Chapter 22

FOOTNOTES:[1]Having thus faintly premised the leading features of the work in hand, it may be proper to add a few words respecting the origin of the design, and the humble qualifications of the writer for the task he has undertaken. Familiar in early life with the feudal and monastic ruins which invest Border history with so many stirring tales and traditions, a taste for the deeds and days of old, fostered both at school and college, was much strengthened by subsequent travelling in France and Italy; where, besides the classical monuments of antiquity, an unlimited field was thrown open for the study and investigation of those which more forcibly illustrate the middle ages. To the facilities acquired on the shores of the Mediterranean, others were presented to him in Germany, where much of the feudal character is still preserved in the living habits of the people. Honoured with the commands of a late illustrious Personage{*}, on three successive occasions, to attend him professionally at some of the minor courts of that country, he had various opportunities of visiting those religious and baronial edifices which, in the old German principalities, are both numerous and splendid. He next spent a considerable time in Switzerland, among the High Alps and in the valleys of Piedmont, where many vestiges of feudal customs and government were found to illustrate the history of the middle ages in Great Britain.—But although the writer had published works descriptive of the countries mentioned, the plan of the work now in hand was partly the result of a conversation with a late distinguished and highly accomplished lady{**}, whose family honours had descended to her through a long succession of ancestors. Being at that time engaged in an illustrated work on Scotland, her Grace favoured the author with an original drawing of her ancestral castle; and on a subsequent occasion suggested an illustrated history of our castellated mansions, with their legends and traditions, as a popular subject. He was honoured at the same time with a family memoir, and some MSS. respecting the ancient Sutherland estates, such as might have been useful in a work like the present. Circumstances, however, which occurred shortly after, precluded all further attention to the subject; and it was not till the beginning of last autumn that leisure was found to make arrangements for publishing the work in a cheap, popular form: a plan which it is hoped will bring an originally voluminous and expensive field of illustration within the reach of every admirer of English monuments.{*} His late Majesty William IV., while Duke of Clarence.{**} The late Duchess-Countess of Sutherland.[2]Asser de Ælfred. rebus. gestis, fol. 23.; Athelmo vero fratris mei filio, &c.—Appendix to this vol. p. 331.[3]Ibid.—Camden, 308. 230. See the original in Append. to this volume, p. 331.[4]Ingulph. folio 510.—Hardyng, p. 229.—Simeon Dunelmensis, 184.—Hovedon, fol. 254.[5]Caraccioli, p. 5.—Dallaway.—Archit. in England.—Forty-nine Castles are enumerated in Domesday Book,that of Arundel only, as existing in the reigns of Edward the Confessor, p. 269. The Castle of Arundel dates perhaps its true origin from that monarch, King Alfred.—p. 316.[6]Camden, 229-30. Fama vero tota est ex Castro, quod Saxonico imperio flouit. See Append. p. 331.[7]Wilhelm. Gemitens, f. 686. Ingentes possessiones habuit in diversis regionibus Normanniæ.[8]Dugd. Bar. 1. 26.—Camden, p. 86. “Normanni.” Primam Normannorum aciem ducebant Rogerus Montegomericus et Guil. Fitzosberne.[9]Ord. Vitalis De Gul. primo. Excerp. p. 208-254. A Wilhelmo rege Anglorum Comitatus Arundelliæ, et Salopesberiæ dono accepit.Ao. Dni. 1071. Rogerus de Montegomerici, Comes Arundel, fuit pacificè seizit’, &c. Inprimis de Castro Arundell, forest’ Warren’ hundr’ et aliis libert’ spectant’ ad Honorem Castri, &c. Tierney, 1. 14.[10]Dallaway’s Rape of Arundel.—Hist. of Sussex.[11]Estimated at 57·460 acres. Hist. of Arundel, p. 21.[12]Honour, in this sense, means a superior Seignory to which other lordships and manors owe suit and service, and which itself holds only of the Sovereign.—Feudal Syst.[13]Orderic, 522.—Excerpt. p. 254.—App. 332.[14]Order. Vitalis, 708. monachile seema devotus suscepit, etc.—v. also Dugd. Bar. i, 28.[15]Girald. Cambrens. Itinerar. p. 194.—Dugd. Bar.[16]Polyd. Virgil, f. 173.—Hovedon, f. 268.—Speed, 445.—Grafton, i. 177.—Tierney, i. 158.—Append. to this Volume, p. 332.[17]History of Arundel, i. 15. Orderic Vitalis, p. 708.[18]Chalmers’ Caledonia, vol i. 572—4. Anno 1158. “Ego Milcolumbus, rex, confirmavi,Waltero, filio Alain(Fitzalan), Dapifero meo, et heredibus suis, in feodo et hereditate, senescalliam meam ... ita bene et plenarie, sicut Rex David senescalliam suam ei dedit.” In consequence of this grant, Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, sold the stewardship as an hereditary possession in 1336 to Edward the Third. Sec Dugd. Bar. i. 314.—Append. to this Vol. p. 334.