Chapter 5

[1]The part left standing formed a dwelling house for Mr. Hodgson.

St. Mary's Church.

ST. MARY'S CHURCH forms an interesting object from the water. It was re-built by Act of Parliament passed 14 Geo. 3. The former church, which was built of brick, was found to be in such a dilapidated state that the Vestry deemed it more than desirable to erect a new church than to enlarge and repair the old one. Their unanimous resolution in this respect met with the sanction of Earl Spencer; his lordship in compliance with a petition generously granted the petitioners in the year 1772 a piece of ground, etc. for the enlargement of the church yard. During the re-building of the church, divine service was conducted in the tabernacle at the Workhouse. The cost of its erection was about £5,000, which sum was raised by a brief by the sale of certain pews for 99 years, by the sale of some estates or docks belonging to the Parish, and by granting annuities on lives; the leases expired Michaelmas, 1876. It was opened for divine service November 17, 1777. The ground given by the Earl Spencer for the enlargement of the church yard was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford, on Wednesday, the 15th of April, 1778. The Church is built of brick and has a tower with a conical copper spire at the west end, besides a clock and porch.[1]The belfry contains a set of eight bells, which, in addition to their ordinary Sunday chimes, ring out their merry peals on special occasions.

[1]An Entrance Portico of the Doric order was added to the Church about the year 1823.

"Ring out the old year's evil,The world, the flesh, the devil;Let them go! let them go!And ring in the Prince of Peace,Messiah's gentle reign.And let war and bloodshed cease,And righteousness obtain.Ring out the old year's crimes,And ring in the new year's birth,—Good words, good deeds, good times;Oh, were ever sweeter chimesRung on this fallen earthSince creation's virgin anthem rang,And morning stars together sang?""Chime on, ye bells! again begin,And ring the Sabbath morning in."

Six of the old bells were in the Old Church but re-cast, and two were added to them. Length of church, 88 feet; breadth, 49 feet 3 inches.—Rev. Owen Manning, S.T.B.In digging for the foundation of the present structure was found an ancient coffin lid of stone, on the top of which was a cross fleury. The Rev. Erskine Clarke in an article headed "S. Mary's Church in the Last Century" has furnished his parishioners with some interesting details gathered from the Parish books respecting the re-building of the Parish Church. He says: "It does not appear that our ancestors were more expeditious in carrying on business of this nature than we of the present day, as the first resolution to inquire into the state of the old Church[1]was passed by the Vestry in December,1769, whereas the re-building was not finished till November, 1777. The first suggestion was to sell a portion of Penge Common in order to raise the money required, but it was afterwards found that the condition of the church was so bad that the money raised by this means would not be sufficient for the necessary repairs. On March 1st, 1771, it was ordered by the Vestry that an extra estimate be made of the needful repairs, allowing for enlargement of the chancel to the north wall, to elevate the roof and make galleries, and to raise the bottom of the church so high as five inches from the present coming in, and that the Vicar and Churchwardens wait upon Lord Spencer to get his sanction and assistance for this, and to enlarge the church yard. On December 14, 1771, it was resolved this Vestry is unanimously of opinion (there not being one dissenting voice) that a new Church shall be built in this Parish at an expense not exceeding £4,000: the said sum to be raised by annuities at the most advantageous rate; and the interest or annuity thereon to be paid by a rate not exceeding sixpence in the pound. That twelve gentlemen be nominated to be a Committee for carrying the above-named purposes into execution, and that the following gentlemen be the said Committee with such others as choose to attend, all having voices. Viz.:

The Revd. Mr. Fraigneau, Vicar.Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Dixon, Churchwardens.Mr. Camden, Mr. Bremmer, Overseers.Isaac Akeman, Esqr.Chrisr. Baldwin, Esqr.Philip Worlidge, Esqr.Mark Bell, Esqr.Thos. Bond, Esqr.Thos. Misluor, Esqr.Philip Milloway, Esqr.

