred feet was pressing the eastern wall. On his left his
first successor and companion Laurence, as has been shown, was stretched out in
a similar space, only removed from him by so much room as the altar of their most
blessed patron Gregory was occupying, claiming as its own one on either side. The
other part of the breadth to the north, on the left of the good Laurence, received the
holy Adrian. But the virgin of Christ Mildred, the one jewel of the fathers, by
the north wall corresponded in a like place with Austin on the south. Of the
translation of these (saints) we have above declared. At her head, as at that of the
blessed Austin, stood an altar. But at the sacred head of Laurence, Mellitus, as his
next successor, projected into the middle of the church. Mellitus makes room at his
head for the righteous Justus, according to his succession to himself. On the right
of Justus is blessed Honorius, the successor of Justus, and on the right of Honorius
the holy and God-given Deusdedit was placed in the order of his succession. He
indeed deserved a resting place on the same south wall at the head of mightiest
Austin ; only the door in the middle by which one entered divided them. Yet all the
tombs of those angels of God were so separated that a passage between each of them
was possible. -
1 ' Nam ubi tante moles lapidum. trabium. tectorumque plumbatorum. que sacrosancta corpora
obruerant sunt ablate.- 1 omnes ille illorum sepulchrales edicule cum essent fractiles et lateritie. sed et
sculpture et imagines angelice cum dominica majestate super tumbam magnifici AUGUSTINI mirifice
formate.- 1 cunctis miracula Dei acclamantibus illese apparuere.' Lib. i, cap. iii, ibid. f. 96 b.
' Restabat interim paries australis qua parte almus AUGUSTINUS sacerque Deusdedit quiescebant.
Qui tandem multo ariete solutus. dum certo nutu sanctos oppressurus crederetur. J protinus inestima-
bili Dei virtutc quasi in saltum excutitur. et ad austrum contra impellentes totus integra soliditate
prosternitur.' Lib. i, cap. iiii, ibid. f. 96 b.
2 [f. 101] ' Pium est etiam posteros audire. quod jam non est videre. qua hie sancti prius requieverint
positione. Primus Augustinus sue porticus australe latus possidebat. et sacris vestigiis orientalem
maceriam pulsabat. Ab ejus leva primus successor et lateralis Laurentius ut premonstratum est simili
spacio protendebatur. tantummodo remotus. quantum loci altare beatissimi auctoris sui Gregorij hinc
inde utrumque ascissens occupabat. Cetera pars aquilonalis latitudinis. a sinistra almi Laurentii
Adrianum sanctum exceperat. Virgo autem xpi MildreSa unica patrum gemma, aboreali pariete australi
Augustino concordi respondebat regione. quos supra translates extulimus. Ejus vertici ut beati
Augustini. altare astabat. At capiti sacro Laurentii. Mellitus ut proximus successor, in producta ecclesie
area imminebat. Mellitus justifluum Justum. secundum suam successionem sibi accommodat ad caput.
A Justi vero dextera beatus Honorius successor Justi. a dextra Honorio i sanctus et a Deo datus Deus-
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY
393
The recent excavation of the portions and its surroundings, although incom-
plete for the reasons above stated, makes it comparatively easy to understand,
what would otherwise have been somewhat difficult, this careful description by
Gocelin.
The original aisle had in its eastern corners and up against the east wall the
tombs of Austin to the south and of Laurence to the north, with the altar of
St. Gregory between them. There was also a smaller altar at the head of Austin's
tomb. Before the main altar was a clear space, entered by the doorway on the
Fig. 7. Restored plan, with probable arrangement of porlicits and tombs.
south, which had opposite to it against the north wall the tomb of Mellitus. The
western part of the chapel had against the wall or screen, that enclosed it, the
tombs of Justus and Deusdcdit in the corners with Honorius between.
Besides these six tombs there were two others ; these stood, however, not
in the original porticus, but in the later extension of it to the north. Beyond
Laurence lay Adrian, whose empty grave can now be seen, and against the north
declit. successions sue orcline subjungebatur. Is nempe a capite summi Augustini. ejusdem ff. lot b]
australis parietis thorum commeruit. J quos tantum medium ostium quo intrabatur discrevit. Sic tamen
erant omnia ilia angelorum Dei mausolea distincta. ut transitus haberetur inter singula.' Lib. i, cap. xvii,
il>iii. ff. 101, 101 b.
3
VOL. LXVI.
394 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
wall, in the corner, lay Mildred, with a small altar at the head of her tomb, hut
the place of her burial is now covered by Scotland's aisle wall. The three toml >s
that have lately been found in a row are clearly those of Laurence, Mellitus,
and Justus. The places of the others and of St. Gregory's altar are unhappily
covered by the great sleeper wall.
Before describing the tombs it may be well to quote from a further chapter
by Gocelin another curious discovery that was made.
Now in taking up the body of the blessed Laurence, while it was being decided that
the pavement which lay before St. Gregory's altar, between him and the renowned
Austin, should first be taken up, so that an easier exit might be prepared for the saint
from the tomb broken through on the side, wonderful to say the hardness of the
bricks mocked the iron tools and the wits [or engines] of them all. ... At length
the stubborn strength yields to frequent blows, yet the very strong construction
of the brickwork is not broken up. But, wondrous sight, a sort of wooden board-
ing nailed together, about the size of a large door, is taken out entire. And while
from the pavement thus pulled up this boarding is torn out and lifted up, a small
sepulchral crypt, which was hidden before or even under the altar itself, is disclosed
by a small stone being pulled up in like manner. A small opening being thus made,
straightway a prodigious vapour of sweetness never before experienced, boiling up,
not only smote the bystanders in the face as a mighty blast, but blew through the
whole cloister of the monastery and the brethren resident therein with a new aroma
of spices Under the same altar of St. Gregory then, the most holy body of
the buried man lay towards the same east wall hard by, as did those of Austin and
Laurence, and lying exactly in the middle as the son of both fathers, was as it were
cherished under the wings of each. 1
I he remains of this person, whose burial was unrecorded and his name un-
known, were enclosed in a leaden coffin and translated into Scotland's new work.
As his name was known only to God he was henceforth entitled Deonotus.
Gocelin describes with his usual eloquence the issuing forth of fragrant
vapours from the tombs of Austin and Mellitus and follows up the account of
the translations with the following interesting notes :
[f. 101 b] ' Igitur efferendo beati Laurentii corpore. dum pavimentum quod coram Gregoriano
altare inter ipsum et preclarum Augustinum patebat prius evellendum censeretur. quatinus a latere
fracta tumba facilior. exitus sancto pararetur. mirum dictu. ferramenta et ingenia omnium, ridebat
duritics laterum Tandem rebellis fortitude crebris ictibus subjicitur. nee tamen muni-
tissimus laterculorum textus solvitur : verum mirabile visu. quasi ligneum tabulatum conclavatum
ad spatium ample ianue integer sustollitur. Dumque sic excrustato pavimento evulsa crates
erigitur. septtlchralis criptula que coram ipso vel sub ipso altari latebat evulso pariter lapillo violatur.
Ita modice foramine facto, protinus ingens vapor, inexperte suavitatis ebulliens. non solum asstantes
ut vehemens flatus in faciem percussit. sed et totum claustrum monasterii ac fratres in eo residentes
nova aromatum virtute perflavit [f. 102] Sub eodem itaque Gregoriano altare. sacrosancta gleba
sepulti ad ipsum orientalem parietem contiguum sicuti Augustini et Laurentii porrigebatur : qui tan-
quam filius geminorum patrum eque niedius. velut utriusque alis fovebatur.' Lib. i, cap. xviii, ibid.
ff. 101 b, 102.
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 395
On the Monday following, the site being cleared, the building of the nave of the
church goes on. A great column is founded in the northern rank in that very place
whence the richest treasure, the body of Austin, was taken up. That (column)
encloses in a spacious cavity, as sacred relics, the hallowed bricks of his tomb or little
crypt. Of the pavement laid below, on which the most blessed body lay, the bright
purple tiles, united together in a level flooring, and reeking with nard of saffron hue,
are eagerly stripped oft" and enclosed in the altar of the new porch of the blessed
Gregory . . . Under these tiles lying on the top was found most pure earth, half a
foot thick, from the foundation that projected from the old wall of the Augustinian
portions. This earth, too, the odour of Austin penetrating the tiles, was fragrant
with marvellous sweetness. The earth taken out about the flints of the aforesaid
foundation they decided should be distributed through the sacred tombs of Laurence,
Mellitus, and Justus, which had escaped the ruination of the ecclesiastical structure,
and so be preserved.
Gocelin concludes with this important memorandum :
Moreover, lest our posterity, those who shall be sons of the love of so great a father,
shall grieve that henceforth they know not the place as described of his ancient monu-
ment, let him note who will that this column, which we have described a little before,
contains the tile tomb, and let him number and know that it is the third from that
which is arched for the eastern tower. 1
It may be pointed out, also for the sake of those who come after us, that the
flint rubble core of this third pillar is still standing to a height of 2 ft. 5 in., but
there is no outward sign of the tiles of Austin's tomb, and I doubt if we should be
justified in breaking up the core in the hope of finding the tiles within. We have
also in several places met with black earth similar to that referred to by Gocelin.
A layer of it, except where interrupted by graves, extends under the red cement
floor of the nave, and it occurs again further east to the north of the destroyed
apse.
From the particular mention of the preservation of the three tombs along
the north wall, and the account of the way in which the materials of Austin's
1 ' Secunda dehinc feria.- 1 patente spacio structura navis ecclesie procedit. Fundatur columna spaciosa
in aquilonali serie. ipso loco uncle opulentissimus thesaurus Augustini corporis assumtus est. Cujus
tumbe vel criptule sacratos laterculos. alvo capaci pro sacris pignoribus ilia complectitur. Substrati
vero pavimenti cui beatissima gleba incubuit lateres puniceos. nitidos. piano tabulatu contextos et crocea
nardo fumantes. certatim excrustantur. et in altari nove porticus beati Gregorii supra memorato recon-
duntur. Sub his lateribus inventa est terra mundissima. semipedis spissitudine .' fundamento quod de
pariete veteri Augustiniane porticus prominebat superjecta. Hec quoque terra penetrante lateres
Augustini odore mirifica fraglabat suavitate. Quam ad predicti fundamenti silices exhaustam. J per
sacrata busta Laurentii. Melliti ac Justi que ecclesiastice structure persequutionem evaserant.- 1 distri-
buendam ac servandam censuerunt. Ne vero posteri nostri hi qui fuerint filii dileccionis tanti patris
se nescire doleant hactenus descriptum ejus antiqui monument! locum, notet qui voluerit hanc colum-
nam quam paulo ante designavimus ejus continere latericiam tumbam. numeretque et sciat ab ilia que
turri orientali arcuatur terciam.' Lib. i, cap. xxix, ibid. ff. \o8b, 109.
302
396 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
tomb were disposed of, I think it must be taken for granted that everything else
in the original chapel was entirely destroyed, as already noted, for the building
of the sleeper wall.
It only remains to describe the tombs that have been so fortunately spared
to us.
The easternmost, that of archbishop Laurence, who died in 619, appears out-
wardly as a flat-topped rectangular mass of concrete raised 3 ft. above the red floor
(fig. 8). It is 3 ft. wide, and was originally 9 ft. long, but was seriously damaged
Fig. 8. Remains of the tomb of archbishop Laurence, with Adrian's grave on the left.
in the thirteenth century by being cut through for the foundation (which we
have lately removed) of a transverse screen-wall in the aisle above. It now con-
sists of a large section towards the east 5 ft. 7 in. long, and a fragment to the west
containing the head of the grave. The concrete mass, which abuts at its foot
against a section of Ethelbert's wall that has been preserved on account of it,
consists of an upper layer, 26 in. thick, of pieces of Roman tile bedded in white
mortar, and resting upon an under layer of pink cement which enclosed the coffin
on all sides (fig. 9). The coffin was 6 ft. 8-* in. long, with sides 18 in. deep, and had a
coped lid with a flattened ridge 6 in. broad and rounded ends. The total depth
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY
397
of the coffin was 2 ft. 2 in. and the width about 2 ft. throughout. The coffin was
a wooden one, and the interior of the tomb is actually a cast of its outward form,
since the pink cement was evidently poured over it in a semi-fluid state after it
had been laid in the grave, until it was completely covered to a depth of 6 in.
above the lid. The grave was 23 in. deep and floored with similar cement, and
the foot of the coffin was 2 ft. 6 in. from the wall against which the tomb abuts.
Whether the coffin contained an inner one of lead we cannot now tell, but arch-
bishop Laurence must have been a very tall and sparely built man.
It is evident from Gocelin's account of the discovery of Deonotus under
St. Gregory's altar, that the altar was removed and the flooring south of the tomb
taken up, so that the side of the tomb could be broken through and the contents
withdrawn. The breach is still visible, but if the tomb had not been partly cut
Fig. 9. Section of the tomb of archbishop Laurence.
away in the thirteenth century it would have been difficult for us to see the in-
terior as we now can, owing to the close proximity (less than 18 in.) of the sleeper
wall.
It may be noted that when the original wall to the north was taken down
for the enlargement of the aisle, the side of the tomb thereby exposed was
roughly plastered over.
The second tomb, that of archbishop Mellitus, who died in 624, stands 23 in.
to the west of the first. It is 7 ft. i in. long and 3 ft. broad, but its flat top is raised
only 3 in. above the floor. The tomb is outwardly of white cement or concrete.
There is a breach low down along the south side, through which the contents
were taken out in 1091, but owing to the nearness of the sleeper wall it is impos-
sible now to see inside, unless an opening be made from above.
398 RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ABBEY CHURCH
Another interval, of 25 in., divides the second tomb from the third, that of
archbishop Justus or Just, who died in 630. This is 9 ft. 4 in. long and 3 ft. wide,
with a roughly bevelled top 6 in. above the floor. Owing to the fact that in ion
the tomb of archbishop Honorius was standing alongside it on the south, the
tomb of Justus was not opened on that side, but on the north, by cutting down
the foundation of Ethclbert's wall. The long breach then made through which
the contents were taken out enables the interior to be examined with rase. As
in the case of archbishop Laurence, a large wooden coffin, or outer shell to an
inner one, was laid in the grave. The body of the coffin was then surrounded
up to its depth with semi-fluid white cement, and upon this when sufficient!} MI
there was laid along the sides at the level of the lid a line of pieces of Roman
brick. These were placed horizontally on the south side, but on the wall side
Fig. 10. Section of the tomb of archbishop Justus.
they were laid aslant. The sloping sides of the lid were then covered up with a
concrete of flints and white cement until the coffin was completely buried to
a depth of 6| in. above the ridge (fig. 10).
The interior of the tomb, like that of Laurence, is practically a cast of the
shape of the coffin, but owing to the use of a finer and more liquid cement, it is
in better preservation.
The coffin was 7 ft. 7 in. long with a uniform width outside of 2 ft. 8 in. and
i ft. 8 in. deep from the ridge of its coped lid or cover. The ends were formed of
pieces of planking 2| in. to 3 in. thick, square at the bottom and gabled at the top.
The bottom was made of three planks : a middle one 20 in. wide, and side planks
only 6 in. wide canted up outwardly at a small angle. The coped lid was 2 in.
narrower in width than the coffin, and formed of two thick planks increasing in
thickness from i in. at the ridge to 3! in. at the edge, which was chamfered on the
under side. The imprint of the boards, even to the grain in places, is plainly
visible on the cement, which was evidently fluid enough to run in between the
planks at the ends and elsewhere where they were not closely nailed together. 1
1 For the minute details of the inside of this tomb I am greatly indebted to Mr. Wilfrid J. Hemp,
who spent a considerable time within it, examining it and taking the necessary notes and measurements.
OF ST. AUSTIN AT CANTERBURY 399
It should be noted that the foot of the coffin actually extended 9 in. beyond the
tomb under the pink floor, which, if not contemporary, ought therefore to be of
a later date, and that the ends and south side of the tomb are coated with fine
plaster. The size of the enclosed coffin suggests that archbishop Justus, like
Laurence, was a very tall man.
Of the interest attaching to the discoveries just described it is somewhat
difficult to speak.
Not only do they take us back with startling reality to the very beginnings
of the English Church, but they prove in a remarkable way the credibility of the
chroniclers of the abbey who set down for us what they had heard and seen.
The account of the monk Gocelin in particular may to a large extent be taken
as that of an eyewitness who was keen to record all that he saw, and his descrip-
tions and enthusiastic flow of language justify William of Malmesbury's opinion
of him as ' insignis litterarum et cantuum peritia '. The finding of the veritable
tombs of three of the earliest archbishops of Canterbury is in itself a noteworthy
event, and the singular recovery from them of the forms of two of the contained
coffins is another exceptional matter.
We have also got an instalment towards the plan of one of the first important
churches recorded to have been built in England, begun from the foundations so
early as 598. For further remains of this and of its unrecorded enlargement, as
well as the excavation of St. Martin's aisle and its contained royal tombs, we may
confidently await the much-to-be-desired removal of the hospital washhouse.
The foundations of Wulfric's abortive building that have so fortunately been
preserved to us, form yet a third remarkable find, and it is to be hoped that some
further light may be thrown upon its possible origin and purpose by the publica-
tion of its singular plan and arrangement.
All these discoveries justify in the most ample manner the value of scientific
excavation and the careful noting of what is found : Gocelin's description of the
burying-place of the early archbishops in itself would have been difficult to follow,
but the revelation of the lines of the early walls that enclosed it and of the later
extension which included the added tombs has made everything quite clear.
So, too, with regard to Wulfric's building. Excavation has revealed a most
unusual plan of which we had otherwise not the slightest hint.