[19]Mem. Howard Family—Descent of the Earldom, in Tierney’s Hist. and Antiq. of Arundel, vol. i.[20]See Appendix to this vol. p. 338, also Ellis’s Metrical Romances, vol. ii. p. 245.[21]Castrum Harundel T. R. E. reddebᵈᵉ qoda molⁱⁿᵒXL.solⁱᵈ. et de iiibus conuviis (conviviis?)XXsolⁱᵈ. et de uno pasticioXXsolⁱᵈ. etc. etc.—Domesday Survey, quoted by Tierney.[22]A careful examination of the evidence in respect to its foundation, inclines us to refer that event to the time of Alfred, whose policy, it will be remembered, led him to augment the national security by the erection of numerous fortresses, particularly in the maritime districts; and it may be readily concluded that the ‘Castrum de Harundel,’ a royal residence, was one of those which survived the demolition of English fortresses which succeeded the Conquest. [Tierney, i. 33; and Dallaway.] It is supposed that, at the death of Alfred, fifty castles or upwards had been raised under his direction, and it is not probable that the whole of that number could have disappeared in the comparatively short period which elapsed between the demise of that monarch and the establishment of the Norman dynasty. Ante, p. 8, n. ¶.—Also App. p. 334.[23]For other particulars the reader may consult Wright—Caraccioli—Dallaway—Horsfield, and Tierney.[24]For other particulars the reader may consult Wright—Caraccioli—Dallaway—Horsfield, and Tierney.[25]Register, R. f. 106. quoted in Tierney, vol. i. 44.[26]A.D. 1275.[27]Tierney, i. 45. Pat. 3. Edw. I. m. 30—1.[28]As shown in the view taken from the battlements of the castle, p. 26.[29]Abridged from the History.[30]Tierney, vol. i. 48-9.—Dallaway’s Arundel.—Horsted, vol. i. 120-5, 6.—Wright 32-36.[31]Tierney, vol. i. 48-9.—Dallaway’s Arundel.—Horsted, vol. i. 120-5, 6.—Wright 32-36.[32]Tierney, vol. i. 48-9.—Dallaway’s Arundel.—Horsted, vol. i. 120-5, 6.—Wright 32-36.[33]In a cause tried at Hawarden, in Flintshire, long previous to his reign, we have a list of the twelve jurors; confirmed, too, by the fact that the descendants of one of them, named Corby of the Gate, still preserve their name and residence, at a place in the parish called the Gate.—Phillips.[34]See list of authorities at the end of this subject, also Append. to this volume.[35]Portrait of Captain Morris.[36]The late Duke of Norfolk.[37]Henry Howard of Greystoke.[38]H. C. Coombe, Esq. Alderman of London.[39]On the corner of a stone in this superb hall is the following votive inscription:—“LIBERTATIPER BARONES REGNANTE JOHANNEVINDICATÆ,CAROLUS HOWARD NORFOLCIÆ DUX,ARUNDELIÆ COMESA.C. MDCCCVI.ÆTATIS LX.”D. D.[40]Sepulchral Antiq. Hist. of Arundel Church and Priory—Dallaway and Wright.[41]Causa nominis nec ab Arundelio, Bevisii fabuloso equo, nec ex Charudo, Cimbricæ Chersonesi promontorio, quod Goropius per quietem vidit; sed ex valle in qua sedet ad Arun flumen.—Camden.[42]See ante. p. 12, also Appendix to this Vol. p. 338-9, where the legend is given.[43]See Appendix to this vol. pp. 336, 7; also Dugdale Bar. i. pp. 42, 118.[44]Rediit ad vigiliam Paschæ in Angliam, appulit apud Arundel. Henr. Huntingd. lib. vii. 216.[45]Tierney. i. 55. Patent 30th Edw. I. M. 9, is dated at Arundel.[46]See a full and interesting account of this conspiracy, with its disastrous consequences, at pp. 49, 50, 51, of this vol.[47]Tempore quoque sub eodem domino rege adhuc moram Londini continuante, venit ad eum in Cameram suam Isabella, Comitissa Harundelliæ relicta Comitis Harundelliæ H. et ejusdem regis cognata; ut pro jure suo de quadam custodia ipsam contingente verba faceret sibi profectura, &c. Paris, p. 853, A. D. 1252. The original will be found in the Append. p. 339.[48]The particulars are thus related by Speed:—Henry, “after he had calmed the boisterous stormes of warre, in the partes beyond the seas, came over into England well appointed, unto whom also resorted many of the nobilitie who yeelded up themselves, and above thirtie strong castles, to the young duke, now hasted to raise the siege of Wallingford; Stephen following hastily to succour his men—though with the lesse edge, for that he never sped well in any assault of that castle—pitched downe his tents, even neere his enemy, and ready on bothe sides to give battaile, the winter stormes were suddenly so troublesome that nothing could be done, but those somewhat overblowne, and the armies scarce three furlongs asunder, as Kinge Stephen was busied in disposing of his hoaste, and giving directions for order of the battaile, his horse under him, rising with his fore feet fell flat back upon the earth, not without danger to his rider; and thus did he thrice ere hee left; which things his nobles secretly muttering, interpreted for an unlucky presage; when William, Earle of Arundell, a bold and eloquent man, went to him and advised him to a peace, affirming the title of Duke Henry to be just: that the nobilitie on bothe parts there present were nearly linked in alliances and bloud, and how these stood affected was very doubtfull. Yea that brethren were there assembled, the one against the other, whereof must needs follow an unnatural war betwixt them, and of dangerous consequences even to him that conquested. With these and the like allegations, at last Stephen began to bend, and a parley for peace was signified unto the Duke.”