And that any five of them be a Committee to transact the business. And that the said Committee may adjourn themselves from time to time, to such place as they shall think proper and at their own expense: and that the Vestry Clerk be ordered to attend the said Committee at all times of their meeting. In the following year we find that the petition to Lord Spencer to present an additional piece of ground was granted, for the following resolution is recorded in the Parish Books on April 21st, 1772. 'That the Rev. Mr. Fraigneau, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Dixon do wait upon the Right Hon. Earl Spencer on behalf of the Parish of Battersea, to return his Lordship their hearty thanks for his noble and generous grant of the houses and ground north and south of the present entrance to the church yard.' In March, 1773, a plan prepared by Mr. Dixon was laid before the Vestry, and it was unanimously resolved that the said plan be carried into execution with all possible expedition, and the expenses not to exceed £3,000. On March 1, 1774, it was reported to the Vestry by the Church Committee that it would be necessary to apply to Parliament for power to sell some estates belonging to the Parish, and also forty pews in the new church in order to procure necessary funds. From this time to the reopening of the Church there is no further reference to the restoration except an order for the payment of £18 for 'alterations to the Tabernacle at the Workhouse which was used for Divine Service during the re-building of the Church.' The entire cost of the Church was £4950 13s. 9½d. The following entry is made in April,1778. Entered by order of the Reverend Mr. William Fraigneau (Vicar), Mark Bell and John Camden, Esquires, Churchwardens. The new Church of Battersea Parish was opened for Divine Service on Sunday, the 17th of November, 1777. The additional ground for enlarging the church yard granted by Earl Spencer, was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford, on Wednesday, the 15th of April, 1778. Towards the end of the year 1778 we find the inhabitants of Battersea developing a musical taste. A faculty was applied for to erect an organ, the petitioners making their request on the ground that an organ would be 'a decent and agreeable addition and ornament to the Church.' The faculty was granted, and an organ was erected at the west end of the gallery where the present one now stands."—St. Mary's Battersea Parish Magazine, Nov. 1876. The organ has been removed to a place under the gallery, adjacent to the choir, and the Church has been re-seated.

[1]There is a river view of Battersea by Boydell, which shows the old Church as it stood in 1752.

The following copy of one of these leases on which the pews in St. Mary's Church were held, will be read with interest.

THIS INDENTURE made the Twenty-sixth day of December, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Eight, and in the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Between the Reverend John Gardenor of Battersea, in the County of Surrey, Clerk, Allyn Simmons Smith, John Camden and Thomas Rhodes, all of the same place Esquires, and John Lumisden of the same, Surgeon, (being five of the Trustees appointed for carrying into execution an Act of Parliament made and passed in the fourteenth year of the Reign of his present Majesty King George the Third, Intituled an Act for Re-building the Parish Church of Battersea, in the County of Surrey, and for enlarging the Church Yard of the said Parish Church) of the one part, and William Dent of Battersea in the County of Surrey, Esquire, on the other part, Witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum of Thirty-one Pounds Ten Shillings already paid and advanced by the said William Dent to the Treasurer appointed for the purposes of the said Act of Parliament, and also for and in consideration of the Yearly Rent and Covenants hereinafter reserved and contained, they the said John Gardenor, Allyn Simmons Smith, John Camden, Thomas Rhodes, and John Lumisden, in persuance and in Execution of the powers and Authorities vested in them in and by the said Act of Parliament, have Leased, Lett and Demised, and by these presents, do Lease, Lett and Demise unto the said William Dent, his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, All that Pew situate and being in the Gallery on the North side of the said Church of Battersea, (No. 62), with the appertenances. To have and to hold the said Pew, with the appertenances unto the said William Dent, his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, from the Feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, which was in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Seven, for and during, and unto the full end and Term of Ninety Nine Years thence next ensuing and fully to be complete and ended, Yealding and paying therefore Yearly and every Year during the said Term, unto such person or persons, who for the time being shall be lawfullyappointed to collect or receive the same Rent or sum of Two Shillings and Sixpence of lawful money of Great Britain, on the Feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, in every year. And the said William Dent for himself, his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, doth Covenant and Agree to and with the said before named Trustees, their Heirs and Assigns, That he the said William Dent his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, shall and will well and truly pay or cause to be paid the Rent hereby reserved and made payable according to the reservation aforesaid, And also at his and their own proper Costs and Charge, well and sufficiently repair the said Pew so Leased to him, during all the said Term of Ninety Nine Years, Provided always that if the said Yearly Rent hereby reserved, or any part thereof shall be behind and unpaid by the space of Three Calendar Months next over or after the said Feast day of payment, whereon the same ought to be paid as aforesaid (being Lawfully demanded) then and in such case the Demise or Lease hereby made shall cease, determine, and be utterly void to all intents and purposes whatsoever. In witness whereof the said parties to these presents have hereunder interchangeably set their hands and seals, the day and Year first above Written.Sealed and Delivered without stamps, according to the Act of Parliament above in the presence of:Wm. HOLT,ROBT. CORAM.J. GARDNOR,ALLYN SIMMONS SMITH,JOHN CAMDEN,T. RHODES,JOHN LUMISDEN.