In conclusion, I should like again to express the indebtedness of all archaeo-
logists to the authorities of St. Augustine's College, especially to the warden,
Bishop Knight, and the sub-warden, the Rev. R. U. Potts, for their careful and
patient unravelling of the important relics of the first abbey church. The college
has also with commendable foresight already roofed over for protection from the
4 oo DISCOVERIES IN ABBEY CHURCH OF ST. AUSTIN
\\vnther so much of the excavated section of the north aisle as contains the arch-
bishops' tombs and their surrounding's. Most useful help, too, has been constantly
given by some of the students of the college, especially Mr. Bertram Lamplugh
and Mr. Harold Pyner, the latter of whom has also arranged with unusual skill
and judgement in the vestibule of the Library the large number of architectural
and other remains that have been accumulating for some years from the ex-
cavations
I am also personally indebted to Mr. Aymer Vallance for photographing
the remains of the various screen foundations, etc. before their necessary removal,
and to my old friend the Rev. Dr. Fowler for the translation of the difficult Latin
of Gocelin's chronicle, towards which Bishop Knight and the Rev. R. U. Potts
have made some suggestions.
It only remains to state that the three surviving trustees, Lord Northbourne,
Mr. F. Bennett-Goldney, and myself, in whose hands the property known as the
Abbey Field was vested on its purchase by private subscription in 1900, have
now been able to transfer it to St. Augustine's College, and so once more to unite
two important sections of St. Austin's Abbey that have been separated ever
since its suppression in the sixteenth century.
POSTSCRIPT.
After the foregoing paper had been set up in type, the Rev. R. U. Potts kindly sent the following
important note :
' The fact of the extension of the original porticus of which the stones first told us, has since been
confirmed by the following statement from Gocelin's life of St. Austin :
Theodore too the seventh, a noble follower of the high Roman tradition, was buried on the
right side of father Austin with only the internal wall of the church between them, because the
porch as yet not enlarged could not hold all; but afterwards when it had been enlarged, to these
fellow saints is added Adrian beloved of all generations, the most kindly abbot of that monastery;
also the fairest lily of the English, Christ's royal virgin, Mildred with her own brightness most
happily illumines the splendid tombs of these great fathers. Thus then the most blessed father
of them all, pope Gregory, has his altar in the middle, like a patrician's chair of state, and protects
the same porticus consecrated to God, embracing in his eternal affection not the graves of
those who are buried together but the couches of those who banquet together' (?not the
sharers of a common grave but the partakers of a common feast). 1
[It is possible that the bit of early foundation by the site of Theodore's grave (see p. 389) may
have had something to do with it. W. H. St. J. H.]
1 Ch. 53. ' Septimus quoque Theodorus, Romanae praecellentiae subsecutor egregius, almo
Augustino a dextro consepultus est latere, una tantum monasterialis alvi maceria interstite quia
nondum amplijicata porticus omnes nequierat suscipere: qua poslca dilatatti, his sanctis consortibus
adjungitur omnibus amandus saeculis Adrianus, ejusdem monasterii abbas clementissimus : . . . item
candidissimum ex Anglis lilium, regia Christi virgo, Mildretha suo candore gratissime illustrat
splendida tantorum patrum ornamenta. Hprum igitur omnium auctor beatissimus papa Gregorius,
habens altare medium velut patricium solium, ipsamque servans Deo dicatam porticum aeterna
uilectione circumplectitur non tarn funera consepultorum quam triclinia convivantium.' Migne,
Patrologia Latino, vol. 80, p. 92.
AM HABOLOGL4
VOL. LXVI PLATE XXX.
/ . . ' III .. !
ABBOT S
CRYPT &
W.H.S* John Hope
mens. et I/a/.
C FKELL& SON
'ORKS
XIII. Mary de Sando Paulo, Foundress of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
By HILARY JENKINSON, Esq., B.A., F.S.A.
Read 26th November, 1914.
IT is natural that in the period of nearly six hundred years that has elapsed
since the foundation of her college some of those who have had part in the
Countess of Pembroke's beneficence should have attempted to put together
materials for her life. The most definite effort was made on the occasion of
the college's quincentenary in 1847 by the then Master, Dr. Gilbert Ainslie. 1
Dr. Ainslie, who was responsible for the excellent arrangement and catalogue
by which the Pembroke deeds are still referred to, wrote out his results in a
manuscript book 2 which is now in the possession of the college. His critical
acumen, as seen in this work, is wholly admirable : he realized and corrected
numerous errors, some of which have continued in printed books down to the
present time. He also covered, in his search for information, a very wide
ground. This last, however, did not include original documents except (the
exception is a large one, it is true) the college muniments and possibly some
British Museum and other library manuscripts: the Public Records he knew, as
a rule, only from Rymer, the Record Commission publications, and the like; and
there are, of course, many printed authorities now in existence which he would
gladly have consulted.
I have therefore thought that there were gaps in Dr. Ainslie's narrative
which I might fill and even a few mistakes which I might correct ; and that
perhaps, making my survey 3 as complete as possible, I might go so far as to try
to discover not merely the ordinary facts which must emerge with regard to
the career and possessions of any well known and highly placed medieval per-
sonage, besides such actual material links with her as may still survive ; but
also something of her views, ideas, ways of life, what she was and what she
1 Upon the subject of the work of one of his predecessors (Bishop Wren) in this connexion see
Ainslie's MS., p. 73.
2 Memoirs of Marie de Saint Paid Countess of Pembroke.
3 I have been very much indebted, in the compilation, to the kindness of many connected with the
college : in particular I should mention the present and late Masters (Mr. W. S. Hadley and the Rev.
Canon A. J. Mason), the Treasurer (Mr. H. G. Comber), who has allowed me access to the muniments,
and the Librarian (Mr. E. H. Minns), who has supplied me with much information. I have also to
thank many of my colleagues at the Record Office and other friends who have at various times given
me references.
VOL. LXVI. 3 E
402 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
thought in connexion with the political, moral, and intellectual movements and
achievements of her time. In doing so I have used Dr. Ainslie's MS. freely in
connexion with other sources; though my paper was first written without
reference to it.
Researches of this kind have been very little made in regard to medieval
women ; and are perhaps, on that account alone, of some interest. For reasons,
however, which I think will be clear later, the result of them is somewhat dis-
appointing in the case of Mary de Sancto Paulo. I am able to offer to the
Society a few documents of real interest which have been untouched, or very
little touched, so far ; but the mass of information about the Countess, though
very considerable in bulk, is, and I am afraid must remain (even in more skilful
hands than mine), in a way colourless.
BIRTH AND FAMILY CONNEXIONS.
From her family and marriage connexions, the position she herself occupied
during the major part of her life, and the characteristics of the period she lived
through we might have, I think, a reasonable expectation of something quite
vivid. Her family was that of Chatillon of Chatillon-sur-Marne. Without
going into the history of the original Miles de Chatillon (c. 1050), of the ancestor
who married the Princess of Antioch, or even of those more practical Chatillons
who contracted alliances with the heiresses of St. Pol and Blois, we may mention
that according to Anselme it had been allied \vith the blood royal fourteen times,
while the seventeenth-century historian of the house, Andr6 Duchesne, tabulates
about 250 noble families with whom it had marriage connexion. The Countess's
own father was Guy de Chatillon, Count of St. Pol (a small place in the Pas-dc-
Calais near Amiens) : ' one of the most accomplished lords of his time ', he fought
for and served King Philippe le Bel in numerous high capacities. Her mother,
Mary of Brittany, whom he married in 1292, was descended directly from the
sister of the English Prince Arthur and (in a later generation) from Beatrice,
daughter of Henry III ; and was sister to' that Arthur of Brittany (died 1312)
whose descendants by his two marriages quarrelled so long over the duchy later
in the fourteenth century. Our own Countess, the subject of this paper, was her
parents' fourth daughter, and was born (probably at St. Pol since she consistently
used that name) not much later or earlier, we may suppose, than 1304. Her
father died in 1317 and was buried, as was her mother, at Cercamp, Pas-de-Calais.
It is important to realize the extent to which the Countess of Pembroke was
united by ties of blood with ruling families all over the north of France ; but
de CHATILLON.
Henry =p Ermengardc
living 1130 de Montjay
Gaucher =p Ade
occ. 1147 de
Roucy
Guy =T= Alice
Renaud =;= Constance
occ. 1186
living 1170
of
Dreux
Princess
of
Antioch
Agnes = Bela
King of
Hungary
ENGLAND.
Henry II^= Eleanor
King of
England,
ob. 1189
of
Aquitaine
Henry
Guy =j= Constance =p
de
Thouars
of
Brittany
Gaucher =p Elizabeth
ob. I2IO j d. and h. of
Hugh
CtofSt Pol
Peter =p Alice
de Braine,
Count of
Brittany
Arthur
Guy
ob. 1226,
leaving one s.
Gaucher, ob. 1251
Hugh =i
Ct. of St. Pol,
ob. 1248
Mary
d'Avesnes,
Countess
of Blois
John =p
Duke of
Brittany,
ob. 1286
Blanche
of
Navarre
Henry III=r Eleanor
King of
England,
ob. 1272
CJaucher=F Isabel
Ct. of de
Porcien, Viilehardouin
ob. 1261
John =F
Ct. of Blois,
Alice
of
ob. 1279 Brittany
Guy
Ct. of St. Pol
and Blois,
ob. 1289
=F Maud
of
Brabant
Robert
Ct. of Artois,
b. of St. Louis
John :
Earl of Richmond
and Duke of
Brittany, ob. 1305
iaucher Isabel
Ct. of
Porcien,
ob. 1329
of
Dreux
[Counts of Porcien}
loan = Peter
" ob. Ct. of
1292 Alencon,
s. of
St. Louis
Jacques =p Catherine
Sr. de Leuze,
occ. 1302
of
Conde
Hugh =F Beatrice
Ct. of Blois of
and Dunois, Flanders
Guy =p Mary
Ct. of of
St. Pol, ! Brittany,
= Beatrice Edward I =H Ele
King of
England,
ob. 1307
John
Earl of
Richmond,
[Seigneurs
ob. c. 1307 ob. 1317
de Leuze]
ob. 1339 ob. unm. 1334
Guv Margaret
t. of Blois dc Valois
id Dunois,
ob. 1342
Jean Joan
ob. 1342
dc Fiennes
Jacques
ob. s. p.
t- 1365
Maud
nb. c. 1348
= Charles
o! Valois,
s. of Philip
King of France
Beatrice
living
'350
Isabel = William
living de
1351 Coucy
Mary
of
St. Pol
ob -
Guy
ob. 1360
in England
Maud
Countess of
St. Pol
Guy
of
Luxembourg
Louis =^- Joan
t. of Blois, of
occ. 1346
Hainault
Charles =
of Blois,
Duke of Brittany,
Ct. ol Penthievre,
occ. 1364
: Joan
def. Charles of
Blois, 1364,
and bee.
=r(i) Mary
(a) Joan, d. of Thomas
Earl of Kent
(3) Joan of Navarre
I
Edward
Lionel
Louis
uuke ol Brit.
[Dukes of Brittany to 1488}
i
= Mary John =f
of 36 years a hostage ob.
Namur in England, in
ob. 1404
is John Guy
Jlois, ob. v. p. Ct. of Soissons,
372 Blois, and Dunois,
ob. 1397
Louis
ob. v. p.
Charles
ob. s. p. m. bef. 1434
tcHAEOLOGiA. VOL. LXVI. Between pp. 402 and 403.
de LUSIGNAN.
ANGOULEME.
-lugh VII =p Sarazine
occ. 1144 I
William IV =p
ob. 1177
Richard I
King of
England,
ob. 1199
f I 1 1 =j= Bourgogne
65 de Rancon
Aymer =
ob. 1218
Vulgrin III=f
1
William
ob. s. p
Ra ph Geoffrey
Ct. of Eu
1
Amaury
King of
Cyprus
Guy
King of
Jerusalem
Hugh IX =
ob. 1219
i^Maud
'
John :
King of
England,
ob. 1216
= Isabel =f= Hugh X
of ob. 1249
Angouleme
Aymer
Bishop of
Winchester
Alice
John
de Warenne,
Earl of
Surrey
Guy
i
William
de Valence,
Earl of Pembroke,
ob. 1276
=f Joan
de
Munchensy
William
ob. v. p.
John
ob. v. p.
Joan =p John Comyn
of
Badenoch
Agnes = (i) Hugh de Balliol,
ob. s. p. b. of John
King of Scotland
(a) Maurice fitz Gerold
(3) John d'Avesnes
Margaret
ob. unin.
Isabel =p John
de
Hastings
ir=p Yolande
I of
Dreux
Edward II =-- Isabel
Aymer
de Valence,
Earl of
Pembroke,
ob. 1324
= Beatric
of
Clermon
Neelle
King of
England,
ob. 1327
of
France
Guy
ob. s. p.
1308
Hugh XIII
Ct.of
La Marche,
ob. s. p. 1303
Joan =F David
Elizabeth ^ Richard
ob.
1326
Guy :
Ct. of
Penthievre,
ob. 1331
= Joan
d'Avaugour
John
Earl of
Richmond
and Duke
of Brittany,
ob. s. p. 1341
Earl of
Atholl
ob. bef. 1353
Talbot
Laurence ;
de Hastings,
Earl of
Pembroke,
ob. 1348
= Agnes
de Mortim
ob. 1369
John =
claimed
Brittany
Edward III ^ Philippa
King of of
England,
ob. 1377
Hainault
David =
Earl of
Atholl,
ob. 1335
Gilbert =F
Talbot
John :
de Hastings,
Earl of
Pembroke,
ob. 1375
nd
Thomas
Isabel =p Enguerrand
de
Coucy
Joan
Margaret
David
Earl of
Atholl,
ob. 1375
Richard =f=
Talbot,
coheir of
Hastings,
1392
Mary
' Louis
Duke of Anjou,
son of
King of France
John
dc Hastings,
occ. 1392
Mary =p
\Earls of
Slirni'sbury]
Joan
= Louis
Ct. of St. Pol
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 403
difficult to express it without entering upon a long catalogue.' Her father's
county of St. Pol went out of the direct line, it is true, very soon ; her brother's
son dying without issue and leaving it to the Luxembourg family, into which
his sister had married. On the other hand, of the Countess's own elder sisters
Maud 2 was wife to Charles of Valois and stepmother to the future king Philip VI,
and to Marguerite of Valois, who married Maud's cousin, Guy Count of Blois ;
Beatrice, married in 1315, was Dame de Nesle; and Isabel married in 1311
William de Coucy, and had a grandson who married Edward Ill's daughter.
There were also two younger sisters and two brothers, Jean Comte de St. Pol
and Jacques Seigneur d'Encre. At the date of the Countess's marriage (to
mention only two further great houses) the Count of Blois, Charles, was her
first cousin and the Count of Porcien her father's first cousin ; from this house
of Porcien (itself founded by a younger son) had already sprung, in the first part
of the fourteenth century, the branches of the Vidames de Laon, the Seigneurs
de la Ferte (a line which lasted in direct male descent well into the eighteenth
century), and the Seigneurs of .Dampierre, Dours, La Fere en Tardenois,
Bonneuil and Marigny. The Counts of Dunois and Chartres were similarly
direct descendants of Miles de Chatillon, as were the Counts of Penthievre and
the Seigneurs of Leuze. Indeed so numerous were the branches of the family,
and so many the members of it who attained to such dignities as those of Con-
stable and Grand-Master, that one can hardly imagine any event of historical
importance occurring in France in the fourteenth century without a de Chatillon
being present : Froissart mentions between twenty and thirty of the name.
AYMER DE VALENCE.
The lady of these many relationships married a man who was himself of
very old French descent. Aymer de Valence's father, William de Valence, was
a younger son of Hugh de Lusignan, tenth of that name, whose uncles had been
kings in Cyprus and Jerusalem when a de Chatillon was ruling in Antioch.
Unlike the de Chatillons, however, the Lusignan family had at this date im-
1 I have taken this information and the materials of the annexed pedigree mainly from Andre
Duchesne's Histoire de la Maison de Chatillon and Anselme's Gencalogie des Rots de France. Note
that upon several points Duchesne corrects what he had to say in his text in the latter part of his
volume (the preuves : see particularly p. 116 of these). I am much indebted to Mr. G. W. Watson, who
was good enough to read through the proofs of the pedigree. It is, I am afraid, only a rough one ;
and it necessarily omits a great deal for instance the children of the Countess's sister Maud, one of
whom married the Emperor Charles IV and one Piers Duke of Bourbon. Also it cannot show many
interesting cross-marriages: thus the Countess's sister Beatrice married John of Flanders, who was
nephew of Aymer de Valence's first wife; her sister Isabel's grandson married Edward Ill's daughter,
while Isabel's daughters married Chatillon cousins.
* Her will, according to Duchesne (p. 281), was dated 1348.
3E2
404 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
mediate marriage ties with England as well as France. Hugh the tenth married
Isabel of Angpuleme after the death of King John : l three of his sons, half-
brothers of Henry III, came over to seek a fortune in England ; and William de
Valence (the name is, again, probably derived from a birth-place) found it in a
match with Joan de Munchensy, heir of the Munchensys, the Marechals, and
a branch of the de Clares, who brought him a great fortune and the earldom of
Pembroke. Joan and William had seven children : two sons who died during
their father's life ; Joan married to John Comyn of Badenoch, whom Bruce slew ;
Agnes thrice married (once to a Balliol, brother to the King of Scotland), but
childless; Margaret, who died unmarried; Isabel, wife of John de Hastings;
and Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Wexford and of Montignac,
Champagnac, Bellac, and Rancon.