—Speed, edit. 1629, fol. 481.[49]“ ...estre grand voyagier,Tournoiz suir et jouster pour sa mie.”—Deschamps, cité par Sainte Palaye.[50]Siege of Caerlaverock.—Edited by Sir Harris Nicolas.[51]Hume, 4to, 175; Wals. 148.[52]Speed, fol. 689.[53]Froiss. C. 132.[54]The fortunes and fate of the noblemen and prelates will be detailed in a future page of this work.[55]“They sware each to other to be assistant in all such matters as they should determine; and therewith received the sacrament at the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who celebrated mass before them the following morning, which done, they withdrew into a chamber and fell into conversation together. When in the end they light upon this point—to take King Richard, the Dukes of York and Lancaster, and commit them to prison; and also the lords of the King’s Council they determined should be drawn and hanged. Such was the purpose which they meant to have accomplished in the August following. But the Earl Marshal, Arundel his son-in-law, discovered all to the King.” Holinshed, 1. 448.[56]“He was arrayned,” says the old picturesque chronicle, “in a red gown and scarlet hood; and forthwith the Duke of Lancaster, John-of-Gaunt, said to the Lord Neville, Take from him his girdle and hood, and so it was done; and herewith the appeal being to the said Earl declared, with a valyaunt and bolde minde he denies that he was a traytor, and required benefit of y pardon, protesting that he would not go from the benefit of the King and his grace. The Duke of Lancaster then said, Why didst thou purchase the pardon? The Earl answered, To the tongues of mine enemies, whereofthou art one. The Duke of Lancaster said, Thou traytor, this pardon is revoked. The Earl answered, Truely thou lyest, Inever was a traytor.”[57]“The constancy of this Earl’s courage,” says Speed, “as well as his arraignement, passage, and execution, in which he did not discolour the honour of his blood with any degenerous word, look, or action, encreased the envy of his death upon his his persecutors. That he was a traitor either in word or deed, he utterly did deny, and died in that denial.”—Speed, 739.[58]“In the form and manner as you have heard did Duke Henry take King Richard, his lord. The duke led him straight to the Castle, which is fair and strong, and caused him to be lodged in the dungeon. And then he gave him in keeping to the son of the Duke of Gloucester, Humphrey Plantagenet; and Thomas Fitzalan, the son of the Earl of Arundel; who hated him more than any man in the world, because King Richard had put their fathers to death.”—French Metrical History, deposition of King Richard, Archæologia, vol. xx. 173. By the Rev. John Webb, M.A.; also Dallaway, p. 139.[59]Froissart, vol. ii. 295. Dallaway, 139.[60]“The next day after the coronation, were kepte triumphant joustes and tourneys, in which the Erle of Arondelle and the Bâtard de St. Pol, by the judgement of the ladyes, wanne the prize.”—Holinshed.[61]Monstrelet, vii. 51.[62]The French historians bear ample testimony to his prowess:—“Le Comte d’Arondelle, Anglais de grande réputation, se mit en campagne pour prendre des places sur les Français.”—Dallaway, quoting Montfaucon, t. iii. 309.[63]Grafton’s account of this affair is very picturesque:—“The which town of Builleyne, he, King Henry VIII., so sore assaulted, and so besieged with such abundance of great ordnance, that never was there a more valyaunt assaut made, for beside the undermyning of the castell, tower, and walles, the towne was so beaten with ordinaunce, that there was not left one house whole therein. In the morning the Duke of Suffolk rode into Bulleyne, to whom in the king’s name they delyvered the keyes of the towne; and at afternoone departed out of Bulleyne all the Frenchemen. The last person that came forthe was Monsire de Verinne, graund captaine of the towne, which, when he approched near where the kinge stoode, he alighted from his horse, and came to the kinge. And after he had talked with him a space, the kinge toke him by the hande, and he reverently kneeling upon his knees, kissed his hand, and afterward mounted upon his horse and so departed. The xviii. day the kingis highnesse, having the sworde borne naked before him, like a noble and valyaunt conqueror rode into Bulleyne, and all the trumpetters standing on the walles of the towne, sounded their trumpettes, to the great comfort of all the kinges true subiectes, the same beholding.”—Vol. ii. 492.[64]Arundel affirmed that the only method of making atonement for their past offences, was by a speedy return to the duty which they owed to their lawful sovereign; the motion was seconded by Pembroke, who clapping his hand to his sword, swore that he was ready to fight any man that expressed himself of a contrary sentiment.