Sealed and Delivered without stamps, according to the Act of Parliament above in the presence of:

Wm. HOLT,ROBT. CORAM.

J. GARDNOR,ALLYN SIMMONS SMITH,JOHN CAMDEN,T. RHODES,JOHN LUMISDEN.

The window over the Communion table at the east end of the church is decorated with portraits of Henry 7th, his grandmother Margaret Beauchamp and Queen Elizabeth in stained glass which was carefully preserved from the former church, and executed at the expense of the St. Johns.[1]The following will explain why the three portraits were placed at the end of the Church. "The first,that of Margaret Beauchamp, ancestor (by her first husband, Sir Oliver St. John) of the St. Johns, and (by her second husband, John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset) grandmother to Henry VII.; the second, the portrait of that Monarch; and the third, that of Queen Elizabeth, which is placed here because her grandfather, Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, (father of Queen Ann Boleyn), was great-grandfather of Anne, the daughter of Sir Thomas Leighton, and wife of Sir John St. John, the first baronet of the family."—Oulton.

[1]Here also in two circular windows pierced for additional light are figures of the Holy Lamb and Dove of Modern Execution.The east window consists of painted glass, over the portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Henry VII. are the Royal Arms in the central compartment, and on each side, the arms and quarterings of the St. Johns. The portraits are likewise surrounded with borders containing the arms of the families allied to them by marriage. At the top is a white rose inclosed in a red, under the Crown.St. Johnbears Arg. or a chief Gu. 2 Mullets or; and Quarters: 1 Arg. A bend Arg. Cotised between 6 Martlets or, forDelaberes. 2 Arg. a fesse between 6 Cinquefoils Gu. forUnfreville. 3 Erm. on a fesse Az 3 Crosses Moline or. 4 Gu. a fesse between 6 Martlets or forBeauchamp. 5 Arg. a fesse Sa between 3 Crescents Gu. forPatishall. 6 Paly of 6 Arg. and Az on a bend Gu. 3 Eagles displayed or forGrandison. 7 Az 2 bars Gemelles, and in Chief a lion passant forTregoze. 8 Arg. a fesse Gu between 2 Mullets of 6 points Sali forEwyas. 9 A Saltire Engrailed Sa. On a Chief of the Second 2 Mullets of the first, forIwarbyorEwarby. 10 or, 3 lions passant in Pale Sa. forCarew. 11 Az 3 Battleaxes Arg. 12 Sa. 2 bars Arg. in Chief, 3 plates forHungerford. 13 per Pale indented Gu. and Vert over all a Chevron or. 14 Arg. 3 Toads Sa forBotreux. 15 Paly wavy or and Gu. All these are quarters on one shield with a Viscount Coronet; the 11 first are quartered by St. John, Baronet.

[1]Here also in two circular windows pierced for additional light are figures of the Holy Lamb and Dove of Modern Execution.

The east window consists of painted glass, over the portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Henry VII. are the Royal Arms in the central compartment, and on each side, the arms and quarterings of the St. Johns. The portraits are likewise surrounded with borders containing the arms of the families allied to them by marriage. At the top is a white rose inclosed in a red, under the Crown.St. Johnbears Arg. or a chief Gu. 2 Mullets or; and Quarters: 1 Arg. A bend Arg. Cotised between 6 Martlets or, forDelaberes. 2 Arg. a fesse between 6 Cinquefoils Gu. forUnfreville. 3 Erm. on a fesse Az 3 Crosses Moline or. 4 Gu. a fesse between 6 Martlets or forBeauchamp. 5 Arg. a fesse Sa between 3 Crescents Gu. forPatishall. 6 Paly of 6 Arg. and Az on a bend Gu. 3 Eagles displayed or forGrandison. 7 Az 2 bars Gemelles, and in Chief a lion passant forTregoze. 8 Arg. a fesse Gu between 2 Mullets of 6 points Sali forEwyas. 9 A Saltire Engrailed Sa. On a Chief of the Second 2 Mullets of the first, forIwarbyorEwarby. 10 or, 3 lions passant in Pale Sa. forCarew. 11 Az 3 Battleaxes Arg. 12 Sa. 2 bars Arg. in Chief, 3 plates forHungerford. 13 per Pale indented Gu. and Vert over all a Chevron or. 14 Arg. 3 Toads Sa forBotreux. 15 Paly wavy or and Gu. All these are quarters on one shield with a Viscount Coronet; the 11 first are quartered by St. John, Baronet.