The position of Aymer de Valence in the history of his own time it would
be difficult to exaggerate. His was, of course, a palatine earldom with Jnm
regalia. His property, after the death of his mother and his cousin (Dionysia
de Munchensy 2 ), was enormous he is said to have owned lands in six hundred
and thirty-one places, besides what he had of his father's inheritance. Apart,
however, from his lands and his family, his own character gave him an invariable
prominence in the affairs of the time ; and, w ; hether or no one likes his policy,
always a successful one. Not only was he keeper of Scotland (he figures in,
among others, the famous bloodhound story), a frequent ambassador to France, 3
executor of the will of Edward I and charged specially by that king with the
welfare of his son, Edward II, and the repression of Piers Gaveston not only
had he such positions as these, but in every plot and intrigue which marked the
reign ol Edward II we find him prominent, and from every one he emerged
successfully. The chroniclers have unpleasant things to say, or to hint, of the
part he played in the proceedings of the Lords Ordainers, in the rebellion of
the Mortimers, and in the deaths of Gaveston and Lancaster ; but few would
deny that it was a skilful and a predominant part : and it is a fascinating problem
what would have occurred if his death had not preceded and perhaps left room
for the final plot of Mortimer and Queen Isabel. In fine, the biography of
Joseph the Jew, as Gaveston named him, has yet to be written ; and the historian
who undertakes it will probably rewrite in the process much of the history of
Edward II.
The match had been arranged, before that of John was thought of, to heal an old family quarrel :
for the curious story of this, see Miss Norgate's/0/; Lackland.
2 See Complete Peerage under ' Pembroke ' (p. 203, note /).
3 He had special letters on one occasion to the Count of St. Pol.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 405
MARRIAGE.
So much for the position in the world of the Countess of Pembroke and
her husband. Their complicated relationship (he was her grandmother's first
cousin) I must leave the pedigree to show. He was not a young man when he
married her, and his first wife, Beatrice of Clermont Neelle, had only been dead
a few months. 1 It seems clear from this last fact and from the mention of the
subject which we have in records (particularly the appeal made by Edward II
to the Pope when he wrote for the necessary dispensation 2 ) that the marriage
had a definite significance with regard to the relationships between France and
England at the moment. At any rate the negotiations for it seem to have gone
quite smoothly. Early in 1320 Aymer had been employed in Scotland, and in
June was keeper of the realm while the king was in France ; then in September
his first wife died, 3 and by November he was over in France, where he seems
to have stayed some months ; the letters of the King of France containing the
treaty of marriage are dated at Paris February 1321 ; 4 Edward's letters con-
senting to the assignment of dower are of April 12, and the bull of dispensation
of April 22 ; and the marriage took place on July 3 or 5. 5 The Earl and his new
Countess came back in time for a stormy Parliament in August ; the Countess
entered London on July 28, 1321, 'and there came to meet her the earls and
barons who had come to the king's parliament '.
Of the Countess's married life we have absolutely no information : we do
not even know at which of his castles the Earl placed her during the siege of
Ledes Castle in October 1321, the events which led up to the capture, condemna-
tion, and execution of Lancaster in March 1323,' the parliament at York which
revoked the Ordinances (Easter 1323), and the futile expedition to Scotland in
September of the same year; in all of which Aymer took part upon the king's side.
But soon after April 1324 the Earl was on a special mission in France (where affairs
had become grave, following the escapie of M orti mer from the Tower in the previous
1 See Archaeologia, xxvi, 338. According to the average age assigned to him in the Inquisitions
post mortem on his father he would be over fifty in 1321.
'* Rymer, under date March 29, 1321, quoting Roman Roll.
3 It is incorrect to say that he was married three times. He had no children by either wife, but
the Papal Register in 1324 (Calendar, p. 240) speaks of a natural son Henry, a knight.
* Duchesne, Preuves, p. 168 : the Countess's father had been dead some three or four years.
6 On this day, according to one chronicler, Queen Isabel made purification for the birth of her
daughter Joan ; ' and on the same day, as it was said, the Lord Aymer married the daughter of the
Count of St. Pol at Paris '.
Annales Pattlini (Chronicles of Edward I and Edward II), i, p. 292.
7 He seems only just to have extricated himself over the Lancaster affair : we are told that he
had to make oath upon the Gospels of his fidelity.
406 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
August); and there, at or near Compiegne, on Saturday, June 23, 1324,' he died
very suddenly, possibly of apoplexy : some of the chroniclers, who never forgave
him for the death of Lancaster, saw in his own end the judgement of Heaven. 2
Thus the Countess, young, newly married, childless, in a strange country and in
troubled times, was left a widow ; but by that very circumstance attained almost
the only position of anything approaching independence possible for a medieval
woman. From this time, then, her chronicler may begin to look for evidences
of the free action of her own personality.
1324 TO 1377: INCIDENTS AND AUTHORITIES.
So much for the circumstances of birth and marriage which settled for
Mary of St. Pol the position in the world which she was to occupy during a
long widowhood. She was never married again (no doubt she arranged the
matter, for though her marriage was once granted out by the king 3 we never
hear any more of it) : she buried her husband on the 3ist of July, 1324,* beneath
one of the finest medieval tombs that has survived to us ; of which we shall have
to speak again later : she went on visits to France, but spent the larger part of
her life in England : she founded an abbey and a college : and widowed some
time before the murder of Edward II she lived to see the Jubilee of Edward III.
It remains to take a glance at the historical setting of these fifty-three years.
We cannot, of course, even touch in detail here upon the events of Edward
Ill's reign. We may remind ourselves, however, that this period included,
as I have said, the horrible circumstances of Edward II's dethronement and
murder; the coup d'etat of the young Edward III in 1330; the Scotch wars
of the beginning of his reign ; 5 the French wars that followed with all their
fluctuations, their lulls and revivals the English victories at Crecy and Poitiers
and the later English decadence and French recovery ; two Great Pestilences
in England and a Peasants' Revolt in France ; the activities of the Flagellants
and the activities of Wiclif ; the erection of such buildings as the Lady Chapel
at Ely ; the foundation of the Order of the Garter.
1 It is worth while emphasizing this date, which is given us by some of the Inquisitions post
mortem, the poem of James de Dacia (App. IV), and. other documents; because most authorities,
following Dugdale, have miscalculated the regnal years of Edward II and made it 1323. The sugges-
tion of apoplexy is taken from such common factors as may be obtained in the various descriptions of
his death.
* The author of the account in Flores Hisloriarum (p. 223) says, punning, that he died af>ud
dimidiam villain (Miville) ubi Christus non voluit virum sanguinenm ct dolosum dimidiare dies situs.
Walsingham, who speaks of him much more kindly, also sees a judgement in his death (Chronicle,
p. 193). See also, for his death, Ypodtgma Neustriae, p. 259.
3 To Roger de Mortimer in 1327 (Cal. Pat., 166).
* Annales Panlini, vol. i, p. 307.
* Two at least of the late Earl's near kinsmen were closely involved in these Atholl and Talbot.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 407
We have also to take into consideration, however briefly, the social, moral
and economic changes which went with such events as those I have mentioned
the general spirit of lawless gain whose particular embodiment is found in the
Free Companies, the Trade Boom, the change in the conditions of labour, the
change in religious and intellectual outlook. Further, with these we have to
remember also the existence of the chivalric idea ; it is a fact not to be too
lightly dismissed that this is the age of Froissart, the man who wrote
Que toute joie et tout honnour
Viennent et d'armes et d'amour.
However much we discourage and distrust Romance the fourteenth century
must remain entitled to be called picturesque. Many forms of art reached a
very high level in England : a new literature was born : new ideas touched and
coloured and quickened all the ordinary details of life, all the conventions of
Religion, of Science, of Art, of Trade, of Fighting, even of Administration. The
whole century may fairly be described as one of new colour, new energy, and
teeming incident in every department of human activities.
All these activities are reflected in an extraordinary richness of contem-
porary manuscript sources. For the matter of the Chroniclers it suffices to have
mentioned Froissart, though I would not willingly omit Barbour, and there are
half a dozen others of importance. But we have to reckon also with the re-
markable richness of Records : not only do all the normal great series of these
the enrolments of letters under the Great Seal (on Charter, Patent, Close and
subsidiary Rolls), the records of all the processes preliminary to these (the
Warrants and Inquisitions); the great rolls of Accounts, of Receipts, of Issues
and of Memoranda at the Exchequer; the bulky records of proceedings in the
two permanent divisions and all the visitational departments of the king's
judiciary not only do all these increase enormously in bulk, scope, and regu-
larity during the fourteenth century : but we have also to face a great increase
in number and a new fullness of detail in the records of private jurisdiction or
private enterprise on the one hand (in the Court Rolls, the Fabric Rolls, the
Rentals and Bailiffs' Accounts, the Municipal Records, the private Muniments),
and on the other in those private accounts, correspondence and memoranda which
survive to us because they served as vouchers or accompaniments to the more
conventional public or semi-public Records. From all these classes, and especially
the last mentioned, we derive to an ever increasing extent in the fourteenth
century masses of intimate, picturesque, domestic information concerning all
the chief personages and events of the time and the trappings, the circumstance,
the human detail which accompanied them. When we look at the results which
have accrued up to now from the comparatively slight use that has yet been
408 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
made of (let us say) the original Accounts of the Exchequer, it almost seems
as if no person of any eminence could do anything at this time be born, or
married, or die ; fight, or build, or judge, or feast, or dress ; or so much as exist
without leaving us at least one or two coloured pictures of his life somewhere
among the Public Records.
I have tried to emphasize the eminence of the subject of this paper and the
richness of the sources available, at this period, for the study of a person of
eminence. From all these sources, printed and manuscript, I have had com-
piled ' what is, I think, a fairly complete Calendar of references relating to the
Countess; it is based on references to two or three hundred Records, printed or
in manuscript ; and perhaps almost as important is the almost equal number of
manuscripts which have been searched in vain. New publications and more
extended indexing will, no doubt, add a certain number of items 2 to this list ;
but not, I hope, any new class of them, nor any leading to new material facts.
It has already been suggested that the Countess's position was such as to bring
her frequently into contact with the various departments of administration whose
activities survive for us in written records. We may now try to indicate certain
groups of facts and inferences which may be obtained from these, together with
certain negative results.
The negative results, it may be mentioned at once, are connected largely
with a very marked gap in the manuscript materials for the Countess's history :
search over a large number of Exchequer records produces hardly any references
to her. It is not so much that we have not her own accounts. A few rolls such
as those :1 which give us minute daily details of the life of the Countess's contem-
porary, Elizabeth de Burgo Countess of Clare, would indeed be invaluable ; but
it is only chance which has preserved these documents to us among the Public
Records ; there is no reason to expect a parallel Pembroke series. What is
remarkable is that among all the entries on the roll of Issues, in every con-
nexion and for every kind of purpose, from the king's treasury, in all those long
lists of gifts in the Household accounts of the king, the queen, and their children,
in the frequent mention of persons who dined at the royal table or had liveries
of robes or gifts at Christmas in all these records which give us mention of
persons who visited or were employed by or about the Court, we are able to
find the names of practically every one we know of in the fourteenth century,
1 I have been much indebted to my wife's help in making this compilation. My quotations from
the Record Office Calendars of Patent and Close Rolls, etc., except where it is otherwise stated, refer
in each case to the volume covering the year mentioned in the text.
2 For instance, it is almost impossible that a certain number of stray references should not be
found on the Pipe Rolls : and a considerable quantity might probably be recovered from the Plea
Rolls. These are, so far as I know, the only two serious gaps in the Calendar referred to.
3 Exchequer Accounts, Clare Household (Boxes 91 to 95).
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 409
except (saving in one or two special cases to be mentioned below) the Countess
of Pembroke. Certain obvious inferences from this may better be drawn at a
later stage, but it is worth mentioning here as a significant fact that whereas
the Countess figures continually in the Chancery records, she almost escapes
mention in the Exchequer ones. 1
THE COUNTESS AND HER TWO COUNTRIES.
Perhaps the most natural point of interest in connexion with the Countess
is that touching her relations with her two countries. On the one hand, we
have to look upon her as an Englishwoman. On the other hand, Crecy was
fought in her own part of France and Poitiers in that of her husband's family ;
when Hennebonwas besieged the attacking party was led by one of her cousins
and the defenders by the wife of another ; when a quarrel about Brittany caused
a renewal of war in 1341 two of her cousins were again the contending parties ;
when Charles of Blois was captured in 1344," the Pope wrote to her to receive
his nuncios dispatched upon this matter ; Poitiers brought to England a host
of French prisoners, and among the most important of the French nobility who
remained as hostages for their king's ransom were three of her kinsmen (Guy
of Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol, with his sons, Enguerrand de Coucy and the
Count of Blois) ; a few years later when the French successes began they were
led, among others, by this same Guy and it was his son who planned an invasion
of England in 1366.
It is a little difficult to decide how far personal and national feeling went
in this war. Perhaps it is not too much to say that the Countess deliberately
maintained a neutral attitude, and with remarkable success. On the one hand,
she went frequently abroad ; she went in 1325,' as soon as affairs were somewhat
settled after the Earl's death ; and she remained abroad from 1331 4 to 1334.'' On
the other hand, when war broke out in 1337 (partly as a result of the childless
death of her uncle, the Earl of Richmond) she definitely settled her residence in
England, where of course her material interests chiefly lay ; though it is possible
that she had been in doubt at one period, since we find her, in 1333," 1335, and 1336,'
acquiring from the coheirs in each case additions first to her husband's and then
to her own French lands. She appears to have gone abroad for a few months in
1 I have not thought it worth while to consider the obvious cases where the Exchequer in its
records merely repeats or notes the effect of Chancery activities. The point is the absence of any
movement upon the Exchequer side of administration in her behalf.
* Cat. Papal Letters, 12. 3 Cal. Patent Rolls, 200.
* Cal. Pat., 105, 123, 210, 268, 281, 308, 376, 426, 467, 543.
* She was in England in July 1334 : see Cal. Pat., 567.
Cal. Close Rolls, 81 : cp. Cal. Pat. (year 1332), 309. 1 Cal. Pat,, 222,
VOL. LXVI. 3 F
4io MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
1341.' She again had licence to be abroad for a long period from November 1352=
to the latter part of 1357," being thus actually in France (as indeed she had special
licence to be) when war was hot. She had succeeded early ' in securing adequate
protection in England for herself and her household, and in 1337,'' when the lands
of all aliens were taken into the king's hands, the order was promptly superseded
in her favour. On the other hand, she retained her lands in France so late as
1372; though it is true there seems to have been an interval when the French
dispossessed her about I346. 7 Side by side with these indications is to be put the
fact that she was not exempted from sending troops for the siege of Calais in
1347," and from taking part in other ways in the defence of the realm.
The questions arise did she ever go abroad on English official business ?
how far did either side, or both sides, make use of her as an exceptional and
privileged neutral ? and how far did her own feeling, as well as circumstances,
put her into that neutral position ? There are two main pieces of evidence on
these points.
First, she is definitely stated to be abroad on the king's business in 1331.
In this year Edward III had gone to France to do homage for his French lands
for the second time ; this following upon his dramatic crushing of Mortimer and
Oueen Isabel : and the Countess had licence to go no more than three days
after he returned home. However, if she had any diplomatic secrets on this
occasion they were well kept, and 1 have found no trace of her expenses being
paid.
The second point lies in the new interpretation of a document printed by
this Society I0 a wardrobe account of Queen Isabel for the year 1358. The
editor (Mr. E. A. Bond) very plausibly suggests from the circumstance that the
old queen is here found returning to Court and entertaining a number of the
French prisoners then in England (and this at a time when talk of peace was in
the air) that Isabel was taking part in negotiations between the two countries-
she, too, being by circumstance both French and English. But he identifies a
1 Cat. Pat., 77, 126 ; Cat. Close, 100. z Cat. Pat., 363, 506.
* Cal. Pat., 51, 170, 203, 409, 460. * e.g. in 1324: see Cat. Pat., 18, 57, 313.
8 Cal. Close, 94, 169; Cal. Pat., 57: cp. Cal. Pat.(iyR), 313, and (1339), 312 ; Cal. Close (1334), 230:
see also Rec. Off., Ministers' Accounts, 1187/19.
6 See Duchesne, op. cit., ' Preuves '.
7 Cal. Papal Letters, 25. Other matter with regard to the lands in France will be found in the
Registres du Parlement.
* She was one of three ladies summoned to send a deputy to a special Council in view of a
threatened French invasion in 1335 ; but probably her position as a landowner, rather than as
a Frenchwoman, was responsible for this (Cal. Close, 517) : cp. her summons (below, p. 413, note 3)10
attend Councils on Irish matters.
9 Cal. Pat., 105. For another slight indication of her employment by the king, see App. Ill, 9.
10 Archaeologia, vol. xxxv.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 411
Countess of Pembroke who dined with her several times during this period
with the widow of Laurence de Hastings, Agnes de Mortimer, at that time mar-
ried to a second husband. Now our Countess can be proved to have been in
London at very nearly the required time; 1 previous visits in Hertfordshire are
equally possible, the Countess Mary frequently residing at Anstey and La Mote
whence a journey to Hertford Castle would be quite reasonable ; and a mes-
senger of the Countess of Pembroke is called John de Anstey. I suggest further
that a search of Isabel's Wardrobe Accounts - has so far revealed hardly any pre-
vious connexion between our Countess and that queen, nor does it appear from
any other records except two years before (1356) when her licence to stay abroad
was extended, it is expressly stated, upon the petition of Queen Isabel a at least
an additional evidence that they might have been working together; and, in
effect, who in England had stronger ties with France and the French exiles
(and therefore a stronger inducement to work for peace) than the subject of this
paper ? A further slight confirmation of this view is found in the fact that when,
in August 1357, Joan 'calling herself Duchess of Brittany' had occasion to send
a messenger to England on some business unspecified, it was the Countess of
Pembroke who procured his safe-conduct. 4
On all these grounds I think the altered identification is reasonable. If it
is adopted the emergence of the Countess from retirement at this point, con-
trasted (as we shall see later) with an almost total absence from Court life at
other times, may be taken as strong evidence of very definite sentiment : while
we are entitled to argue that the English king, as she says in her will, had always
been her gracious lord, we must add that she had never abandoned a certain
amount of French sympathy. We may, having gone so far, make use now of
three further small points. First, she drafted statutes for her college in which
she provided for a definite attempt to secure French scholars."' Secondly,
making her will, after she had been deprived of her French lands, she still re-
membered to make honourable bequests to both the French king and queen.