—Hume, 373.[65]This however did not “enable him to ascertain, according to the old English proverb, the exact length of her Majesty’s foot!”—Anon.[66]Shakspeare, in his Richard the Third, has introduced this incident into the opening scene of the battle.Norfolk.This found I in my tent this morning. {Giving a scroll.Richard.[reads] “Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold.”A thing devised by the enemy.Then dismissing them, continues:Go, gentlemen—every man unto his charge,Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;Conscience is but a word that cowards use,Devised at first to keep the strong in awe;Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.King Richard III. act v. sc. 3.[67]History of Framlingham and its Lords, p. 89, 90. R. Green.[68]Hist. of Framlingham, note, p. 90.[69]Sir Walter Scott’s Lay of the Last Minstrel.[70]Arundelian Marbles, called also the Parian Chronicle, are ancient stones on which is inscribed, in capital letters, a chronicle of the city of Athens, supposed to have been engraved in the island of Paros, 264 years before Christ. They take their name from the Earl of Arundel, who procured them from the East, or from this Earl, his grandson, who, as above stated, presented them to the University of Oxford.[71]The origin of this screen is thus gravely recorded: During the Abbot Richard’s visit at Tinmouth, he received a wonderful cure of a withered arm, with which he had been afflicted many years. It is related, that being present at Durham, when the monks were removing the corpse of St. Cuthbert, the founder of Durham Cathedral and the Apostle of the North, he assisted to lift and support the shrine, and received from that instant a cure of his malady, and found his arm restored to health. And accordingly, on his return, he built a wall, or screen, across the nave of the church, about 50 feet below the choir; and, adjoining to the wall, a chapel, dedicated to St. Cuthbert. This chapel stood on the west side of the said screen, and had service performed in it, and an altar; but has been long since pulled down, though the screen remains to this day.—Lives of the Abbots.[72]“It is to be understood, that in those days,” says the historian of the abbey, “there was no screen at the top of the choir, that the great altar stood where the rails and table now stand, and the shrine was placed in what is now the consistory; so that it was all open, even from Cuthbert’s screen, to the view of the whole choir and congregation.“Abbot Symond caused the shrine to be a little elevated, for a better view, and to appear directly before the eye of the priest who was celebrating mass; whose place it was to stand and kneel with his back to the people, and on the west side of the altar. This position of the shrine was not only the most splendid to the eye of the beholder, but was intended to raise and elevate the devotion of the priest; and to this purpose, also, was intended the Decollation of St. Alban, which was painted on the wall opposite.“The Shrinewas in form somewhat resembling an altar-tomb, but rising with a lofty canopy over it supported on pillars, and was intended to represent the saint lying in great state. The inside contained a coffin, wherein had been deposited the bones of Alban by Abbot Geoffrey. This was enclosed in another case, which, on the two sides, was overlaid with figures cast in gold and silver, showing the chief acts of Alban’s life, in work that was highly raised and embossed. At the head, which was toward the east, was placed a large “Crucifixion,” with a figure of the Virgin Mary on one side and of St. John on the other, ornamented with a row of very splendid jewels. At the feet, which were towards the east and in front of the choir, was placed an image of the Virgin, holding her son in her bosom, seated on a throne; the work seemingly of cast gold highly embossed, and enriched with precious stones and very costly bracelets.“The four pillars which supported the canopy, and stood one at each corner, were shaped in resemblance like towers, with apertures to represent windows, and all of plate gold, supporting the roof or canopy, whose inside was covered with crystal stones.”—Newcome, ed. 1793, p. 76.[73]In the “Philosophical Transact.” No. 333, p. 426, the reader will find a paper on the extraordinary size of human bones dug up in this neighbourhood, communicated by the celebrated Mr. Cheselden.[74]“As protector of the realm,” says Hollinshed, “he was highlie esteemed of learned men, himselfe also not meanlie furnished with knowledge, hauing rare skill in astrologie, whereof beside manie other things he compiled a singular treatise, obteining the name of Tabula directionum.” Whethamstead, the abbot above-named, concludes a copy of Latin verses on the death of the Good Duke in the following complimentary terms:—Fidior in regno regi duce non fuit isto,Plusque fide stabilis aut major amator honoris,Et tamen ut prædo voto potiretur iniquo,Fraudem consuluit, cum fraude dolum sociavit,Sicque ducem falsi maculans cum proditioneObtinuit votum praedator oratque bonorumIllius, et tristis obiit Dux criminis expers.