The epitaph written by Lord Bolingbroke on his wife reads as follows: "In the same vault are interred the remains of Mary Clara des Champs de Marcelly, Marchioness of Villette and Viscountess Bolingbroke, born of noble family, bred in the Court of Lewes 14th. She reflected a lustre on the former by the superior accomplishment of her mind. She was an ornament to the latter by the amiable dignity and grace of her behaviour. She lived the honour of her own sex, the delight and admiration of ours. She died an object of imitation to both with all the firmness that reason, with all the resignation that religion can inspire, aged 74 the 18th of March, 1750."

The interior contains some interesting sepulchral monuments, among which is one of Roubiliac in the reliefs to the memory of Viscount Bolingbroke and his second wife, niece of Madame de Maintenon, both lie in the family vault in St. Mary's Church. The epitaphs on himself and his wife were both written by Bolingbroke. That upon himself is still extant in his own handwriting in the British Museum, and is as follows:—"Here lies Henry St. John, in the reign of Queen Anne, Secretary of War, Secretary of State and Viscount Bolingbroke; in the days of King George I. and King George II. something more and better. His attachment to Queen Anne exposed him to a long and severe persecution; he bore it with firmness of mind, he passed the latter part of his life at home, the enemy of no national party, the friend of no faction, distinguished under the cloud of proscription, which had not been entirely taken off by zeal to maintain the liberty and to restore the ancient prosperity of Great Britain." Another monument commemorates the descent and preferments of Oliver St. John, Viscount Grandison, who was the first of the family that settled at Battersea. When studying the law at one of the Inn Courts, he killed in a duel the Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth and Champion of England. "In 1648, Sir John St. John was buried at Battersea with such unusual pomp that the heralds were fluttered and commenced a prosecution against the Executor for acting contrary to the usage of arms and the laws of heraldry. William Riley, one of the heralds deposed 'that the funeral of the deceased was conducted in a manner so much above his degree that the escutcheons were more than were used at the funeral of a Duke; and that he never saw so many persons but at the funeral of one of the blood royal.' This burial is omitted in the register." In the south gallery is a monument to Sir Edward Wynter, an officer in the service of the East India Company in the reign of Charles 2nd, on which is recorded an account of his having singly and unarmed killed a tiger, and on foot defeated forty Moors on horseback. Heappears to have been a friendless youth but obtained his promotion by virtue of his intelligence, courage and good conduct as the epitaph states:—

"Born to be great in fortune as in mind,Too great to be within an Isle confin'd,Young, helpless, friendless seas unknown he tried;But English courage all those wants supplied.A pregnant wit, a painful diligence,Care to provide, a bounty to dispence,Join'd to a soul sincere, plain, open, just,Procur'd him friends, and friends procured him trust;These were his fortune's rise, and thus beganThis hardy youth, rais'd to that happy man,A rare example and unknown to mostWhere wealth is gain'd and conscience is not lost.Not less in martial honour was his name—Witness his actions of immortal fame!Alone, unarm'd a tiger[1]he oppress'dAnd crush'd to death the monster of a beast;Twice twenty mounted Moors he overthrewSingly on foot; some wounded, some he slew,Dispers'd the rest—what more could Samson do?True to his friends, a terror to his foesHere now in peace his honour'd bones repose."Vita Peregrinatio.

[1]Being attacked in the woods by a tiger, he placed himself on the side of a pond, and when the tiger flew at him, he caught him in his arms, fell back with him into the water, got upon him, and kept him down till he had drowned him.

He died March 2nd, 1685-6, aged 64.

Near at hand is a monument—a small statue of a mourning female leaning upon an urn—erected by the benevolent James Neild, in memory of his wife Elizabeth, who died 30th of June, 1791, in her 36th year. The epitaph states:—

Here low in beauteous form decay'dMy faithful wife, my love Eliza's laid;Graceful with ease, of sentiment refin'd,Her pleasing form inclos'd the purest mind!Round her blest peace, thy constant vigils keepAnd guard fairinnocenceher sacred sleep,'Till the last trump shall wake the exulting day.To bloom and triumph in eternal day.Conjux Mærens Posuit.

And of her father, John Camden, Esq., whose son, John Camden Neild, lived in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, and bequeathed to Queen Victoria the whole of his property, £500,000.