Thirdly, the bequest to the French king this after forty years of war, of English
1 May 15 and 16 : see Appendix I.
2 Among the Exchequer Accounts, K. R. It is true that there are not very many, but what
remain are very important : No. 393/4, for example, is a long list made after Queen Isabel's death of
all her goods, showing the disposal of them ; a number being given to persons specified. The only
connexion noticed anywhere is the fact that the Countess twice visited the queen in France in
September 1325 (Exch. Accts., 380/9).
3 Cal. Pat., 409.
4 Rymer (Rec. Comm. Ed.) quoting French Roll, under date August i.
8 It is perhaps not beside the point to add that at the moment when this paper was read (November
1914) nearly 200 of the scholars who should have been in residence at her college were fighting or
preparing to fight in France for the French.
3 K2
4i2 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
victories followed by French victories was une espcc qe jay qi est sctuz pohite :
she provided for a special messenger who should explain its meaning ; but the
ceremonial significance of the pointless sword is, and was then, well known.
HER DOWER AND PROPERTY.
So much for France and England : we turn now to the topic of the Countess's
estates and business generally an extensive subject and one which brings us
into most immediate contact with the Chancery section of the Public Records,
bound up as these are with questions of feudal tenure. We need not here do
more than mention that her husband assigned her 1 lands to the value of ^"2,000
a year at the church door ; that after his death - an assignment of dower to her
was made in Chancery, the three coheirs failing to agree upon the point ; that
this gave her manors, land, and advowsons in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex,
Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk, York-
shire and Wiltshire, in Pembrokeshire and in Ireland (Wexford) ; that she had
in addition her own dower in France ; :i and that certain lands had been granted
during the Earl's lifetime to himself and her. 4 The dower lands would of course
revert at her death to Aymer's coheirs unless she had obtained previously, as she
in fact did in several cases (for instance that of Saxthorpe "), completer owner-
ship of them by a series of private transactions and a royal licence.
It is clear that the Countess had considerable trouble with regard to her
property in the early days of her widowhood. Her husband's will has not yet
come to light, but she was one of the executors in company with the Bishop of
Durham, the Earl of Surrey (Pembroke's cousin), and others. And she after-
wards complained that thanks to the ill-will of the Dispensers and Robert de
Baldok they were deprived of all the late Earl's personal property, amounting
to the value of ^20,000, which was seized to satisfy certain non-existent debts to
the Exchequer; 7 and that they were thus unable to pay his just debts, to which
indeed she alludes in her own will (fifty-three years later) as possibly still out-
standing. She certainly had to execute a surrender 8 of this property in order to
obtain a full acquittance. She also lost the castles of Haverford, Hertford, and
1 In 1321. See Cat. Pat. 575, 576, 596 and (next vol.) 12.
' In 1324. See Cal. Close, 244; and cp. Rec. Off., Chancery Parl. Proc. 45/24.
3 Her French lands were in Tours-en-Vimeu (near Abbeville), Thievre (near Doullens), Freacan
(perhaps near Arras), and Orville (near Acheux).
4 Cp. Cal. Pat. (year 1322), 87, 113.
5 Cal. Pat. (1346), 86: Saxthorpe passed to the college in 1349.
Cp. Cal. Fine Rolls (1324), 298 ; Cal. Close (1325), 412 : see also Cal. Pat. (1327), 41.
7 See App. Ill, 8 ; and cp. Cal. Pat. (1325), 165.
* Cal. Close (1325), 412, 505; and (1333) 104, the two last mentioned being enrolments of releases
by her to the king.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 413
Monmouth l which she claimed. She was not altogether clear of trouble at the
end of 1325, when she went abroad.
Her French lands have been sufficiently referred to already except that we
may notice that they were administered for her by agents who sometimes gave
trouble, for instance in 1354 and 1355. In 1349," when there was danger to them
from the English armies, she had a special protection for them which expressly
mentions both those which had belonged to her husband (Champagnac, etc.) and
her own (Tours-en- Vimeu, etc.). Her lands in Ireland 3 are continually referred
to as worthless, and seem to have done no more than to make her liable to provide
troops for service there. We may turn back to a consideration of one or two
matters selected from a large mass touching her English possessions.
It is clear to begin with that her economies were considerable. In her will
she disposed of considerable sums of ready money, and she had been able before
this to acquire large additional amounts of land to found and endow her abbey
and college ; the fine alone which turned her life interest in Denny into a fee
simple was 250.* Besides this she left at her death a considerable amount of
land 3 which, though held for life only (the only land then remaining to her which
was disposable by will was her manse in London), yet represented additions to
her dower or modifications of it. Some of these lands she had obtained by grant
from the king, generally on substantial consideration ; some had come to her
through such complicated transactions as those with the Earl of Richmond
1 Cal.Pat. (1327), 37; Cat. Close (1327), 109: the last is again a release; see Rymer under date
March 13. Edward Il's grant was exemplified at the Countess's request in the same year (Cat. Pat.,
109). She seems to have gone about to secure redress of this grievance immediately after the
accession of Edward III : see App. Ill, 5. Cp. also Cal. Pat. (1366), 276.
* Rymer, ed. cif., under date July 25.
1 There are numerous references to these in the Patent and Close Rolls, but generally touching
only her appointment of attorneys. Eor the question of their defence, see (e. g.) Rymer (ed. cif.) under
date October 15, 1331, and January 28, 1332. She was summoned at least twice to attend Councils
concerning Irish affairs (Rymer, ed. cif., under date March 15, 1361, and February 10, 1362). There
are references to her at intervals on Irish Chancery Rolls from 18 Edw. II (Rot. Pat.et Clans. Cane.
Hib., 30 B.) onwards.
4 Cal. Pat. (1336), 250.
' The Inquisitions postmortem (Rec. Off., Inq.p.tn., Edw. Ill, 262) give valuable information in
this respect, though they are incomplete. Inquisitions at this time were becoming very much a
matter to be arranged by the family lawyer, and that fact is particularly well illustrated in the case of
the present file by the accidental inclusion of three fragments (App. Ill, nos. 2, 3, and 14) from the
Countess's muniment chest which have nothing to do with the documents they are preserved with.
Other indications suggest that some of the material was put together for a previous occasion (perhaps
the death of John de Hastings in 1375).
" For instance : Anstey, La Mote, the manse in London, and Fotheringay four of her principal
residences do not appear in the assignment of dower ; which has also no mention of lands in Lin-
colnshire and Nottinghamshire.
MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
which gave her Fotheringay. This business with her uncle, 1 which may be taken
as an interesting example, extended over a period from May 1331 to January
1334, and at one time involved her receiving a life interest in all the lands
attaching to the earldom in return for an annual pension to the Earl of .1,800:
this would have meant a heavy profit, for her uncle died in 1334, she in 1377.
The matter ended in a conveyance by the Earl to his niece and an immediate
reconveyance by her, which is the subject of a mysterious letter to the Chancellor
from the Bishop of Norwich and Geoffrey Lescrop, who had met the Count< sa
in Paris and talked over some business, probably the question of the late Earl's
personal goods.- A minor point of some interest raised here is the question
of the numerous reversions which were delayed by her exceptionally long life ;
the d'Arcy and Denton families, in particular, figure in perpetual readjust-
ments and compensations made to them by the king on this account. 3 Another
small matter of importance is that of the recognizances for debt extant and
testifying to very numerous loans, frequently upon landed security, made by her
and indeed by many great people of this time. Who was John de Coupland 4
that he should owe the Countess of Pembroke^ 100? The people who occur in
this position are often so obviously unconnected with the creditor that it is
clearly a business matter simply we have here, in fact, a common way of in-
vesting surplus cash which has not perhaps received sufficient attention from
economists.
It is very difficult to say how far in the fourteenth century the lord took a
personal share in the management of his lands ; but on the whole we may decide
that in the Countess's case the personal element was strong. Very few court
rolls and accounts of her manors for her period have survived, and they yield
no evidence : except that in one or two cases she drew her personal attendants 6
and servants from her manors. On the other hand, the extensive nature of her
dealings is itself an evidence ; in a large number of cases (especially in the
latter part of her life) her object was that of the endowment of charities : in the
1 Cat. Pat., no, 124, 150, 241, 404, 484, 491 : two of the original deeds are in Pembroke College
Deeds (Wissenden, A. 2 and 4) : see also Rymer, under date Januarys, 1334.
; The conveyances are dated the ;th and i8th of November : see Cal. Pat. (1333), 484, 491 ; cp. Rec.
Off., Chancery Warrants, I, 7361, A to D.
3 See, for example, the references under the year 1337 on the Close, Patent, and Fine Rolls ; many
others might be cited.
* Cal. Close (1347), 417: cp. (1329) 581, 582, 586; (1334) 495; (1343) 243; (1348) 487; (1354) 72;
d35 8 ) 5; (1360) 1 3 I J (I3 62 ) 433 : (1363) 555; (^69) 82 ; (1371) 295.
'" Referred to in various places below : see also p. 41.0, note 5 above.
8 John de Castro Martini is her attorney in Ireland in 1327 (Cal. Pat., 136) ; similarly we have
John de Redeswell in 1331 and 1332 (Cal. Pat., 210, 277, etc.): John de Anstey, a messenger, has
been already mentioned ; and in one court roll we have a default excused on the ground that the
defaulter is away in scrvicio duminc (Rec. Off., Court Rolls, 178. i).
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 415
remaining cases she could have no reason for engaging- in land transactions,
except the actual pleasures and profit of doing so ; the case of the Earl of Rich-
mond's land is here in point, and we have indications that she not only acquired
hut sometimes farmed ' land from the king. Further evidence is furnished by
the way in which she played (to use the phrase) with one or two properties : she
would acquire a manor ; after a time obtain licence to alienate it ; change her
mind as to the object of her benefaction ; later make the grant ; and ultimately,
perhaps, round it off by another small acquisition and alienation : the Tilney
property," which was originally intended for Westminster Abbey and ultimately
went to Pembroke College, is one out of a number of cases in point. 3 Again,
there is no doubt that she superintended to the end of her life (as is noticed again
below) the property of her two foundations. Two final small illustrations are
perhaps supplied by the terms of her complaint to the king in 1349, that 'she
had caused certain bondmen and fugitives to be taken at her manor of Foxley
and brought to her at Denny for chastisement . . . ' * and by a fragmentary
petition which shows her representing to the king the interests of the men of one
of her towns. 5
If the Countess did take a close personal interest in her land transactions
she would have plenty to occupy her. It is to be remembered that legal pro-
cesses were certainly not less complicated then than now : to obtain licence to
acquire, abolish various uses and interests, and perhaps obtain another licence
to alienate meant a great deal of time and law and many deeds ; as witness the
Pembroke muniment chest or the thirteen deeds, not a complete file, which mark
the transactions preliminary to a single grant to Denny. And besides there
would certainly be, from time to time, lawsuits. 7
She apparently preferred as a rule private deeds to the processes of fine or
even of deeds enrolled, or her legal advisers did for her. In this last connexion
1 Cal. Close (1344), 332 : she had a family interest here, the lands being those of William de Coucy ;
but see also ibid. 643.
1 For the licence for the Countess to receive and alienate, see Cal. Pat. (1345), 568; the original
being among Pemb. Coll. Docs. (Tilney, B. 2) : other deeds relating to the same are Tilney, B. i, 3, 4,
5, and 6 ; the last two being the indentures of a fine which will be found among the Rec. Off. Feet of
Fines. For the licence to alienate to Westminster see Cal. Pat. (1346), 62. The Repton property was
also intended for Westminster originally (Cal. Pat., 61).
3 Cp. below, p. 418, the remarks concerning Westmill.
4 Cal. Pat. (1349) 313. 5 Rec. Off., Anc. Pet., 7897.
The arrangement of these deeds is according to the properties involved, all those acquired
during the founder's lifetime being represented by very complete collections: cp. those referred to
in note 2, above. For another case of complicated transactions see the note on Strood below, p. 418,
note 8.
7 Cp. App. Ill, 6; Rec. Comm., Placita de quo IVarranto, 640; and various Commissions of oyer
and terminer, such as appear in Cal. Pat. (1342), 554, 556, 582.
416 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
one more small point may be made, that of her attorneys. The history of the
lower branch at this period how far it formed a professional class, how far it
was legal adviser, and how far mere agent is another rather neglected subject.
The Countess's attorneys, apart from her Irish ones (whose task in the then state
of Ireland was an altogether peculiar one), may have been generally her pro-
tgs, members of her suite or household such as John Dengayne and Roger de
Dersingham ; though she would use them for the same purpose with regularity :
one or two were then or afterwards professional men of distinction such as
Parnyng the Chancellor, and John of St. Pol (presumably an early proteg
from France), who became first an Exchequer clerk and ultimately archbishop
of Dublin. The witnesses to all her charters were generally members of her
household, with sometimes a few local people, such as the Mayor of Cambridge.
A final word, in connexion with her property, as to her residences. 1 She
dated sometimes from Denny, and we know that she resided occasionally
at Fotheringay ; but her most usual places for dating were probably Anstey,
La Mote in Cheshunt, Braxted (where she made her will), and London. It is
clear from her will, combined with one or two scanty 'Ministers' Accounts' 2
which have survived, that she kept up several houses simultaneously, but trans-
ferred her household and a good deal of household stuff from one to another as
required. Her manse in London was evidently her most important residence.
It may be identified with fair certainty with Bergavenny House, which was
situated somewhere in the angle formed by what is now Amen Corner and
Ave Maria Lane : 3 it was her own property, and she left it to her executors ; how
it came back to the possession of the Hastings family afterwards has not yet been
settled. The Countess had also a house in France at St. Germain-des-Pr6s, and
we have letters of hers dated from Paris. 4
CHARITIES.
The question of lands may well lead on to the subject of the Countess of
Pembroke's charities, and that to the religious side of her life generally. Taking
first the subject of general or miscellaneous charities we may best begin from
1 Cp. App. I.
* In the Westmill accounts (Rec. Off., Ministers' Accounts, 873/4 a "d 5) there is reference to
repairs at La Mote and to the expenses of carriage of victuals, wine, wardrobe, etc., to and from Anstey,
Braxted, Denny, Fotheringay, La Mote, London, and Westmill : cp. similar entries in the Anstey
Accounts (Min. Ace., 862/2).
3 See m. 2 of the Inquisitions post mortem on the Countess ; and Stow's London (ed. Kingsford),
i, 339, ii, 350, 388: cp. Mttnimenta Gildhallae (Rolls ed.), II, ii, 455. I am indebted to Mr. Kingsford
for a note on this subject.
4 Cat. Close (1333), 104. For Itinerary see App. I. For the St. Germains house see Archives
Nationales, Titres de Bourbon, 1917.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 417
her will 1 a remarkable document ohvhich copies exist at Lincoln and Lambeth,
and on the Hustings Roll of London. A very large proportion of the will deals
with matters of charity and religion. We find that the English provinces of
Austin Friars, Carmelite Friars, FYiars Preachers, and Franciscans (Friars
Minors) have each 100 marks. The Carthusians at Hinton have 13 marks
and three other Carthusian houses unnamed 10 marks each. Other large
bequests are to the king's new abbey De Graciis (100 marks for their buildings),
to Westminster (300 marks to find a monk singing perpetually in the chapel
adjoining her husband's tomb), and to the Prior of Litton (100 marks for his
church). Two small hospitals on the Countess's own manors of Anstey and
Milton 2 are specially remembered with 10 marks each. Besides these, West-
minster has rich gifts of relics and plate, St. Paul's is to have one of the Coun-
tess's gold cups to show, 3 her abbey and her college (she does not always go
into full details, explaining that she has left careful schedules) also receive plate,
jewels, and so forth, and so does the abbey of Bruisyard ; while all the religious
houses of men or women into which she has been received are to be informed of
the day of her death (a reflection of this is seen in one of the St. AlbansChronicles 4 )
and to have each a relic or other gift. In the way of general charity she gives
all the money and chattels found upon her manors to the poor of her towns and
of the neighbouring towns, specifying in order poor maids, widows, orphans, and
poor religious as objects of her charity : similarly half her linen, clothes, and so
forth is to go to poor maisons Dien.
Of personal beneficiaries we have first the abbesses of Denny, Bruisyard,
and the minoresses of London, the scholars in residence at her college, her nuns
at Denny and her confessor ; also the Archbishop of Canterbury. There are
formal gifts to the King of England and the King and Queen of France. The
only others mentioned are her servants, who are to have a proper provision of
wages and the second half of her linen and clothes ; her executors, who have her
London house for their trouble ; and one kinsman, 5 who has what is possibly the
remission of a debt of 100 marks ; while a codicil bequeaths to some of her
servants and train amounts varying from 10 marks to ^40. The residue of her
goods is to go in prayers for her soul. Well may the monk of St. Albans (his
1 A PP . II.
I The Countess had licence to impropriate the church of Milton in 1326 (Cat. Pat., 275).
II Presumably the one referred to in an early inventory (Arrhacologia, 1, 512).
4 Chronicon Anglic (Rolls ed.), 137, says she gave images to many monasteries where she had the
benefit of prayers : see below, p. 418, note i, and p. 430, note i.
* Aymer of Atholl, one of her knights and a frequent witness to her charters. He was indebted
to her in 1362 (Cal. Close, 433) and again in 1371 (Cat. Close, 295), when he owed the sum here men-
tioned.
VOL. LXVI. Q G
418 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
abbey obtained a gold image with a relic of St. Vincent 1 ) exclaim upon the way
in which she divided all her substance between the religious, her servants, and
the poor.