[75]Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham built a large and noble hall, with a double roof, to entertain strangers in; near which he built a fair bedchamber. Abbot John of Hertford built a noble hall for the use of strangers, adding many parlours, with an inner chamber and a chimney, (no common luxury in those times,) with a noble picture. He built also an entry, a small hall, and a most noble entry with a porch or gallery, and many fair bedchambers, with their inner chambers and chimneys, to receive strangers honourably.—Willis’ Mitred Abbeys.[76]The buildings called the “royal lodging,” were separated from the rest of the monastery by a range of cloisters, running nearly the whole length of the church, but divided from it by the great square, and by all the principal buildings of the convent. The royal apartments were pleasantly and quietly situated near the southern edge of the hill, overlooking the valley of the Ver.—Notes to “St. Albans Abbey,” p. 89.[77]In the Archæologia, vol. xx. p. 519, is an interesting account of the first battle of St. Albans, from a contemporary MS., communicated by John Bayley, Esq., F.S.A., to which the reader is referred.[78]History of St. Albans, p. 358.[79]The Rev. Peter Newcome, Rector of Shenley, Herts, whose history of St. Albans is compiled from that of Matthew Paris and Walsingham (both monks of this Abbey, and men of undoubted veracity), and from numerous MSS. in the Cotton Library, Harleian Collection, &c. &c. London, printed for the author, 1793, 4to. pp. 547.[80]Sir Thomas Meautys, who erected the monument, was Lord Bacon’s private secretary. He continued his faithful services to him through all his troubles, and at his death inherited as next heir the family possessions.[81]The woodcut here introduced, shows the north entrance, with part of the interior, of theLady-Chapel, through which there is a common passage leading to the town, called the ante-chapel.[82]Among the lesser works expressly devoted to Eltham Palace, Mr. Buckler’s “Historical and Descriptive Account,” published about sixteen years ago, and just when the repairs had been commenced, under the direction of Mr. Smirke the Architect, is the best. But in “the Gentleman’s Magazine,”—the grand repertorium of subjects of this class—some excellent papers, accompanied with illustrative engravings of Eltham, have appeared from time to time, during the last fifty years.—Some years ago, “The Graphic and Historical Illustrator,” edited by E. W. Brayley, Esq., F.S.A. &c. opened a fine field of investigation; but, much to the regret of every littérateur and antiquary, it was discontinued. It contains a good paper on Eltham.[83]From the Doomsday record it appears “Hanno the sheriff of the county holds of the bishop Aletham, which is taxed at one suling and a half. The arable land is twelve carucates: on the demesne there are two ploughs: there are forty-four villans and twelve bordars who employ seven ploughs: there are nine slaves, and twenty-two acres of meadow: there is pasture for fifty hogs. In the time of Edward the Confessor it was valued at sixteen pounds, when it came into the present owner at twelve pounds; now at twenty pounds. Alwold held this manor of the Confessor.”—Hasted’s “Kent;” also “Eltham Palace.” Lond. 1804.[84]“Eltham Palace.” Anon. 1804, with authorities from history.[85]Camden, in his brief notice of Eltham, confirms this charge in the following terms; “Antony Becke, Bishop of Durham and patriarch of Jerusalem, built this ‘Eltham,’ in a manner new, and gave it unto Queen Eleanor, wife of Edwarde the Firste, after he had craftily conveyed unto himself the inheritance of the Vescyes, unto whom the place before belonged. For that Bishope, whom the last baron de Vescye had made his feofie for trust of all his inheritance to the use of William Vescye his little base sonne, dealt not so faithfully as he should with this orphan and warde of his, but despoiled him of Alnwick Castle, of this Eltham, and other faire lands.”—Camden, 327, 8.[86]Chronicles. Stow. Holinshed. Grafton.[87]King Henry keeping his Whitsuntide at the palace of Eltham, the next year ensuing, commanded that for those valiant acts against the Scots, as also for that his ancestors bore the eagle in their crest, he should be proclaimed Lord of Mounteagle, which was accordingly then and there done; and he gave to the officers of arms five marks, besides the accustomed fees, and likewise to Garter, principal king-at-arms, his fee; whereupon, he had special summons to parliament, the same year, by the title of Mounteagle, and was installed one of the Knights of the Garter. Rot. Parl. Collins, vol. ii. p. 450. This title has been recently revived, and conferred on Mr. Spring Rice, late Chancellor of the Exchequer.