At the east end of the north gallery is a beautiful marble monument most elaborately sculptured sacred to the memory of Sir John Fleet, Knt., Alderman of the City of London. He was unanimously elected Lord Mayor of the City in 1693. He received Royal favours, and all ranks of the greatest honour and esteem from his fellow citizens, having been one of their representatives in Parliament thirteen years, and constantly interested in theirhighest stations, in which offices and honours he was universally applauded. He was a merchant and just magistrate, constant to church, loyal to his Prince, and true to his country. He was fortunate and honest, bountiful in charity a generous benefactor and a faithful friend.—Obit6Julii1712.Ætat:65.

Another tablet is erected to the memory of Margaret Susanna Pounsett, wife of Henry Pounsett, Esq., of Stockwell, in this County, and eldest daughter of Richard Rothwell, Esq., of this Parish; Alderman of the City of London and High Sheriff of the County of Middlesex: she died on the 22nd day of March, 1820, in the 32nd year of her age, leaving two sons and three daughters. Her numerous amiable and exemplary qualities, endeared her to her family in her life—Her Christian piety and cheerful resignation alone consoled them in her death. Also of Ellen Anne Pounsett, her second daughter, who died the 7th of December, 1834, aged 22.

In the west gallery is a marble tablet sacred to the memory of Richard Rothwell, Esq., Alderman and formerly High Sheriff of the City of London, and County of Middlesex; who departed this life most deeply regretted, July 26th, A.D. 1821, in the 60th year of his age. In the public station which he filled of Magistrate and Sheriff, his strict integrity, his splendid liberality, and his genuine philanthropy, justly merited and procured the highest esteem, and warmest approbation of his fellow citizens. In his private character he was respected for the vigor of his mind, the solidity of his judgment, and the uprightness of his principles, and beloved for the urbanity of his manners, and the benevolence of his heart. In him the perplexed found an able counsellor, and the distressed an active friend. His feelings were tenderly alive to the important truths of religion, and while punctual in the performance of the duties of this life he placed his sole reliance on the merits of his Redeemer for happiness in the life to come.

On the right-hand-side of the pathway leading towards the porch of the Church is a grave stone at the bottom of which is the following inscription:—"Mrs. Sarah Eleanor McFarlane, who fell by the hand of an assassin the 29th of April, 1844, aged 46 years." This poor widow resided in Bridge Road, and obtained a subsistence by keeping a Day and Sunday School. The name of the murderer who deprived the life of his victim by cutting her throat on Old Battersea Bridge, was Augustus Dalmas, a Frenchman. This horrid crime was committed late at night. The woman who had charge of the toll seeing the helpless condition of Mrs. McFarlane conveyed her to the "Swan and Magpie" Tavern at the foot of the Bridge, where she expired exclaiming "Dalmas did it!"

In the north gallery is an upright marble tablet for Sir [George] Wombwell, Bart., of Sherwood Lodge, who died October 28th, 1846, in his 77th year.

At the east end of the south aisle is a tablet to Thomas Astle, Esq., F.S.A., keeper of the records in the Tower, and who wrote on "The Origin and Progress of Writing." He left a valuable collection of manuscripts which were deposited at Stow, the seat of his noble patron the Marquis of Buckingham, to whom he gave by his will the option of purchasing them at a fixed sum.

In the churchyard lies Arthur Collins, author of "The Peerageand Baronetage of England." His grandson, David Collins, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales, and author of a History of the English Settlement there. William Curtis a distinguished botanical writer, author of the "Flora Londinensis," was buried here, January 31, 1731.

"While living herbs shall spring profusely wild,So long thy works shall please dear nature's child,Or gardens cherish all that's sweet and gaySo long thy memory suffer no decay."

The Countess de Morella, who lived in one of the five mansions which gave its old name of Five House Lane to Bolingbroke Grove, has placed a coped stone with a cross on it over the old grave of her aunt Miss Elizabeth Hofer, in the church yard near the mortuary, and has had the tablets of her family at the west end of the north gallery cleaned.

Mr. Poole, the Curator of the monuments in Westminster Abbey, is now engaged in cleaning some of the mural monuments in the Church which had become grimed with the dust of years.

In the centre of the plot in front of the portico is the family vault of Sir Rupert George, Bart. Mr. Chadwin, one of the oldest parishioners now living in Battersea, relates how Sir Rupert George came to select St. Mary's Church yard as his burying place. "He was on a visit to Lord Cremorne, at Cremorne House, on the opposite side of the Thames, and he came over to Battersea and was so impressed with the beauty of the view across the river that he purchased the vault as a resting place for himself and his family. Several of his sons and daughters are interred there, and Dr. Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia, the first Colonial Bishop, was also buried in the vault of Sir Rupert George, to whom he was fondly attached by the strongest ties of friendship and also closely allied by marriage." The Bishop's tablet is on the wall under the north gallery.