To these benefactions we have to add those which we know to have been
done in her lifetime. The church of the Friars Minors in London had ^70
towards its fabric, besides the glazing of a window, the furnishing of an altar,
et mnlta alia bona? At the London Charterhouse she built a cell and gave
;2oo towards the endowment, and many other gifts. 3 We have notice of gifts
by the Countess to Westminster in an early inventory ; * and we may well
imagine that like gifts were made to the many houses of religious which, as we
shall see, she visited; and that such a work as the rebuilding 5 of Milton
Church, near Gravesend (in which place she had an interest), did not go
unaided.
Turning next to religious foundations, we have first to notice that the
Countess had at different times various schemes which did not materialize.
Thus she obtained licence to alienate land in Surrey (which she did not then
possess, so far as is known, and never acquired) for the foundation of a Carthusian
house at Home in that county. She seems to have had a distinct wish for a
Carthusian foundation, since w r efind her, in 1369, contemplating another one to
be endowed with one of the manors of Westmill, Measden, and Hormead, in
Hertfordshire, 7 of which she was to obtain the title in fee in exchange for that of
Strood 8 in Kent (she ultimately retained her ownership of Stroodand alienated
it to Denny) : the special Carthusian bequests in her will may be remembered
in this connexion. Her intentions with regard to Westminster have already
been mentioned.
Of complete works we have first the foundation of a chantry in the hermi-
tage in Cripplegate, a work done for her husband's soul: she endowed this in
m
1 ' Quandam imaginem de Sancto Vincencio argenteam deauratam que tenet in manibusquoddam
scrinium in quo unum os eiusdem preciosi martyris continetur', Chron. Angl., 137: cp. Trokelowe
(Rolls ed.), 436.
* Brit. Mus., Cott. MSS., Vit. F. 12. :i Rec. Off., L. R. Misc. Books, 61, f. 12.
4 Archacologia, Hi, 254, 261. f Archaeologia Cantiana, xi, p. xlvii.
" Cat. Pat. (1346), 141.
7 Rec. Off., Inq. ad quod damnnm, 365/18: cp. V. C. H., Herts., III. 399.
The history of her possession of this manor is another example of complicated processes. It
was granted to her first in connexion with property given up after the Earl's death, then in fee as a
reward for her guardianship of the king's daughter Joan in 1338 (Cal. Pat., 53), this grant appearing
again on the Patent Roll under the same date (ibid., 60). She then leased it to the Hospitallers for
the term of her life (ibid., 571). Then by error the manor was granted to Reginald de Cobham ;
which grant was revoked in 1342 (Cal. Pat., 461) and a fresh grant made to her (ibid., 462). In the
same year she had licence to assign it in mortmain (ibid., 529) and had again licence to alienate in 1344
(Cal. Pat , 340), to Denny.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 419
1343 by means of a grant to the abbot of Garendon, 1 who was to find monks for
the purpose, presenting them to the Lord Mayor of London. We have then
left for consideration Denny Abbey and Pembroke College.
RELIGIOUS LIFE.
Before we proceed to consider these, however, we may conveniently examine
what evidence there is of her general religious attitude. Her will alone is
sufficient to mark the immense importance of this in her life.
Our knowledge on this subject must come mainly from the Papal Registers.
The Countess of Pembroke's period was that of the exile at Avignon, and applica-
tion to the Papal Curia for privileges of all kinds was extremely easy ; indeed
there was a special agent who looked after English messengers and English
petitions ; and the Countess's name consequently appears very frequently among
the papal records. First there are. her grants obtained on behalf of Pembroke
and Denny. Then she applied frequently on behalf of various protege's for
nominations to the office of notary public, 2 for licences for her clerks to hold
benefices while remaining away from them in her service, 3 and so forth. More
important, however, for our purpose are the applications made on her own
behalf for the grant of various privileges. The first of these grants belongs to
the year 1331, when, it will be remembered, she was herself in France : it covers
a wide ground.
So early as 1333 the Countess obtained leave to enter convents of men and
women with a suite of six matrons; 4 and similar grants continued to be
obtained throughout her life, culminating in one (in 1364) which allowed her
to sleep and eat in Denny and other houses of religious, together with a suite
of four women, supposing all of them to be over sixty years of age. 5 There is
evidence elsewhere 6 that she entered into formal arrangements with the heads
of religious houses by which she became a participant in the benefits of their
religious exercises, and notes of various small indulgences to her appear at dif-
ferent places in the Papal Registers. 7 She also obtained a licence to have her
1 Cat. Pat., 133: notices of presentations by the abbot appear in the Letter Books of the City of
London: cp. B. M., Harl. 540, f. 24.
a e.g. Cal. Papal Petitions (1349), 155.
3 Cal. Papal Letters (1332), 381 ; (1342), 89; and (1347), 261.
* Cal. Papal Letters (1332), 381. 5 Ibid., 502.
Ainslie, Memoirs, 68, quotes from Baker's MSS. an arrangement made with the abbot of Battle
in 1346: cp. above, p. 417, note 4.
7 She obtained a number as early as 1331 (Cal. Papal Letters, 367). A good example of a group
of petitions from her is registered under date May 2, 1349.
302
420 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
heart buried separately ; ' but this was twenty-five years before her death, and
there is no evidence that she took advantage of it.
Besides these evidences of religious preoccupation extending from almost
the earliest period of her life to its end must be placed another matter of con-
siderable importance in the Countess's marked predilection for the Franciscan
order. Was she a Franciscan tertiary ? The third order of St. Francis, it will
be remembered, was open to men and women who underwent a year's noviciate
and took a simple vow to observe the rule : they were bound to dress more
soberly, fast more strictly, pray more regularly, hear mass more frequently, to
abstain from dances, to eschew quarrelling and the use of arms except in self-
defence, and so forth. The order was extremely popular from the thirteenth
century onwards, and there were congregations of it, though not in England.
Its members were generally under the governance of the Observant or Con-
ventual Franciscans.
There is no direct evidence that the Countess ever joined this order, though
she might quite well have taken the necessary steps while in France between
1331 and 1336: that she belonged to it is at least a possible supposition, based
on the facts of her life already set out, on her general absence (to be mentioned
again below) from the English Court, and upon the undoubted preference she
exhibited for Franciscans. Of this last there are many indications. Thus, im-
mediately after the death of Aymer de Valence (so early as August 1324) we
find her with a suite of apparently seventeen Franciscans* (it is to be remembered
that she was then not much more than twenty years old). Her most marked
charities are all Franciscan Denny, the Friars Minors of London, Bruisyard ;
and in her will there are special bequests of money, to Denny and Bruisyard,
the abbess of the latter house having also 405., a breviary which belonged to the
sisters of St. Marcel, 3 and a journal ' in which I say my hours '. Another of the
Countess's breviaries has come down to us : it again is Franciscan. The two
confessors of hers, whom we know by name, were both Franciscan, and the
later of the two, besides having bequests of money and a breviary, is made, not
executor, but overseer of her executors. In her will also the Countess desired
to be buried in the choir at Denny la on. ma tombe est faite in the robe of a
sister of the order, her funeral to be sanz coustage outmgeux. Finally, perhaps
the most remarkable testimony of all, we have in the draft statutes 4 of Pembroke
College, which date undoubtedly from her time, a most remarkable provision
1 Cal. Papal Letters (1352), 458. 2 Cat. Pat., 18.
3 I suggest that this breviary came from the Sisters Minoressesof Lourcine-lez-Saint-Marcel near
Paris, and that the Countess might well have been associated with them intimately during one of her
stays in France possibly had passed a noviciate in their house. See below, p. 426.
4 Pemb. Coll. Deeds, Coll. A. 12.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 421
for two external rectors of the college, one of whom is to be a Franciscan ; the
foundress instructs her fellows to act as confessors to the nuns of Denny ; and
in a final appeal taiiqitain vale nltiniuni ct vale ineitni finalem she exhorts
and binds the members of her college in fide inramenti always to assist and help
in all matters the nuns of her abbey, and to be good omnibus Claustralibiis et
precipne Fratribus Minoribits.
DENNY ABBEY.
We may here pass appropriately to note a few special facts with regard to
Denny. The Countess had made up her mind in 1336, on her return from
France, to alienate this manor (which she had acquired in 1327 as part of the com-
pensation for her lost castles) 1 to the Nuns Minoresses of Waterbeach, a house
founded by her husband's kinswoman, Dionysia de Munchensy, in 1293;* and had
obtained a licence to do so : 3 she apparently did not act in the matter till 1339,
when she decided that it would be better to transfer the house to Denny, a
healthier situation, where also there was the site of a former house of religious :
she obtained licence to do this in 1339,* and again in 1341,' and her grant to the
abbey was confirmed in 1342. Between this date and 1348 she was busy pro-
viding further endowments for it, 7 and obtaining privileges for it from Avignon. 8
By the end of this time she had built a suitable house and church at Denny,
and having now acquired the patronage of Waterbeach was anxious to make
the union of the two houses complete. Here there was difficulty. Some nuns
had been temporarily left behind on the old site into which their foundress had
decided to put twelve friars, and these seem to have risen in revolt, supported
by brethren of the order, elected an abbess for themselves and several additional
sisters, and declined to be moved. The Countess took vigorous action, appealing
to both king and pope, and by 1350 had triumphantly vindicated her authority,
though there is a suggestion that some of the recalcitrant sisters had to be
moved by force. The settlement of the dispute was marked by a papal ratifica-
tion in the following year, 10 and by her own final grant to the abbey in the same
year 11 of the advowson of Waterbeach, which she forbade the nuns ever to
alienate, binding them at the same time to find a chaplain to pray there for the
1 Cat. Pat., 37. 2 Dugdale, Monasiicott, vi, 1554.
:1 Cal. Pat., 248. 4 Cat. Pat., 242: cp. App. Ill, 10.
8 Cal. Pat., 289. ' Cal. Pat., 381.
7 Cal. Pat. (1342), 417, 436; Cal. Close (1342), 540; Cal. Pat. (1346), 119; Cal. Close (1346), 89;
Cal. Pat. (1347), 369 (cp. App. Ill, 11); Cal. Pat. (1348), 201.
8 French Rolls, 1346 (Carte, Catalogue, ii, 37); Cal. Papal Letters (1348), 266, 285.
9 Cal. Papal Letters (1349), 160; Cal. Close (1350), 237.
10 Cal. Papal Petitions, 209; Papal Letters, 433. u Cat. Pat., 72.
422 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
soul of the original foundress, Dionysia de Munchensy. She continued to pro-
vide further endowment for her abbey at intervals till the end of her life, 1 fre-
quently stayed there, and thought continually of its welfare, as may appear from
her statutes and from her will. In this last she commends it particularly to the
good offices of the king, who had at least on one occasion made a donation - to
it, and to whom she had assigned the advowson of it in I362. 3 It is to be noted
that the king's son Lionel obtained nuns from Denny in order to found Bruis-
yard in I364. 4 Very little of the remains of the Denny buildings which are now
above ground belong to the foundress's period. According to William Cole, the
materials procured by its demolition were used for Lord Justice Coke's house
at Milton ; and the Cambridge antiquary liked to believe that a piece of black
stone in his possession, which came from this house, was a portion of the
foundress's tomb. 5
PEMBROKE COLLEGE.
We turn to the Countess's most important foundation Pembroke College,
or to give it its original title, the Hall of Valence Marie ; the idea of which ap-
parently occurred to the Countess about 1346 partly perhaps as a result of
her friendship with the Countess of Clare (of which more later), partly because
the progressive university movement of the time was very much in the hands of
the Friars. It is not the purpose of this paper to trace in detail the acquisition
of lands which she enabled her foundation to make. Most of the deeds which form
the title to them remain safely housed in the College Treasury, and Dr. Ainslie
in his manuscript has given a careful account of this portion of the college
history. It must suffice to say that the Countess acquired the first messuage of
the college site in September 1346, and during the next few months 7 obtained
property in Tilney and Burwell which she probably intended to devote to this
purpose. She had licence to found on Christmas Eve, 1347," and her charter to
the college is dated June 9, 1348. Between this date and 1352 various further
1 See Cal. Pat. (1365), 48; (1366), 221 ; (1373), 246.
2 Rec. Off., T. R. Misc. Bks., 204, f. 169. 3 Cal. Close, 404.
4 Cal. Papal Petitions, 488. It is perhaps worth noting that in 1350 we find the Countess Elizabeth
entertaining both Lionel and the Countess of Pembroke at the same time (Exch. Ace., 93/4).
5 B.M., Add. M 55.5820, 5837.
c Pemb. Coll. Deeds, College, B. i to 5: it was made over to the college in June 1348 (College,
B. 6 and 7).
7 December 1346 to April 1347 : see Pemb. Coll. Deeds, Tilney and Burwell sections : cp. Cal. Pal.
61, 65.
8 Cal. Pat., 444. The original patent is among the College Deeds (College, A. i) : the original
Privy Seal for this (Rec. Off., Chancery Warrants, I, 326/19088) states that it encloses the Countess's
petition, but this has unfortunately disappeared.
9 Pemb. Coll. Deeds, College, B. 7.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 423
grants were made, 1 and in particular the college obtained the second messuage
of its site University Hostel. 2 Immediately after her return from France in
1357 the Countess again took up the business of the college, and so, as in the
case of Denny, continued till her death, by which time it was endowed with its
possessions in Burwell, Repton, Saxthorpe, Tilney, and Wissenden. She had
obtained for it in 1366, after considerable trouble, what was at the time a re-
markable privilege that of having a chapel: 1 she had previously intended only
to provide it with an appropriated church. 4 She bestowed upon it the third
section of the college the Orchard messuage so late as 1372,' and the last
privilege obtained for it from the Pope bears date two years later.
Certain further points of college history which concern the Countess inti-
mately remain to be considered. The college muniments not only witness the
care with which she provided it with lands, but give evidence also of the authority
she maintained over it ; for in a careful though incomplete contemporary list of
muniments it is mentioned that one or two were retained for a considerable
time en la garde madame : it appears also that some of the college authorities
must have gone on occasion to confer with her in London. Confirming this is
a remarkable passage in her draft statutes by which quia cuins est condere eius
est eciam interpretari she reserves to herself during the whole of her life the right
of ejecting any fellow. These facts should be placed, I think, side by side with
her firm treatment of the recalcitrant nuns of Waterbeach. These statutes are
perhaps the most important matter to be mentioned in the present connexion ;
for it is still uncertain under what statutes the college was ruled during the first
years of its life. The college possesses two copies, both of which have generally
)een held to be contemporary. One, in book form," with seals of the college and,
iccording to Ainslie, the university (only a fragment now remains of this seal),
:ertainly is not contemporary it speaks of the foundress as illustris memorie,
md there are other indications: it and a copy preserved in the University
Registry 7 are copies from the same original, and formed the accepted version
mtil the time of Edward VI. The second college document 8 is a large, rough,
unfinished indenture, a careless draft or more probably copy, but undoubtedly
1 See the College Deeds, Saxthorpe, Tilney, Wissenden, and Waresley sections.
z Pemb. Coll. Deeds, College, C. 4 and 5.
3 Cal. Papal Petitions, 533 ; Papal Letters, 58. A similar privilege had been secured by bull in
1355 (College, A. 3), but this does not seem to have been registered. The grant was confirmed by the
Bishop of Ely in 1365 and 1366.
4 cp. Cal. Papal Petitions, 155; Papal Letters (1349), 306.
6 Pemb. Coll. Deeds, College, D. 5 and 6: she had obtained the messuage in 1363 (College, D. 4).
Ibid., A. ii. ' Vol.85, E-5-
8 Pemb. Coll. Deeds, College, A. 12. Ainslie points out that Roger d'Aubeny, who is mentioned
as dead, was living in 1359 ; while the chapel, which is mentioned, was licensed in 1366.
424 MARY DE SANCTO PAUL< >
contemporary with the foundress. Its date cannot he before, and is probably not
much after, 1366. Both begin with a statement that these are the statutes which
the foundress drew up and had confirmed by the Bishop of Ely in 1347, but the
officials of Ely assure me that no copy is in existence there. The disappearance
of all real originals is very remarkable. We must not linger over the terms of
these statutes, a matter which belongs more properly to the history of the college.
In their final form they follow the general lines of other Cambridge statutes
for instance those of 1339, preserved in the form of an indenture between the
Countess of Clare, her college, and the university and conform to the Merton
model. The rough earlier copy, however, has certain points of special interest
which disappear later the provisions of external rectors and of arrangements
for French scholars already referred to, and a third curious point in connexion
with the position of the dean, which have made Mr. Rashdall l suggest an affinity
to the Balliol statutes and, particularly, to the Paris as opposed to the Merton
model : it may be mentioned that the Countess is said to have founded a college
in Paris/ though I have been unable to find any evidence of the fact. For us
the most interesting points in the statutes are perhaps the minuteness of detail
with which college organization (that of servants and so forth) is regulated,
the precise arrangements for the admission and conduct of members and officers
of the college, and the very careful rules laid down for worship generally, and
in particular for the celebration of anniversaries of the foundress's husband,
mother and father, herself, and one or two others. The college was, of course,
founded in angmentnm cleri and the course of studies regulated accordingly.
The members of the college lived as appears from a note on two of the
deeds :i in University Hostel even before they acquired it from the university;
but the college buildings were undoubtedly begun during the foundress's lifetime:'
and some sections of these buildings have survived the destruction of the nine-
teenth century, though they are overlaid with modern work. The chapel was also
at least begun in her time. 4 The plate, jewels, and adornments with which the
Countess enriched her foundation have already been referred to, but deserve a
word more here. They may take us on to a general consideration of the
Countess's personal possessions, and particularly those material evidences of her
which have survived.
1 The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, ii, 564-6. The author wrongly assigns the date
1347 to College A. 12.
3 Ainslie, quoting Wood and Leland : I have not been able to verify this.
:i Pemb. Coll. Deeds, College, C. 2 and 3.
4 Willis, Architectural History of the University of Cambridge (ed. Clark), i, 132. B Ibid., 135.
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FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 425
PERSONAL POSSESSIONS.