[88]After the martyrdom of King Charles, three years later, the manor-house was surveyed and the materials valued at £2754. It was then described in the Parliamentary survey as built of brick, wood, stone, and timber—consisting of one fairCHAPEL, one greatHALL, thirty-six rooms and offices below stairs, with two large cellars. Above stairs were seventeen lodging-rooms on the King’s side, nine on the Prince’s side, and seventy-eight rooms in the offices round the court-yard, which contained an acre of ground. None of the rooms enumerated were then furnished, except the chapel and hall; and the house was reported as untenantable. Parliam. Survey. Paper on the Hall of Eltham, N. R. S., also Lysons, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 50.[89]It appears, by a passage in the works of Erasmus, that Henry the Eighth and all the children of Henry the Seventh, except Prince Arthur, were educated at Eltham. The learned writer describes a visit which he paid them, accompanied by his friend Mr. Thomas More, afterwards Lord Chancellor, and at this time a student at Lincoln’s Inn. [Ed. 1811, Lysons, vol. i. 788, refers to Knight’s Life of Erasmus, p. 69.][90]Lysons—Buckler—Hist. of Kent.[91]Parliam. Survey—Lysons, vol. i. pt. ii.[92]Mr. Buckler remarks, that the external wall within the moat was built with great care and strength, and that its basement is likely to remain long after all other traces of the palace have disappeared. See “Eltham Hall,” edit. 1828.[93]Lysons—Buckler—“Environs.”[94]Buckler’s Eltham.—Graph. Illustrator.[95]See Gent. Mag., sig. N. R. S. 1811-1822.[96]The upper or western part had suffered the most from neglect; the cornices and beams, which were dangerously decayed, had been repaired, and perhaps restored to their original stability. Formerly, the deficiencies were supplied with chestnut, which is now substituted by oak, strongly bolted and strapped with iron. Whatever might have occasioned the injury, which was arrested several centuries ago, it is certain that the mischief which has been in operation upwards of fourscore years to the present time, was not accelerated by the dry-rot, which has not been discovered in any part of the building, except a small spot in the principal wall-plate, over the south bay-window.—Buckler’s Eltham.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Having thus faintly premised the leading features of the work in hand, it may be proper to add a few words respecting the origin of the design, and the humble qualifications of the writer for the task he has undertaken. Familiar in early life with the feudal and monastic ruins which invest Border history with so many stirring tales and traditions, a taste for the deeds and days of old, fostered both at school and college, was much strengthened by subsequent travelling in France and Italy; where, besides the classical monuments of antiquity, an unlimited field was thrown open for the study and investigation of those which more forcibly illustrate the middle ages. To the facilities acquired on the shores of the Mediterranean, others were presented to him in Germany, where much of the feudal character is still preserved in the living habits of the people. Honoured with the commands of a late illustrious Personage{*}, on three successive occasions, to attend him professionally at some of the minor courts of that country, he had various opportunities of visiting those religious and baronial edifices which, in the old German principalities, are both numerous and splendid. He next spent a considerable time in Switzerland, among the High Alps and in the valleys of Piedmont, where many vestiges of feudal customs and government were found to illustrate the history of the middle ages in Great Britain.—But although the writer had published works descriptive of the countries mentioned, the plan of the work now in hand was partly the result of a conversation with a late distinguished and highly accomplished lady{**}, whose family honours had descended to her through a long succession of ancestors. Being at that time engaged in an illustrated work on Scotland, her Grace favoured the author with an original drawing of her ancestral castle; and on a subsequent occasion suggested an illustrated history of our castellated mansions, with their legends and traditions, as a popular subject. He was honoured at the same time with a family memoir, and some MSS. respecting the ancient Sutherland estates, such as might have been useful in a work like the present. Circumstances, however, which occurred shortly after, precluded all further attention to the subject; and it was not till the beginning of last autumn that leisure was found to make arrangements for publishing the work in a cheap, popular form: a plan which it is hoped will bring an originally voluminous and expensive field of illustration within the reach of every admirer of English monuments.{*} His late Majesty William IV., while Duke of Clarence.{**} The late Duchess-Countess of Sutherland.