Charles Williams of London was an actor of some eminence at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He died in the prime of life. His mortal remains were interred in the church yard. As a tribute of respect his funeral was attended by the whole body of Comedians; the pall was supported by Wilks, Griffin, the two Cibbers, and the two Mills. "There is" says Daniel Lysons, "no memorial of his grave."

It is thought that as the former Church was built of brick that probably it was not very ancient. A church is mentioned in Doomsday, a most ancient record, made in the time of William 1st, surnamed theConqueror, and containing a survey of all the lands in England. Lysons, from whom we take the liberty of making some liberal quotations, when writing about 85 years ago, says, "The Church of Battersea is dedicated to St. Mary; it is in the Diocese of Winchester, and in the Deanery of Southwark, the benefice is a Vicarage. Lawrence, Abbot of Westminster, first procured the appropriation of the great tithes for that Abbey about the year 1156. The monks of Westminster were to receive out of it two marks, reserving sufficient to the Vicar to support the Episcopal burdens and himself. The Rectory was held by John Bishop of Winchester in the time of Philip and Mary. Theprincipal profits of the Vicarage accrued from the gardens, which rendered the living one of the most valuable in the neighbourhood of London. The gardeners at Battersea paid 7s. 6d. an acre for tithes to the Vicar. The living of Battersea is dated in the King's Book at £13 15s. 2½d." The present living is estimated at about £1,000 with residence. "In the Valor of 1291, usually termed Pope Nicholas' Taxation, the Rectory is valued at 26 marks and a half: the Vicarage at £4 3s. 4d. In 1658 the Rectory was stated as worth £80 a year, and the Vicarage at £100, and in the King's Book the Vicarage stands at £13 15s. 2½d. Battersea was one of those parishes which in memory of the Abbey dedicated to St. Peter, presented to the Abbot and Convent in early times, the tithes of salmon taken in this portion of the river. The Incumbents however of Chelsea,Battersea, and Wandsworth endeavoured to shake this custom off as long ago as 1231, but failed: the composition entered into upon the occasion may be seen in Dart's History of Westminster Abbey."—Ecclesiastical Topography.

"There are two terriers of Battersea in the register of Winchester fastened together of the dates of 1619 and 1636."—Ducarel's Endowments of Vicarages, (Lambeth Library). "Owen Ridley, who was instituted to the Vicarage of Battersea, A.D. 1570, appears to have been involved in a tedious litigation with his parishioners and to have encountered no small degree of persecution from them. The circumstance would not have been worth recording but for two curious petitions which it produced, the originals of which (date of both 1593) were in the possession of the Rev. John Gardenor, Vicar, by whom, (says Lysons) they have been obligingly communicated. One of these is from certain inhabitants to Dr. Swale, one of Her Majesty's High Commissioners for crimes Ecclesiastical; in which they state many grievances which they suffered from their Vicar during the space of eighteen years. Amongst other crimes alleged against him is that of conversing with a Witch. The object of their petition was, that he might be deprived. It is signed with thirteen names and about thirty marks. The other petition, which is to Lord Burleigh, being the more curious of the two is here given at large.To the Right Honourable the Lord Burleigh, Lord High Treasurer of England.Most humbly sheweth unto your honor, your daiely orators, the inhabitants of Battersey, besechinge you to extend your favor in all just causes to our mynister Mr. Ridley: (so it is right honorable) that some have sought his deprivation, by many trobles many years together, and in divers courts sometymes in the Archdeacon's, sometymes by complayninge to the busshop, sometymes before the highe Commissioners, sometymes before the Archbusshop of Canterbury, his grace: Yea and once he hath ben edicted at the assizes. But God the defender of the innocent, hath so protected him that his cawse beinge tryed and knowene he hath hadd a good issue of all theis trobles; yet the adversarie will not cease, but seeketh to deprive him of his life, for seekinge after Witches, and procuringe the death of a man by Witchcraft. He hath byn our Vicar theis twenty years: he is zealous in the gospell, honest in life, painefull to teache us and to catechise our youth; charitable and liberall to the poore and needy accordinge to his ability, he never sued any of all his parisheonersfor tythes, althoughe he hath hadd cawse gyven by some so to doe. Of our conscience wee take him rather to hate wytches, than to seeke after them; for he hath spoken often very bitterly against them out of the bible, neither doe we thinke or suspect the woman to be a witche which is accused, but hath always lyved honestly, quietly and painefully here, to get a poore lyvinge truly. Therefor the man being such a one, whom for his virtues wee love, his trobles heretofore so greate, so many and so chandgable to the undoings of himself, his wife and children, and now so daingerous for the hope of his life, doth move us to become suitors unto your honour for him, besechinge your honor to take notice, and to make due triall of him and his cawse, so that the truth being fownd owte, justice maie take place; Your honor will defend the innocent in his innocencee, putt an end to his tonge, many wearisome and daingerous trobles and be a patrone unto him in all his good and honest actions; so shall we be bound to thancke God for you, and pray for you for ever. Signed by Robert Cooke Alias Clarencieulx Roy d'Armes, Robert Claye, preacher, and fourteen others."