In this connexion it is natural to mention the well-known tomb of her
husband ; but we have nothing to add here to the stock of information on this
subject except the fact (which has apparently escaped notice) that the Countess
appealed to the king for directions as to the burial and that the interment at
Westminster was in consequence of a direct order by the Council. 1
One of the most obvious classes of the Countess's possessions to survive
would be her deeds ; hers must have been a marvellous muniment chest, and
there is evidence that she kept it very carefully we have seen one sign of this
already, and may note in addition the direction in her will for the return of all
letters from religious chaptersto their writers and her careful provision concerning
the title-deeds of Denny Manor. 2 Unfortunately nothing, so far as is known, has
survived of this collection save half a dozen court rolls, as many ministers' accounts
(these have been already dealt with), and a few stray deeds 3 and memoranda.
Of these last two are worth mentioning, one a document relating, curiously,
to the accounts of the Count of St. Pol her father which has somehow been
preserved at Pembroke College, the other a set of fragments 4 which have been
preserved along with her Inquisitions post mortem : two of these are memoranda
which were apparently designed for use in the formalities necessary after her
death, one a fragment of a household account relating apparently to the early
days of her widowhood, for it speaks of black furs purchased in London ' for the
funeral of my lord '. One small section of the Denny deeds has survived a
cartulary and court rolls which are spoken of by Cole 5 cannot now be traced-
and there is, of course, the fine Pembroke College collection, which contains some
admirable seals. We have illustrated here some of the seals most closely con-
nected with the Countess (pi. XXXI).
Turning to other personal possessions we may recall that all those of her
husband passed from her possession ; there is evidence, however, that during
her life she accumulated a considerable amount herself. First there are her
books of devotions one had come from the Queen of Scotland, one from the
Sisters of St. Marcel, one ' the Queen gave me '. I suggest that this last is the
1 App. Ill, i : quoted also by Hubert Hall, Formula Book of Diplomatic Documents, 100.
2 App. Ill, 10.
3 e.g. a Westmill deed in Rec. Off., Ancient Deeds, C. 6034.
1 The fact of the filing of these documents along with the Inquisitions/os/ mortem should not be
neglected in connexion with an administrative point of some importance the intrusion of the family
solicitor (to use an anachronism) into these, nominally, public transactions.
5 B. M., Add. MSS. 5820, f. 125 b.
* The short account of these in Hist. MSS. Comm. Report, i, App. p. 69, is only a collection of facts
taken from Ainslie's Catalogue.
VOL. LXVI. o H
426 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
beautiful Franciscan breviary preserved in the Cambridge University Library ;
and since M. Meyer has commented ' on similarities between this and certain
books written for the French King Charles, I would conjecture that it was a
special gift from the Queen of France ; two pages 2 which display her portrait and
her arms respectively make it clear that it was written expressly for the Countess.
Next we note that the Countess possessed a great deal of plate she speaks
of ' one of my gold cups ', and from the earliest Pembroke inventories 3 it seems
clear that the college had of her gift at least nine silver pieces ; one of them
being the foundress's cup, which is not, 4 unfortunately, the piece preserved now
under that name. From the same source, coupled with the will and the West-
minster inventories already quoted, we may infer that she made a great collection
of costly and magnificent church hangings, cushions,and so forth; I feel convinced
that besides those items which were embroidered with her arms some other
pieces from the magnificent collection which the college possessed in the late
fifteenth century such, perhaps, as the complete set of altar clothing and
vestments of sanguine velvet with peacocks must have come from her. Cer-
tainly she collected relics and images ; we have mention, among others, of a gold
St. Andrew and a gold St. Peter in her chapel, presumably in London ; a silver
gilt St. John with a relic (the saint's finger), a silver gilt St. Paul, a gold St.
Vincent (again with a relic), 6 and so forth. There was also a fragment of the
true cross set in gold, with pearls and stones, standing on a little foot of silver,
and she had preserved from her husband's collection a cross of gold and emeralds
which William de Valence brought from the Holy Land.
Finally, among personal remains of the Countess we have to reckon her
will and statutes, which I should like to emphasize here, although the first at
least is not an original, as speaking, to my mind, her authentic spirit : there is also
a certain number of original letters and petitions from her, all addressed to the
king and mostly connected with the business which we see reflected in the Patent
and Close Rolls ; the most important of these is the petition, already mentioned,
which was written in the early days of her widowhood, and in which she asks
advice concerning the place and time of the Earl's burial and the manner of
bringing his body by road, because it does not seem to her that this should be
done without the king's order a qui ilfust si procheyn etvotis adservisicum vons
savetz. But of original letters of the Countess also there is a remarkable dearth.
1 Romania, xv, 350 : see also Cambridge University Library, Catalogue o/MSS., v, 585.
2 They are not figured here as the chief beauty of the original (the colour and gold) is lost in
reproduction.
3 Pembroke College, Registrum Magnum, vol. i.
4 See Jones, Old Plate of Cambridge Colleges: Ainslie disproved the identification in his Memoirs:
see also Archaeologia, \, 153.
5 This was given to St. Albans : see above, p. 418, note i. See App. Ill, note.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 427
Finally, in this connexion, I would mention the poem ' of the Countess's
scholar James Nicholas de Dacia, which he wrote in 1363. It is a most remark-
able comment upon the laboriousness of the medieval clerk and upon the extent
of his scholarship, and has a certain interest as being probably the earliest
existing literary work by a member of the University of Cambridge ; I identify
the writer with James Nicholai for whom the Countess asked a benefice a few
years later 2 and the Master James de Denmark for whom she obtained licence 3
to study at Cambridge in 1373.
PERSONAL RELATIONS: FRIENDS AND DEPENDENTS.
This brings me to my final point an attempt to gather together various
indications, scattered over the matters previously discussed, which may give us
some idea of the personal relations of the Countess with other people.
Concerning her husband it would perhaps not be wise to attempt any
conclusive inference : this, however, we may note that the Countess never for-
got to associate him with all her religious works ; she never omits him ; on the
college seal he figures by her side, as he is remembered with her in the college
prayers ; and even in her will, fifty-three years after his death.
Turning to the Court, we have little further to add : we have seen already
the gap which occurs, so far as the Countess is concerned, in the records which
should give us information of her connexion with it : she appears as a Lady of
Queen Philippa on one solitary occasion 4 in 1328 that is to say, when the queen
had but newly come from abroad : I can find no subsequent evidence of the
Countess being at Court. Similarly she once entertained the little Princess
Joan for a time with her foreign governess, Isabel de la Mote ; 5 but again there
is no sequel. And similarly she was apparently instructed, in 1334, to meet the
destined bride of the king's brother on her arrival in England ; but once more
no particular result is traceable. And again we have seen that there are no
grounds for associating her permanently with Queen Isabel. To that gap in the
records we may add now another notable omission Froissart, who spent so long
a time in England, and mentions so many English ladies, who twice at least had
protectors that were her near relations (the Earl of Pembroke and Guy de Chatillon,
1 App. IV. 2 Cal. Papal Petitions, 533. a Cal. Pat., 338.
4 At the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist she is one of the ladies of the queen's
chamber who have liberaciones from the king (Exch. Ace., 383/10).
" Cal. Pat. (1338), 53 ; and other references quoted above, p. 418, note 8 : cp. Cal. Close (1337), 94 ;
and Exch. Ace., 389/9. This princess was afterwards sent abroad to marry the King of Spain's son
(Pedro the Cruel), but died on the way.
App. III, 9 .
3 H2
428 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
Count of Blois), who has something to say of so many of her family Froissart has
no mention of her. All this is not to say that she had no relations with the kino- ;
it is abundantly clear that she obtained everything she wanted, administratively
speaking; ' upon him she says, in her will, she puts her trust for all earthly things :
nor are there lacking indications that upon one occasion the king passing by
visited her in Hertfordshire, that he sent her wine from time to time in their later
years, and so forth. 2 But I think the position must be taken that the Countess
was, and knew she was, great lady enough to keep up relations even with a
king without frequenting his Court. We have suggested two powerful reasons,
religious and political, why she should wish to do so.
When we search for evidence of her connexions with her relatives we are
equally at a loss ; from all the mass of references of all kinds to the Countess
we can extract after the Earl of Richmond's death early in her life only
two series of references which seem to indicate any connexion other than a busi-
ness one with her relatives ; 3 those are the references to the presence in her train
of Richard de Munchensy, who was with her for several years in the first part
of her life (going to France with her, for instance, in 1325 4 ), and those to Aymer
of Atholl, who was with her from as early as 1342 more or less to the end of her
life : these were both her husband's kinsmen.
She had one great friend, Elizabeth de Burgo, Countess of Clare. With
this lady, about ten years older than herself, 6 who became a widow for the third
time soon after the Countess of Pembroke was married, she is associated with
some regularity, stopping or dining with her a number of times between 1327
and 1350, and at about the time she founded her college going as far as to Usk 7
to stop with the foundress of Clare. We have here, of course, only one side of the
evidence : had the Countess of Pembroke's Accounts survived we might have
known more of this friendship. 8 They seem to have exchanged gifts from time to
time,' and the Countess Elizabeth bequeathed a ring to our Countess in her will. 10
1 For instance, in connexion with her numerous transactions in land : cp. the various occasions
when Commissions issued upon her complaint of broken parks and so forth : also the action of the king
in the case of the nuns of Waterbeach. 2 Exch. Ace., 396/2, m. 67.
' There are continual references to readjustment, in the matter of her dower, with her husband's
coheirs, Atholl, Talbot, and Hastings.
4 Cal. Pat., 200. We find him occasionally acting in the king's service : cp. the payments to him
on Issue Rolls 270 and 271.
6 See G. E. C., Complete Peerage (ed. Gibbs).
6 Exch. Ace., 91/16 and 25 : ibid., 93/4.
7 In September and October 1348 (Exch. Ace., 93/2).
8 We once (October 1327) find the Countess Elizabeth on her way to Anstey (Exch. Ace., 91/16).
9 There are a number of examples of this ; e.g. robes for Christmas (Exch. Ace., 91/24). Various
mentions of gifts and of messengers sent to Fotheringay occur in Exch. Ace., 92/7, 9, and 27, and 94/1.
10 Nicolas, Testamcnta Vetusta, 59.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 429
When we turn to the side of the Countess's servants, the knights and others
of her suite, her dependents, the clerks for whom she obtained benefices or nomi-
nations, a very different state of things is seen : here long lists of names asso-
ciated with the Countess may easily be compiled, many of them being persons
who occur over and over again Mabel du Bois, who was in her service forty
years; 1 Maud Perrot, 2 for whom she secured a monastic pension; John de St. Pol,
who was her attorney in 1331 3 and for a number of years after ; John d'Engayne,
whose association with her covers at least the years 1342 to 1357;* Roger de
Dersingham, who is in turn witness, attorney, co-trustee and judge in an action
based upon a complaint made by herself; * and many others. It may be said, of
course, that it is this class whose names survive to us because our evidence must
be based mainly on the kind of document in which persons of her suite would
naturally figure most as witnesses, attorneys, and so forth. But surely some of
her charters were of sufficient importance for her to have secured the witness,
had she wished it, of her more eminent friends : surely too we might expect, in
all the mass of documents that concern her, some references to other classes of
those with whom she associated ; and what of her will, with not a mention of
any one of her own station ? When in addition we discover that the executors
of her will all appear to be drawn from the classes we have just mentioned save
that there is joined to them one who was merely a servant of her chamber;
then I think we are entitled to remember that Elizabeth de Burgo, the one
friend of her own station whom we have discovered, was the foundress of a
college at Cambridge, was one of the chief benefactors of the Friars Minors,
and was buried in the church of the Sisters Minoresses.
Side by side with this we may place such evidences as the length of time her
Jrvants and dependents remained with her; the extraordinary privilege ex-
tended to three of them of sharing with herself and her nearest relations (as no
)ther did) a place in the prayers of her college, as ordered in the statutes ; and
the curious name applied in her will to her servant William de la Chambre
non bien ame Willecok. We may conclude, in fact, that the Countess was
1 She is thus spoken of in the College Statutes : she was with the Countess in 1324 (Cal. Pat., 57)
2 She presumably belonged to the family of this name to whom reference is found in connexion
/ith the Palatinate of Pembroke, and many of whose muniments are scattered amongst the Public
Records (cp., for example, Ancient Deeds, D. 2329, the copy of a fine levied in the Palatinate Court in
1297). In 1344 she was granted maintenance in Bergavenny Priory as an act of favour to the Countess.
* Cal. Pat., 106: there are numerous other references to him. See above, p. 416.
4 He witnessed her charter to Denny, dated June 15, 1342 (Cal. Close, 540), and is appointed her
attorney in 1356 (Cal. Pat., 461).
R He appears continually as witness and attorney ; acted with her in the transfer to Denny of the
manor of Eyhall in 1356 ; and was a Commissioner of oyer and terminer upon her complaint in 1349.
Mabel du Bois and two members of the college who died while on a mission to the Court of Rome.
430 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
thorough in her two preoccupations her religious life, and the business which
was more or less connected with it to the point of confining her friendship or
at least the privilege of intimate association with herself and her work to those
who helped her to these two ends.
CONCLUSION.
Summarizing the Countess's life, after the death of her husband, we find it
divided into five well-marked periods. First (from 1324 to 1330), we have her
settling down into her life, disposing of various difficulties in connexion with
her husband's will and her own dower and property. Then (1331 to 1334) she is
in France. Next, remaining in England (1334 to 1352) she founds and sees well
established her two great charities this period would be in her own life from
something like her thirty-third to her forty-eighth year. From 1352 to 1357 she
is in France again. From 1358 to 1377 she is growing old, adding final touches
to Denny and Pembroke and devoting herself to the more meditative side of
her religious life.
It has been the aim of the present paper to bring together all possible
evidence bearing upon the Countess's own life, her occupations, her connexion
with the history of her two countries during the period, and (so far as it may safely
be done) her character. She died at Denny, probably on March 16 or 17, in the
year 1377.'
1 De morte comitisse Penbrokie ct actibus eius pits:
Septimo decimo die Aprilis obiit domina Maria de Sancto Paulo, comitissa Penbrochie, exempli
singularis femina. Nam adhuc vivens ita ad honorem Dei et ad decorem domus eius, ita in necessita-
tibus pauperum expendit bona sua ut ipsis ducibus exempla bonorum operum premonstraret. Moriens
vero omnem substanciam suam vel servientibus qui ei famulati sunt vel diversis ecclesiis sive pauperibus
erogavit . . . Dedit et alias [imagines] quam plures aliis monasteriis ubi oracionum beneficium obti-
nuerat que singule singulorum martyrum sive confessorum reliquias continebant (Chronicon Anglie,
Rolls ed., p. 137).
The Inquisitions give three different dates of death.
APPENDIX I
ITINERARY.
THE above is a somewhat ambitious title as unfortunately very few indications have
survived : however, it may be convenient to group such as have been found. The references
are mainly to Pembroke College Documents, which are arranged under properties (Tilney, &c.).
Mention has been made already of the Countess's visits to France (above, p. 409).
(Funeral of the Earl.)
(App. Ill, 2.)
(ffia.)
(Cat. Close, 505.)
(App. III )4 .)
(Cal. Close, 109.)
(Ibid.)
(Cal. Close, 582.)
Cal. Close, 581.)
App. Ill, 7.)
Exch. Ace., 91/25.)
Cal. Close, 104.)
Rymer, under date 5th Jan. 1335.)
Exch. Ace., 92/9.)
Ibid.)
Cal. Pat., 381.)
Cal. Close, 540.)
Ibid.)
(Tilney, B. i.)
(College, B. i.)
(Tilney, D. 4.)
(Burwell, A. 17.)
App. Ill, 12.)
(College, B. 7 and 9.)
(Saxthorpe, A. i.)
(Exch. Ace., 93/4.)
(Ibid.)
Waresley, A. 6.)
Exch. Ace., 93/4.)
College, C. 5.)
Tilney, B. 7.)
(App. Ill, 13.)
College, C. 7.)
Arcliacologia, xxxv.)
Ibid.)
(Ibid.)
(Ibid:)
(Ibid)
1324-
July 31.
London
Oct. 3.
Grinstead
8.
Blechingley
1325-
Aug. 20.
London
1326.
July 17.
Higham Ferrers
1327.
March 13.
London
29.
Westminster
1329.
Oct. 1 8.
London
Nov. 1 1.
Northampton
Dec. 1 6.
Denny
1331.
Jan. 10 and 1 1.
Clare
1333-
Jan. i.
Paris
Nov. 1 8.
do.
1338.
July.
Fotheringay
Oct.
do.
1342.
Jan. 25.
Denny
May 3.
do.
June 15.
Westminster
1345-
Oct. 20.
London
1346.
Sept. n.
La Mote
Dec. 10.
Denny
1347-
March 29.
do.
April 6.
Hertford
1348.
June 6.
La Mote
1349-
April 20.
Denny
Sept. 20-23.
Usk '
Oct. 22-24.
do.
Dec. 31.
Anstey
1350.
Sept. 25 and 26.
Clare
1351-
Dec. 12.
Cambridge
1352.
Nov. 10.
London
1353.
Jan. 8.
Wongham
1357-
Oct. 8.
Denny
Dec. 15.
Hertford
1358.
Jan. 10 and n.
do.
March 21.
do.
April 12.
do.
17-
London
432
MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
1358. April 1 8. London
20. do.
May 1-3. do.
5- do -
7-10. do.
1 2. do.
15 and 1 6. do.
24. Hertford
June 2. do.
Aug. 19. do.
1369. Aug. 8. La Mote
1370. March 1 6. do.
1372. April 17. do.
1377. Feb. 20. Braxtead
March 13. do.
(Ibid.}
(Ibid:)
(Ibid.}
(Ibid.
(Ibid.
(Ibid:
(Tilney, B. 9 to 1 1 .)