{*} His late Majesty William IV., while Duke of Clarence.

{**} The late Duchess-Countess of Sutherland.

[2]Asser de Ælfred. rebus. gestis, fol. 23.; Athelmo vero fratris mei filio, &c.—Appendix to this vol. p. 331.

[3]Ibid.—Camden, 308. 230. See the original in Append. to this volume, p. 331.

[4]Ingulph. folio 510.—Hardyng, p. 229.—Simeon Dunelmensis, 184.—Hovedon, fol. 254.

[5]Caraccioli, p. 5.—Dallaway.—Archit. in England.—Forty-nine Castles are enumerated in Domesday Book,that of Arundel only, as existing in the reigns of Edward the Confessor, p. 269. The Castle of Arundel dates perhaps its true origin from that monarch, King Alfred.—p. 316.

[6]Camden, 229-30. Fama vero tota est ex Castro, quod Saxonico imperio flouit. See Append. p. 331.

[7]Wilhelm. Gemitens, f. 686. Ingentes possessiones habuit in diversis regionibus Normanniæ.

[8]Dugd. Bar. 1. 26.—Camden, p. 86. “Normanni.” Primam Normannorum aciem ducebant Rogerus Montegomericus et Guil. Fitzosberne.

[9]Ord. Vitalis De Gul. primo. Excerp. p. 208-254. A Wilhelmo rege Anglorum Comitatus Arundelliæ, et Salopesberiæ dono accepit.Ao. Dni. 1071. Rogerus de Montegomerici, Comes Arundel, fuit pacificè seizit’, &c. Inprimis de Castro Arundell, forest’ Warren’ hundr’ et aliis libert’ spectant’ ad Honorem Castri, &c. Tierney, 1. 14.

[9]Ord. Vitalis De Gul. primo. Excerp. p. 208-254. A Wilhelmo rege Anglorum Comitatus Arundelliæ, et Salopesberiæ dono accepit.

Ao. Dni. 1071. Rogerus de Montegomerici, Comes Arundel, fuit pacificè seizit’, &c. Inprimis de Castro Arundell, forest’ Warren’ hundr’ et aliis libert’ spectant’ ad Honorem Castri, &c. Tierney, 1. 14.

[10]Dallaway’s Rape of Arundel.—Hist. of Sussex.

[11]Estimated at 57·460 acres. Hist. of Arundel, p. 21.

[12]Honour, in this sense, means a superior Seignory to which other lordships and manors owe suit and service, and which itself holds only of the Sovereign.—Feudal Syst.

[13]Orderic, 522.—Excerpt. p. 254.—App. 332.

[14]Order. Vitalis, 708. monachile seema devotus suscepit, etc.—v. also Dugd. Bar. i, 28.

[15]Girald. Cambrens. Itinerar. p. 194.—Dugd. Bar.

[16]Polyd. Virgil, f. 173.—Hovedon, f. 268.—Speed, 445.—Grafton, i. 177.—Tierney, i. 158.—Append. to this Volume, p. 332.

[17]History of Arundel, i. 15. Orderic Vitalis, p. 708.

[18]Chalmers’ Caledonia, vol i. 572—4. Anno 1158. “Ego Milcolumbus, rex, confirmavi,Waltero, filio Alain(Fitzalan), Dapifero meo, et heredibus suis, in feodo et hereditate, senescalliam meam ... ita bene et plenarie, sicut Rex David senescalliam suam ei dedit.” In consequence of this grant, Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, sold the stewardship as an hereditary possession in 1336 to Edward the Third. Sec Dugd. Bar. i. 314.—Append. to this Vol. p. 334.

[19]Mem. Howard Family—Descent of the Earldom, in Tierney’s Hist. and Antiq. of Arundel, vol. i.

[20]See Appendix to this vol. p. 338, also Ellis’s Metrical Romances, vol. ii. p. 245.

[21]Castrum Harundel T. R. E. reddebᵈᵉ qoda molⁱⁿᵒXL.solⁱᵈ. et de iiibus conuviis (conviviis?)XXsolⁱᵈ. et de uno pasticioXXsolⁱᵈ. etc. etc.—Domesday Survey, quoted by Tierney.

[22]A careful examination of the evidence in respect to its foundation, inclines us to refer that event to the time of Alfred, whose policy, it will be remembered, led him to augment the national security by the erection of numerous fortresses, particularly in the maritime districts; and it may be readily concluded that the ‘Castrum de Harundel,’ a royal residence, was one of those which survived the demolition of English fortresses which succeeded the Conquest. [Tierney, i. 33; and Dallaway.] It is supposed that, at the death of Alfred, fifty castles or upwards had been raised under his direction, and it is not probable that the whole of that number could have disappeared in the comparatively short period which elapsed between the demise of that monarch and the establishment of the Norman dynasty. Ante, p. 8, n. ¶.—Also App. p. 334.