"Dr. Thomas Temple, brother of Sir John Temple, the Irish Master of the Rolls, was instituted to the Vicarage of Battersea in 1634, and continued there during the civil wars; he was one of the ministers appointed by Cromwell to assist the Committee for displacing ignorant and insufficient School Masters and Ministers. He was likewise one of the Assembly of Divines and a frequent preacher before the long Parliament. Several of his sermons are in print. Mr. Temple was succeeded in the Vicarage of Battersea by the learned Bishop Patrick, who was educated at Queen's College, Cambridge, and was domestic Chaplain to Sir Walter St. John, by whom he was presented to this benefice. Several of his tracts were published while he was Vicar of Battersea and are dedicated to his patron. He resigned the Vicarage in 1675. He was a zealous champion of the protestant religion, both by his writings and in conversation, particularly at a conference which he, in conjunction with Dr. Jane, held in the presence of James the Second with two Roman Catholic Priests, in which he had so much the superiority over his opponents in argument, that the King retired in disgust, saying that he never heard a good cause so ill defended or a bad one so well. At the Revolution he was rewarded with the Bishopric of Chichester, and was afterwards translated to Ely. He died 1707, and left behind him a numerous collection of printed works; consisting of sermons, devotional and controversial tracts and paraphrases on the Scriptures, which are held in great estimation and which were continued by William South."

"Dr. Thomas Church, of Brazen Nose College, Oxford, who was instituted to the Vicarage of Battersea in the year 1740, distinguished himself much in the field of controversy in which he engaged against Westley and Whitfield, and Middleton: for his successful attacks on the latter and his defence of the miraculous power during the early years of Christianity. The University of Oxford gave him the degree of D.D. by diploma. He was too zealously attached to his religion to let the opinions of Lord Bolingbroke pass unnoticed notwithstanding he had been his patron. His publication on this subject however was anonymous, it was called'An Analysis of the Philosophical Works by the late Lord Bolingbroke,' and came out in 1755. He died in 1756, aged 49."

"The registers of this parish begin in the year 1559, and excepting the former part of the 18th century appear to be accurate. Dr. Church soon after he was instituted to the Vicarage began to transcribe a considerable part of the registers, which for many years preceding had been kept by a very ignorant parish clerk. He proceeded so far as to copy the whole of the baptisms, and with great industry rectified a vast number of mistakes and supplied many deficiencies; the difficulty of transcribing the burials of which indeed for some years there were no notices, discouraged him from proceeding any further in this laudable undertaking."—Lysons.