(Archaeologia, xxxv.)
(Ibid.}
(Ibid:)
(Burwell, A. 23.)
(Tilney, D. 5 and 6.)
(College, D. 5 and 6.)
(Will.)
(Codicil.)
APPENDIX II
TESTAMENTUM 1 MARIE DE SEINTPOL COMITISSE DE PEMBROC.
IN nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti Amen. le Marie de Seintpol Contesse de
Pembroc dame de Weiseford et de Montignac fay sauoir a touz que en mon bon sens et en ma
bonne memoire fais et ordene mon testament deuis et ma derraine volunte en la manere qui
sensuit Premierement ie donne et recomande lame de moi a mon createur notre seigneur
ifiu Crist a la douce vierge Marie sa douce Mere et a toute la Court du ciel ; Et esliz sepulture
a mon corps en leglise des Suers mennes de Deneye dedens leur cuer la ou ma tombe est faite,
Et est ma volunte et mon deuis que mon corps soit vestuz et enterrez en habit come une suer
du dit ordre ; Et la manere de mon enterement ie vueil quil en soit par la volunte et ordenance
de mon confessour et de trois ou de deux de mes executours sanz faire coustages outrageux
par cause de mon dit enterement ; Et vueil et ordene que les debtes de mon trescher monsieur
Aymar de Valence nagaires Conte de Pembroc qui dieu face vraie merci dont ie sui execu-
teresse si auant come elles purrount estre trouez et monstrees qui sont deues on Roialme
Dengleterre ou par nul deuis de ses ancestres soient paiez et acquites et les moies debtes
aussi de quoi ie purroie estre tenue en dit Roialme soient paies par 2 auant 2 et mes tors fais
renduz les queux purroient estre monstrez et prouez souffisamment deuant mes executours ou
aucuns de eux par persones creables et dignes de foi Item ie deuise et ordene que labbesse
et suers de Deneye aient en aide de lurs bosoignes Cent liures ; Item ie deuise a la dite Abbesse
Cine marz et a chescune des suers diz soulds et a chescun de freres la demy marc Item ie deuise
a la maison de Brusierd pour louurage de lour eglise et des maisons dedens lour enclos Cent
marz. Et a suer Emme de Biauchamp Abbesse illeoques quarante soulds et mon breuiaire
que iapportai depardela qui fut as suers de Seint Marcel et mon journal en quoi ie dy mes
1 The text is taken from the Roll of the Hustings Court, where it was proved by the executors, William
de Bergh' and William de la Chambre, on Monday next after the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, 51 Edw.
Ill (Guildhall, Hustings Roll, 105).
Bokyngham, 150 (at Lincoln).
2 Inserted above line.
The other copies are in the Registers, Sudbury, 96 (at Lambeth) and
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 433
heures ; Item parce que iai done a labbesse et covent de Deneye par une lettre seelle de mon
seal ascuns ioiaux et reliques et autres choses ie vueil que la livree leur en soit faite. Item ie
cleuise a mon confessour vint marz et mon petit brcuiaire que ma la Royne me dona et a son
compaignon cine marz. Item ie deuise a labbesse et aux suers Mennes de Londres vint marz
Item ie deuise et vueil qil soit bailie au Priour prouincial des freres de Carme et a deux autres
Priours de lordre Cent marz a departir et distribuer aux Couuens de toutes les maisons de la
prouince Dengleterre et aux plus poures- freres de la dite prouince a chanter et prier
pur les ames de mon dit seigneur et de moi et de touz ceux a qui lui et moi sommes
tenuz. Item ie deuise au Priour provincial de Augustins et a deux autres Priours de
mesme lordre Cent marz pour faire en mesme la maniere. Item ie deuise a la maison
des freres de chartreux de Henton' treze marz. Item a trois autres maisons des ditz chartreux
Dengleterre a chescune maison dix marz ; Item ie deuise a labbe et Covent de Westm' pour
achater rentes davoir un moigne perpetuelement chantant chescun jour en la chapelle pres de
la sepulture de mon dit trescher seigneur Monsieur Aymar de Valence que Dieuxabsoille pour
chanter pour mon dit seigneur, et tenir les anniuersaires de lui et de moi trois centz marz ; Item
ie deuise a la dite ' abbeye de Westm' pur seruir perpetuelement a leglise vn croix qui a Ie pie
dor et a pierres emeraudes laquelle messire William de Valence apporta de la terre seinte et deux
ymages qui sont en ma chapelle lun de seint Pierre et lautre de Seint Andrieu et vn calice dor
et deux tapis des armes mon dit seigneur Item ie cleuise a les escolers de ma sale de Cantebrig'
en aide de lur bosoignes cent marz. Et prie tresdecuer et charge mes executours quil soient
aidans et conseillans a mes ditz escolers quil puissent avoir possession des eglises et autres
choses que je lur ay done pour meyntenir Ie nombre et lordenance de lur viure qui est par moi
ordeine en lur estatut. Et par ce que iai done a mes ditz escolers par cedule sellee de mon
seal ascunes adornemens reliques ioiaux et autres choses, je vueil quils en aient deliurance.
Item en descharge de mon tresredoubte seigneur Ie Roi qui ad fonde et commencie vne
abbeye de notre dame de Graces de lordre de Cisteaux pres de la tour de Londres et par sa
bonte tout son temps ma este gracieux seigneur en qui sur totes choses terriennes je maffi et
masseure principalement et humblement requerant a lui que de sa bonte et grace lui plese des
oremais prendre mes bosoignes a cuer et que mes executours puissent auoir recours a lui
comme a mon tresgracioux seigneur et sauuerain secours et aide a parfournir ceste ma darrein
volunte ie devise a parfaire louurage de lour eglise Cent mars. Item ie deuise que mon
dit seigneur Ie Roi ait un anel de fines pierres qui est merchiez dune bille en remem-
brance de moi. Si lui prie et requer en euure de charite quil lui plese de sa grant bonte
maintenir et aider sa poure maison de Deneye et destre gracioux a mes executours quil
puissent parfournir cest mien testament. Item ie deuise a tresreverent pere en Dieu sire
Simon arceuesque de Canterbiere la vraie croix qui est en or ou il y a perles et pierres et est
sur un petit pie dargent Item a leglise de Seint Pol de londres est ma volunte quil aient
a demontrer en la dite eglise vn de mes calices dor sil ne laient en pardeuant et vn ymage de
Seint Pol dargent dore. Item ie deuise et ordene que mes executours par Ie conseil de mon
confessour facent a touz mes seruanz de mon hostel solonc Ie terme et Ie bon service quil
mauront fait et solonc ce quil auront eu de moi plus ou mains ou seront assignez de lur viure
paier et doner leur guerdon sanz delay bien et suffisamment Et pur abriger cest mien testa-
ment je vuel et ordene que toutes les cedules qui serront trouez en mes coffres seeles de mon
seal qui deuiseront acunes choses donees et ottroiez de moi ie vueil que les ditz choses soient
deliuerez et enuoiez aux gentz et lieux ou ie les aurai deuisees ; Item ie deuise que mes biens et
chatelx qui seront trouez par tout sur mes Manoirs au iour de mon trespas soient departis en
chatelx ou en argent aux poures tenans de mes villes et aux poures des villes plus procheins
entour aux pucelles aux prisoneres et aux vesues et aux orphelins qui en auront mestier et aux
1 Inserted above line.
VOL. i.xvi. I
434 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
poures religieux solonc le bon auis et conseil de mes executours mon deuis pardevant par-
fourni. Item ie deuise a mon tresredoubte seigneur le Roi de ffrance une espee que iai qui est
sanz pointe et que mon bien ame Willecok de ma chambre la lui porte ou autre qui lui sache
dire de quele maniere elle est Item a ma tresredoubtee dame de ' ffrance 1 la 2 Royne - vn ymage
dargent dore de Seint Joh'n et la relique qui est le doi Seint Joh'n et mes heures ou je di mes
choses les quelles furent a la Royne descosce ; Item ie deuise a freres precheurs de la prouince
Dengleterre a departir par les couens cent marz ; Item ie deuise a freres Meneurs de mesme la
prouince a departir en mesme la maniere. Cent marz. Item ie deuise aux freres Meneurs de
Londres au grant autel vn calice dor et lymage de Seint loys de France avec la relique ; Item
ie deuise a lospital de Melton' pres de Grauesend' dix mars Et a hospital de Biggyng' en Anesty
dix marz Item ie deuise a mon Neueu Mons' Aymar Dassell' quarante marz. Item ie deuise au
Priour de latton' pour louvrage de leglise et en aide de purchacer ascunes terres ou rentes
pur mesme leglise Cent marz. Item ie deuise et vueil que en totes les maisons de Religion
abbaies ou priorez dommes ou de femmes en Engleterre ou je fui receue en lur fraternitez mes
executours envoient et facent sauoir le iour de mon trespas et en checune des maisons facent
bailler vn de mes reliques ymages ou vestemenz de ce qui serra de remanant du deuis q iai
fait par dessus ou autre chose qui leur tiegne lieu en plus grant remembrance de mon ame et
leur enuoient les lettres qui purrontestre trouezque iai de lurs chapistres. Item ie deuise que
touz mes liz robes draps de lynge et de layne qui appartiennent a ma chambre et a ma garde-
robe accomply mon deuis desus dit soient donez et departy a ceux de ma chambre et de ma
garderobe hommes et femmes a checun solonc son estat vne partie et vne partie aux poures
maisons Dieu solonc lordenance et la discrecion de mes executours par le conseil de mon
confessour. Item ie vueil et deuise que touz mes escrins soient ouers a la veue de mon confessour
et de deux ou trois de mes executours et que checun de mes executours ait dix marz Et ie
vueil que mon confessour soit a mettre cest mien testament a execucion' et lui prie que vueille
conseiller et aider a mes executours aussi auant que ce ie le nominasse mon executour Item ie
deuise et ordene que le residu de touz mes biens soit par lauis et lordenance de mon con-
fessour et de mes executours distribuez et emploiez pur le salu de mame et de touz ceux
a queux ie sui tenuc. Et pur cest mien testament et darreine volunte executer et accomplir
ie fais et ordene mes executours monsieur Johan Knyuet. Sire Arnalde de Pynkeney Sire
Johan Shaftebery Maistre Johan Timmie Sire Richard Titeshall' Sire William de Bergh'
William Wynter et William de la Chambre. Item ie done et deuise a mesmes ceux
mes executours mon hostel oveque toutes les appurtenancez en la paroche de Seint
Martyn pres de ludgate en la garde Nicholas de Farindon' de londres a auoir et tenir
par deux ans apres mon trepassement pur lour aisement si que de lors il soi venduz par
mes ditz executours a parfournir mon deuis et darreine volunte desus ditz. En tesmoigne de
quele chose a cest mon present testament et darreine volunte iai fait mettre mon seal a mon
manoir de Braxstede en la Contie dessex le vintisme iour de Feurier Ian de lincarnacion notre
seigneur Mil trois Cens septante siz Et Ian du regne mon seigneur le Roi Edward tiers puis le
conqueste Cinquante vn
Marie de Seint Pol Contesse de Pembroc Dame de Weysford et de Montignac as touz ceux
qi cestes mes lettres verront ou orront saluz Come ie eye otroyes et deuise outre ce quest
contenuz en mon testament a frere William Morin mon Confessour et Mestre en diuinite vint
marz Sire Arnald Pynkeney quarante liures Sire Johan de Shaftebery vint liures Marie de
Wynage quarante liures. Isabelle Roke vint Marz. Margrete Dere vint marz William de la
Chaumbre quarante liures Sire Johan de Grymstede Chanoigne par lordenance mon dit
Confessour et de mes executours Cynqua[w]te marz. William de Radeswell' vint marz Dru de
1 and 2 marked for transference in MS.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 435
Sakenell' vint marz lohan Bengeo et a Annore sa femme quarante marz. Robert Bukke diz
liures Adam Walkreth diz liures. Ibote de la Chaumbre vint marz Jonette de la Chambre
vint marz et a Johan Bernard de la Pestrine diz marz. leo voil enchargeant mes executours
qils les paient duement en manere desusdite par cestes mes lettres de ma darrein volunte
enseales de mon seal Done a mon Manoir de Braxstede le treszysme iour de Marz la[] de
la incarnacion notre seigneur Mil Trois Centz sessaunte et sesze
APPENDIX III
ORIGINAL LETTERS, ETC.
As already noted, very little has survived from the Countess's muniment chest. Her own
original charters l among the Pembroke College deeds seem to belong rather to the college
history, and are therefore not quoted here. Others of her charters exist in copies : such are the
Countess's releases to the king if. 1325 and 1327 (on the Close Rolls) ; her indenture and letter
in the Holand matter in 1329 (also on the Close Roll); her release to her uncle in 1333
(Patent Roll ; printed in full by Rymer) ; her release to the king in the same year (Close
Roll) ; her foundation charter to Denny (confirmed on Patent Roll ; printed in full in
Monastuon,\\, 1550) and another grant to Denny in 1342 (Close Roll). All these have been
referred to in the text and in Appendix I.
A few original letters and petitions * to the king and various others have survived and
form this Appendix, together with the fragments, already referred to, which are filed with the
Inquisitions. There is no evidence that we have in any of them the Countess's own hand-
writing.
(i) Tlte funeral of Aymer de Valence.
Chancery Warrants, I, 1329. No. 6925.
[23-3 Ju ne . X 3 2 4-]
A nostre Seingnur le Roy prie Marie nadgeres Compayne Mounsieur Aymar de Valence
Counte de Pembr' qil pleise a vostre haute Seingnurie de ordener et dire ceo qe vous plest qe
seit fet de sun enterrement cest asauer . ou quant' et en quele manere le cors deyt estre mene
par chemyn / Kar ne semble mie alui, ne a Cunseil qe ele eyt qe tele chose seit fete sauntz
assent et comaundement de vous a qui il fust si procheyn et vous ad serui si cum vous savetz.
Acorde est qe le corps sieit enter re a Westmoster.
IT Ensement sire prie la dite Marie brefs si vous plest a viscountes qui ount seisi les chateux
sun dit seingnur qe dieux assoile qe y suffrent alui et a soens a leuer des dits biens et chateus
ceo qe couent bosoignablement pur lenterrement et ausi pur sa sustenaunce pur le temps qe
ele deit viuere des communs biens // se tenent a paye de Mille mars qil unt receu de monsieur
fume le Despenser de aprest.
1 Used for purposes of dating in App. I.
* One of these (Rec. Off., Ancient Petitions, 7897) is fragmentary and has not been quoted. Seep. 415.
3 i 2
436 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
If Ensement sire vous prie la elite Marie qe come certeines terres et tenemens lui seient
assingnes en noun de dowere par vostre ordenaunce quil plese a vostre seingnurie comaumU-r
la deliueraunce des dites terres ensemblement one les issues
1 Ensement prie la dite Marie qe il plese a vostre haute seignurie Comaunder la deliue-
raunce de Hegham ferers, thorpwateruille et dautres terres et tenemens en les quex el ad
fraunc tenement parmi vostre doun, ensemblement o les issues receus en le men temps
// unt lit de transcritz de lur chartres au conseil, et le conseil se auisera.
[Note. This petition is endorsed on a writ of Secret Seal addressed to the Treasurer,
Chancellor [and Council] (No. 6924 in the same file) dated at Rotherfield the 3ist \sic\ day of
June, 17 Edward II.]
(2) Fragment of a Household Account?
Inquisitions post mortem, Edward III, 262, m. 46.
[? 1-14 October, 1324.]
Fet a remembrer cle siex mars resceu de ma dame a veille seint Michel de quele despendu
Luncli Done as ffreres Thomas dc Gise et Edmund de Gise .x. s. a humfrei .ii.d.
Done au garscon Sieur Peres a sun departir .vi. d. En oef .i. d.
Marsdy
Mescredy-- Bailletz a Sir' Peres .vii.d. pur achater pessoun a Grenested . les quex il
despendist . illokes.
loesdi A un carpenter qe redresca les postes de la grange . pur sun lower de quatre iors
.vi. d.
Vendredi En oefs . deus deners.
Samady En vin vi. d. En despens le garscon .i. d. pur querele . En offr' .i. d.
dymayne En vn spaude et vn brusket cle Muton .iii. d. ob. En Mustard .ii.d. En par-
chemin .iiii. d. En .i. potell de oille .v. d.
Memorandum . ffet a remembrer de .xxii. s. renduz a sire Peres de Seint lohan icest dymayne
cleuant nome de dette qe li fust du de aprest fet a ma dame . deuant. Le dist dymein
pae . a vn pelter de Londres parmy la mayne Sire Peres .xxii. s. pur furures noyres al
enterrement mun seingnur Le dist dymeyne rendu a lanni de Gise .iiii. s. et a Peres le
Deye .xii. d. ceaux cinck soutz furent enprountetz pur rendre a Symon de Thorp' cleuant
le Seint Michel.
Lundy. En une corde achate pur les louers de la sale .vii. d. En oefs .ii. d. En cires
done sur vn hache a blesch ingle .i. d.
Marsdy
Mescredy
loesdi En oefs .i. d. pur i. cent de or .vi. d. pur purtreture de quatres bourses .iiii. d.
Vendredi Done a lonette de Ailford .ii. s.
Samady. [Erasure] Et a mesme sire Peres, pur .i. cent de hareng et .ii. pessons dures
achatez a Lounclres .xi. d. En oefs .ii. d. En offrendre .iiii. d. En vyn .xii. d.
Dimeyn. Paetz a Roger de la Doune de dette mun Seynur .x. s. En oefs .ii. d.
' This fragment is of interest as being the only one of its kind preserved ; for its early date (if, as appears,
it belongs to the autumn of 1324, two months after the Earl's funeral) ; and for the place of its preserva-
tion. What the Countess was doing in Surrey and Sussex is not clear.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 437
(3) Trouble over the Earl's properly : Weslmill.
Inquisitions post mortem, Edward III, 262, m. 19. J
|>- 1325-]
A notre trescher seignur le Roi monstre Marie de Seint Pol Contesse de Pembr' qe
Ayniar de Valence nadgaires soun seignur ; del Manoir de Westmelne el Countee de Hertford'
seignur . purchacea de Richard Thomelyn son tenaunt illeoques ceo qil tint de lui ; en le
Manoir de Westmelne ensemblement oue la reuersioun des terres qe la mere le dit Richard
tient en douware dount elle se attourna au dit Aymar apres ceo le dit Aymar dona le dit
Manoir oue les appurtenancez a Richard de Wynneferthing' clerk' a eel entencioun qil refeffast
les ditz Aymar et Marie a eux et as hoirs issauntz de eux, Et si issue ne fuit entre eux
demorast le droit a Johan de Hastinges et a ses hoirs, le quel Richard auoit le atturnement de
la mere le dit Richard thomelyn. apres ceo le dit Richard Wynneferthing' graunta le dit
Manoir oue ses appurtenauncez a notre seignur le Roi piere au Roi qore est en manere qe la
voulente le dit Aymar fuit perfourne, A qui la mere le dit Richard thomelyn se attourna,
surceo le Roi le piere dona le dit Manoir a Marie de Saint Pol a terme de sa vie par sa chartre
et apres soun deces a Laurenz de Hasting[es en l]a quele chartre nefuitmye 2 mencion expresse
faite de le a douwair', la mere le dit Richard thomelyn ; Dedeinz queu temps le dit Richard
thomelin se abati :i en les tenementz qil auoit done au dit Aymar et en sa seisyne quiteclame et
les ditez tenementz ensemblement one la reuersion de la terre sa mere vendist a lohan de
Beltone a qui sa dite mere attourna le quel lohan apres la decees la dite Mere entra et unqor'
de 2 tient 2 le quel douwair' la dite Marie ne poet recouerer pour la omission faite en la chartre
nostreseignur le Roi auantdit' issint qe le droit appent au Roi qore est de quei la dite Marie
prie a nostreseignur le Roi qil voille comander qe la chose soit enquise par ses eschetours et si
le droit soit troue tiel come est susdit qe leschetour seise la dite terre appendant au dowair' et
retourne en chancellerie et qi 2 plaise au Roi de faire estat par sa chartre a la dite Marie et
a Laurenz de Hasting', issint qe la voulente le dit Aymar puisse estre perfourme
\Endorsed in contemporary hand.'] Tangencia W[estm]ilne
(4) The Earl's property : money due to him.
Ancient Correspondence, Vol. 36, No. 51.
- '- [? 1326.]
; A noble homme e sage son trescher e bien ame en Dieu Mestre Robert de Baldak'
Ercediakne de Midd' e Chaunceller notre seignur le Roi ; Marie de Seint Pol Comtesse de
Pembr' Dame de Weis' et de Montignak' 4 salutz / e cheres amistez en notre seignur / Cher
sire nous vous requerrons si de quer qe nous sauoms qe vous voillez sil vous plest resceuire
noz bien ame Clerk' Mestre lohan de Redeswelle / e sire lohan de Crosseby noz attourniez
a seure execucion deuant vous, pur nous come Executrice du Testament Monseignur qui dieux
assoille dune reconnissaunce quele le Priour del Hospital fist a mon seignur auant dit de cink
centz et cinquante liueres dont nous suoms ore (?) deuant vous de Leuer deux Centz e Cinquante
1 As to this and the following two documents (Nos. i and 14 in this Appendix) see note on the Inquisi-
tions, p. 425. This one, as appears by the writing, belongs to the early part of Edward Ill's reign. For
the date see Cat. Pat., 153.
1 Sic MS. a Written over erasure.
4 Later in life the Countess seems to have dropped entirely the Wexford and Montignac titles from her
address.
438 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
liueres [d]es termes (?) qe sont passez qar nous donoms a eux o a Lun de eux plein poair de les
dit deners Resceuire e aquitaunce fere auxuit as terres et chateux ala value des dit deners
solom fourme de statut resceuire a notre oeps / Et si vous volez Chose .......... cher sire
qe nous pussions fere, voillez le nous cher sire touz lours mander fiablement ; e nous le ferroms
mult volenters et de quer Notre seignur vous voille garder lalme e le corps Escript a Higham
le leudi auant la seinte Margarete
Depar Marie de seint Pol Contesse de Pembr' Dame de Weis" et de Montignak'
(5) Ttie Earl's property : the Castles.
Ancient Petitions, 14692 (file 294). 1
A notre seignur le Roi et a son conseil prie Marie qi feust la femme Aymar de Valence
nadgairs Counte de Pembrok' qe come ele ad puis la morte son seignur suy en Chauncellerie
et en parlement dauoir son dower des terres et tenementz en Monemue des queux son seignur
morust seisi et les queux il auoit de doun le Roi par sa Chartre en fee taille sicome poet estre
troue par roules de Chauncellerie et auxui par enqueste retourne par Leschetour par le diem
clausit extremum en meisme la place / et Maistre Robert de Baldok' adonques Chaunceller
tant feust qil vist qe lenqueste feust assez soeffisante . ne lui volut rendre son dower si ele ne
monstrast la chartre le Roi de la taille auantdite / que le Chartre ne a[ffer]oit mie a lui de
auoir qil vous plese comander en Chauncellerie qe vewe lenqueste auant dite et tenour de la
dite Chartre en roules de Chauncellerie si mester soit, son dower lui soit rendu des dites terres
selonc droit et reson.
Auxuit prie la dite Marie son dower de Hertford' et de Hauerford' queux son seignur
auantclit auoit a lui et a ses heirs du doun le Roi par sa Chartre, en allowance de Cink' Cent
marchees de terre, queux le Roi lui feust tenuz a doner pur son seruice sicome poet estre troue
par Roules de lauantdite Chauncellerie / et dont Hugh le Despenser ne fuit ne voleit soeffrir
qe leschetour apres la mort le dit Counte retournast nules enquestes en Chauncellerie pur ce
qil coueitast les ditz lieux et Maistre Robert de Baldok' ne voleit mie resceuire la dite dame
a demander son dower des dites villes si ele ne eust monstre la Chartre le Roi du dit doun
quele Chartre ne afferoit mie a lui de auoir.
[Endorsed'} Quant a la premere peticione, soit fait ce qest demande par meisme la
peticione.
Quant a la secunde soient quis roulles de Chauncellerie. Et si nulle enqueste soit
retorne soit fait bref denquere . et retorne lenqueste et vewes les roulles de Chauncellerie
illoeques soit fait droit.
(6) The Earl's Property : 7^lwrpc Watervill.
Ancient Petitions, 510 (file n).
A notre Seignour le Roy e a son conseil prie Marie de seint Pol Countesse de Pembr'
Come ele tient le Chastel de ThorpwateruilT oue les apartenaunces du don notre seignur le
Roy Edward piere notre seignur le Roy qore est par sa Chartre . dont la Reversion est a notre
1 For this petition see Close Roll of 1366 (Calendar, p. 275). With it are here filed copies from the
Patent and Charter Rolls.
2 Cp. Cal. Close, 582 : and next number in this Appendix.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 439
clit seignur le Roy/ e vn Robert de Holand' ad suy e sieut de lour en autre v.. de la querele
ou il estoit de tut ostee dauoir bref pur ses terres auoir en ostant la dite Marie du Chastel
susdit prie la dite Marie a notre clit seignur le Roy qe nul bref ne soit a lui graunte ne a mil
autre par quoi ele soit du dit Chastel oustee ; santz estre apele en Court par due proces solom
la ley e le custume del Roialme
[Endorsed"] ffiat
(7) The Same.
Ancient Correspondence, 38, No. 203.*
; Al honurable Piere en lesu crist . Sire Henri par la grace de dieu Euesque de Nichole ;
et Chaunceller Dengleterre ; Marie de seint Pol Countesse de Pembr'. Dame de Weys et de
Mountignak ; toutes honurs et reuerences. Cher sire il vous remembre bien Coment dame
Mahaud qe fuit la femme Monsieur Robert de Holaunde . et Monsieur William la Zouche de
Haringeworth' se obligerent a nous en Mille liures . dargent par reconnissaunce faite cleuaunt
vous en vostre place le vendredi veille de seint Martin darrein passe. Et la dite Mahaud et
Monsieur Rauf Basset seignur de Drayton' . en autres Mille . liures dargent . par reconnis-
saunce faite deuant vous ; en meisme le iour. Des queux deux 2 Mille liures. nous auoms resceu
par la meyn la dite Mahaud Mille . Marcs . dount lui auoms faite acquitaunce . en la quele
acquitaunce ; la manere de la soute des Mille . Marcs auantditz plus pleinement est comprise.
Les queux . Mille Marcs sire vous prioms ; qe vous voillez allouer . a les ditz . Mahaud
William, et Rauf. en partie de soute de deux Mille liures 'susescriptz ; solom le purport; de la
dite acquitaunce. Notre seignur vous voille garder lalme et le corps. Escript a Deneye . le
. xvi . lour . de Decembre.
[Addressed] Al honurable piere en dieu Leuesque de Nichole et Chaunceller Dengle-
terre.
i
(8) The Earl's Property : Goods and Chattels.
Ancient Petitions, 3265 (file 66).
[? 1332.?
A notre seignur le Roi monstre Marie Countesse de Pembr 1 . Executrice du testament
ymar de Valence iadis Counte de Pembr' . qe come notre seignur le Roi son piere apres le
leces le dit Counte occupa par le counseil et male voillaunce de sire Hugh' le Despenser . et
dautres qe entour lui furent ses biens et ses Chateux . cest assauoir. loialx vessel dargent
ournementz cle Chapele / toute sa garderobe / Chiuaux . grauntz et petitz. Armures/ Estor
vyf et mort Bledz / profitz de gardes et des mariages . . dettes qe lui furent dues tanque a la
Mountaunce ; de .xx. M li. et de plus / les queux notre seignur le Roi susdit ; recuit deuers
lui . tanque la dite Marie Executrice et ses Coexecutors furent einsi menez ; qe lur couendroit
relesser au Roi ; les ditz biens et chateux ; por pardoun auoir des prestz de Garderobe faitz an
clit Counte et despenduz en guerres Messageries / dettes / et despences faites en les sendees
les Roys Layel et le piere notre seignur le Roi qe ore est. Des queux choses si le dit Counte
eneust acompte en sa vie ; le Roi lui eust du mult plus graunt sume de deniers ; qe les prestz
1 See Cut. Close, 581, 582. " Inserted above line.
1 The grant to the Countess by the Earl of Richmond seems to have been connected with compensa-
tion in this matter : see p. 413.
440 MARY DE SANCTO PAULO
de Garderobe ne amountent / qar il despendi tut le soen en les seruices les Rois susditz . et ce
qil poait cheuir. Si auant qe quanque remist des biens le dit Counte vcrs la dite Marie
Executrice ne ses biens propres ne porroient suffire de rendre ses dettes / noun pas a dysme
denier qe vient sur lui en demaunde par obligaciouns et reconissaunces Par quei prie a notre
seignur le Roi la dite Marie / qe de sa bone grace lui voille assigner et restorer ascune sume
couenable en deniers ou en chatel a sa plaisaunce / en allouance des biens et chateux susditz
qe demorrerent a son piere dount elle poet estre aydee a rendre les dites dettes / en alleg-
geaunce des almes notre dit seignur le Roi son piere; et leuauntdit Counte.
[Endorsed} Monstr' lettres du pardoun dont la peticion fait mention.
Ancient Petition 3266 is an exact reproduction of the foregoing by the same hand ; but has
added at the end :
Et autre foitz ad * la dite Marie ceste chose * ' mys auant a counseil qad este ; ma[is nnlc\
respounse ne poait- auoir
[Endorsed] Coram Rege petal Responsionem Coram Rege . . Coram Rege .
(9) The Countess employed by the King.
Ancient Correspondence, Vol. 38, No. I.37- 3
[I335-]
A treshaute tresnoble et tresexcellent prince Monseignur le Roy Dengleterre Montres-
redoute seignur come vous me Comandastes par vos lettres entour la touz seynz qe ieo fuse
geytant la venue de la Dameysele Despaynge 4 Et alasse contre luy a Douuere et venise en
sa Cumpaignye de uers les parties Deuerewik' ; Moun tres redoute seygnur plese vous sauoir
qe de ceo temps en sa tanque a quaresmeperuant ; iay demore en certaigne place sanz mohosir
moucr . pur perfourner votre comandement Et endementers ieo suy assoigne par votre seruice
de vant voz Justices en votre Commun Bank' en plee de terre vers eleyne qi fu la femme
Thomas de Cleytone, quele terre et parcele del Manoir de Temple Neusom en le Countee
Deuerewik' dont la Reuersion apent a vous Montresredoute seignur si vous suplie et requer
quil vous plese Comander votre lettre de la targe au Chanceler que ieo puse auoir brief de
garantie a vos Justices de Commun Bank' de la soygnie auant dite, Moun Tresredoute
Seygnur ieo me recomande a vous si humblement come ieo puis, et prie a douz iesu crist quil
vous doint bone vie et longe et meyntigne et encroisse votre bone estat Escript' a votre
Manoyr de Deneye le xix""". lour Daueril
Par la votre humble et obeissant Marie * de Seynt Poel * 5 Countesse de Pembrok'
1 * to * written over an erasure. 2 Written over erasure.
! This letter suggests that it had been taken down from dictation by a not very intelligent scribe.
4 Presumably Maria, daughter of Fernando de Kspana (or de la Cerda), Senor de Lara, a grandson of
Alfonso X, King of Castile. She was contracted to be married, by contract confirmed 28 Sept., 1334 (Cal.
Pat., 23), to the king's brother John, Earl of Cornwall ; but it fell through apparently, for she was contracted
in April 133.5, and afterwards married, to Charles d'Evreux, Comte d'Etampes. Previous matrimonial
schemes for the Karl would have allied him directly with the Countess of Pembroke's own family (sec Rymei ).
I am indebted to Mr. G. W. Watson for this note.
5 * to * inserted above the line.
FOUNDRESS OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 441
(10) Charities: the Alienation of Denny.
Chancery Warrants, I, file 231 (9523). 1
Notre seignur le Roi ad grauntee a Marie de Seint Pol Contesse de Pembr' / Le Manoir
de Deneye el Contee de Cantebr' / oue fees et toutez autres appurtenancez et toutez maners de
franchises a auer et tenier a lui et a ses heirs pur touz iours, pur le bon seruice qelle lui ad fait
et pur deus Centz et Cynqante liures quex elle ad paie au Roi par la mayn Henri Euesqe de
Nichole Tresourier Dengleterre, et outre ad grauntee a la dite Marie qelle puisse le dit Manoir
oue fees et les appurtenances et les franchises susdites / doner graunter oue tiele ch[arg]e de
Chanteries et almosnes affaire comme ele voudra / as soers Menouresses de Waterbeche en le
dit Contee / et qelles puissont le dit Manoir resseuire del doun la dite Marie oue la charge
susdite / ou santz charge comme la dite Marie vouldra / a tenier en peur et perpetuel almosne
a tous iours / et qe 2 les chartres et autres Mounmentz qe notre seignur le Roi le Piere auoit
des hospiteliers de le doun du dit Manoir soient renduz a la dite Marie / et qelle aye bref au
Tresourier et a les Chamberlayns dauoir touz les chartres et les autres Mounmentz qe sount
deuers le Roi touchantz le dit Manoir / et quant elle aura le dit Manoir a les Seurs 3 sus dites
done qe sel doun soit conferme par la chartre le Roi
(n) An Appropriation for Denny.
Ancient Petitions, 12153 4 (file 344).
[I347-]
A notre seignur le Roi prie Marie de seint Pol Contesse de Pembrok qe li plese de sa
grace doner conge a Labbe et couent de seint Anclreu de Vercellen' / de doner et granter a la
dite Marie vn Mees et vne Charuee de terre ou les apportenances en Chastreton' el Countee de
Cantebr' / ou Lauoweson de Leglise de la dite ville de Chastreton' / qils tenont de vous en chef/
et en propres vs / dil doun de vos ancestres. Et doner auxi conge a la dite Marie / qele
puisse le Mes et Charuee de terre . et Lauoweson susdites ou les apportenances / du dit Abbe
et Couent resceuoir / et meismes celles . Mes / Charue de terre et auoweson ou les appor-
tenances / doner et granter / a Labbesse et seurs Minorisses de Deneye ; et les ditz . Mes .
Charue de terre et auoweson . ou les apportenances a elles approprier a tener en propres vs
a elles et a lour successours a touz iours . [en pur et perpetuel almosne struck througli\. Et
doner auxi conge a Labbesse et seurs auantditez . qelles puissont . le Mes . Charue de terre et
auoweson susditez ou les apportenances . de la dite Marie resceuoir / a tener en propres vs .
a elles et a lour successours a touz iours [en pur et perpetuel almosne struck througli\. Sanz
fyn faire . sur certeines almosnes et Chanteries sicome la dite Marie voudra ordeiner ; et ou
meismes les graces et franchises . qe les ditz Abbe et Couent . les tenont et ont tenuz ;
(12) A Loan.
Ancient Correspondence, Vol. 40, No. 34.*
[I347-]
Trescher amy, Come lohan de Coupland est tenuz a nous, en Cent liures, de les nous
paier ore a ceste Pasch'. Par reconnissance fete en la Chancellerie . et le dit lohan nous ad
1 The writ describes the enclosure as a petition of the Countess : it might be better described as a
memorandum ; whether submitted by the Countess or drafted at the Chancery or Privy Seal Office from
her petition is not clear.
* Inserted above line. 3 Inserted above line.
1 This petition is written on paper. For the date see Cal. Pat.
* Written on paper. For date see p. 414.
VOL. LXVI