Cases of longevity in the Parish Register: Goody Harleton, aged 108 years, buried 1703; William Abbot, 101, 1733; Wiat, 100, 1790; and William Douse, 100, 1803. The case of Rebecca, wife of Richard Harding, a waterman, is mentioned. She gave birth to four children, she died in labour of the fourth child, which was still-born. The mother was buried February 8, 1730; her three infant children, Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca were buried the 2nd of March following. Respecting the rate of mortality in London during the plague years, in the year 1603, 30,578 persons died of the plague. At the accession of Charles I. in 1625, another dreadful pestilence raged in London, which carried off 35,417 persons. In the year 1665, about the beginning of May, there broke out in London the most dreadful plague that ever infested this kingdom, which swept away 68,596 persons, which added to the number of those who died of other distempers, raised the bill of mortality in this year to 97,306. And the mortality raged so violently in July, that all houses were shut up, the streets, deserted, and scarce anything to be seen therein but grass growing, innumerable fires for purifying the air, coffins, pest-carts, red crosses upon doors, with the inscription, 'Lord have mercy upon us,' and continual cries of 'pray for us;' or the melancholy call of 'bring out your dead.' The cause of this terrible calamity was ascribed to the importation of infected goods from Holland where the plague had committed great ravages the preceding year. During the whole time of its continuance there was a great calm, for weeks together there was scarcely any wind so that it was with difficulty that the fires in the streets could be kept burning for want of a supply of air, and even the birds panted for breath. The plague as is generally agreed is never bred or propagated in Britain, but always imported from abroad, especially from the Levant, Lesser Asia, Egypt, etc. Sydenham, an old writer, has remarked that it rarely infects this country oftener than once in forty years—thank God we have happily been free from it for a much longer period. There have been various conjectures as to the nature of this dreadful distemper. Some think that insects are the cause of it, in the same way that they are the cause of blights. Mr. Boyle thought that it originated from the effluvia or exhalations breathed into the atmosphere from noxious minerals to which might be added stagnant waters and putrid bodies of every kind. Gibbon, in hisRoman History, 4th Edition, Vol. IV, p. 327-332, gives a very particular account of the plague which depopulated the earth in the time of EmperorJustinian. He thinks that the plague was derived from damp, hot and stagnating air, and the putrifaction of animal substances, especially locusts. The Mahometans believe that the plague proceeds from certain spirits, or goblins, armed with bows and arrows sent by God to punish men for their sins; and that when the wounds are given by spectres of a black colour, they certainly prove fatal, but not so when the arrows are shot by those that appear white. The learned Dr. Chandler, who travelled in Asia Minor, was of the opinion that the disease arose from animalcules which he supposed to be invisible.

The three Plague years.

In 1603the number of deaths in Battersea was22" 1625ditto61" 1665ditto113

Average of Births with Burials:—

1580-1589Births 13Burials 71680-1689" 58" 681780-1789" 60" 69

In 1876 the number of births in Battersea Parish was 3459, and the number of deaths 1751, not including the Hamlet of Penge.

The subjoined is copied from "St. Mary's Battersea Parish Magazine" for November, 1875. "Vicars of Battersea from Olden Times. The following extract from 'A History and Antiquities of Surrey,' begun by the Rev. Owen Manning, enlarged and continued to the year 1814 by William Bray, Esq., printed for White, Cochrane & Co., at Horace's Head, Fleet Street, will be of interest.

Patron.Vicar.Institution.Abbot and Conventof WestminsterThomas de Sunbury13 Nov. 1301"William Trencheuent21 Nov. 1306"Gilbert de Swalelyve26 Oct. 1320"Richard Condray11 Dec. 1325"Thomas at Strete deCadyngton20 April 1328"Elias de Hoggenorton10 Aug. 1330"Richard de Wolword9 Dec. 1331"William Handley26 Nov. 1366"John GelleResigned, 1370"William Bakere8 Feb. 1370-1"John Colyn5 Oct. 1378The King (thetemporalitiesof the abbeybeing in hishands)Henry Green31 Oct. 1383Abbot and Conventof WestminsterHenry WalyngfordResigned, 1394"John Berewyk22 Oct. 1394"Richard Gatyn12 May 1402"William ComelondDied, 1413"John Smyth25 Aug. 1413"Henry OxynResigned, 1457"John Moreys30 Sept. 1457"Thomas Huntyngton5 Nov. 1485"John Heron20 April 1487"Nicholas TownleyResigned,18 Feb. 1523-4"Christopher Wylson9 Mar. 1523-4"Richard Rosse, L.L.D.16 May 1530"John Edwyn18 Nov. 1560"Thomas Mynthorne5 Jan. 1561Queen ElizabethWilliam Gray10 Mar. 1561-2"Owen Ridley21 June 1571Sir John St. John,Bart.Thomas Temple, B.D.21 Nov. 1634Sir Walter St. JohnSimon Patrick, D.D.[1]1658"Gervase Howe, M.A.22 Mar. 1675-6"Nathaniel Gower20 Oct. 1701Lord St. JohnGeorge Osborn4 Oct. 1727Henry Viscount St.JohnThomas Church, D.D10 Mar. 1739-40Frederick LordBolingbrokeLilly Butler18 June 1757"William Fraigneau18 Mar. 1758"John Gardenor[2]Oct. 1778The Crown[3]Robert Eden, M.A.1 Feb. 1835"John Simon Jenkinson, M.A.20 June 1847Earl SpencerJohn Erskine Clarke, M.A.2 Feb. 1872

The Registers of 1345, 1366, 1415, 1446, 1492, and 1500 are lost."

[1]The famous Bishop of Ely.

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