[23]For other particulars the reader may consult Wright—Caraccioli—Dallaway—Horsfield, and Tierney.

[24]For other particulars the reader may consult Wright—Caraccioli—Dallaway—Horsfield, and Tierney.

[25]Register, R. f. 106. quoted in Tierney, vol. i. 44.

[26]A.D. 1275.

[27]Tierney, i. 45. Pat. 3. Edw. I. m. 30—1.

[28]As shown in the view taken from the battlements of the castle, p. 26.

[29]Abridged from the History.

[30]Tierney, vol. i. 48-9.—Dallaway’s Arundel.—Horsted, vol. i. 120-5, 6.—Wright 32-36.

[31]Tierney, vol. i. 48-9.—Dallaway’s Arundel.—Horsted, vol. i. 120-5, 6.—Wright 32-36.

[32]Tierney, vol. i. 48-9.—Dallaway’s Arundel.—Horsted, vol. i. 120-5, 6.—Wright 32-36.

[33]In a cause tried at Hawarden, in Flintshire, long previous to his reign, we have a list of the twelve jurors; confirmed, too, by the fact that the descendants of one of them, named Corby of the Gate, still preserve their name and residence, at a place in the parish called the Gate.—Phillips.

[34]See list of authorities at the end of this subject, also Append. to this volume.

[35]Portrait of Captain Morris.

[36]The late Duke of Norfolk.

[37]Henry Howard of Greystoke.

[38]H. C. Coombe, Esq. Alderman of London.

[39]On the corner of a stone in this superb hall is the following votive inscription:—“LIBERTATIPER BARONES REGNANTE JOHANNEVINDICATÆ,CAROLUS HOWARD NORFOLCIÆ DUX,ARUNDELIÆ COMESA.C. MDCCCVI.ÆTATIS LX.”D. D.

[39]On the corner of a stone in this superb hall is the following votive inscription:—

“LIBERTATIPER BARONES REGNANTE JOHANNEVINDICATÆ,CAROLUS HOWARD NORFOLCIÆ DUX,ARUNDELIÆ COMESA.C. MDCCCVI.ÆTATIS LX.”D. D.

[40]Sepulchral Antiq. Hist. of Arundel Church and Priory—Dallaway and Wright.

[41]Causa nominis nec ab Arundelio, Bevisii fabuloso equo, nec ex Charudo, Cimbricæ Chersonesi promontorio, quod Goropius per quietem vidit; sed ex valle in qua sedet ad Arun flumen.—Camden.

[42]See ante. p. 12, also Appendix to this Vol. p. 338-9, where the legend is given.

[43]See Appendix to this vol. pp. 336, 7; also Dugdale Bar. i. pp. 42, 118.

[44]Rediit ad vigiliam Paschæ in Angliam, appulit apud Arundel. Henr. Huntingd. lib. vii. 216.

[45]Tierney. i. 55. Patent 30th Edw. I. M. 9, is dated at Arundel.

[46]See a full and interesting account of this conspiracy, with its disastrous consequences, at pp. 49, 50, 51, of this vol.

[47]Tempore quoque sub eodem domino rege adhuc moram Londini continuante, venit ad eum in Cameram suam Isabella, Comitissa Harundelliæ relicta Comitis Harundelliæ H. et ejusdem regis cognata; ut pro jure suo de quadam custodia ipsam contingente verba faceret sibi profectura, &c. Paris, p. 853, A. D. 1252. The original will be found in the Append. p. 339.

[48]The particulars are thus related by Speed:—Henry, “after he had calmed the boisterous stormes of warre, in the partes beyond the seas, came over into England well appointed, unto whom also resorted many of the nobilitie who yeelded up themselves, and above thirtie strong castles, to the young duke, now hasted to raise the siege of Wallingford; Stephen following hastily to succour his men—though with the lesse edge, for that he never sped well in any assault of that castle—pitched downe his tents, even neere his enemy, and ready on bothe sides to give battaile, the winter stormes were suddenly so troublesome that nothing could be done, but those somewhat overblowne, and the armies scarce three furlongs asunder, as Kinge Stephen was busied in disposing of his hoaste, and giving directions for order of the battaile, his horse under him, rising with his fore feet fell flat back upon the earth, not without danger to his rider; and thus did he thrice ere hee left; which things his nobles secretly muttering, interpreted for an unlucky presage; when William, Earle of Arundell, a bold and eloquent man, went to him and advised him to a peace, affirming the title of Duke Henry to be just: that the nobilitie on bothe parts there present were nearly linked in alliances and bloud, and how these stood affected was very doubtfull. Yea that brethren were there assembled, the one against the other, whereof must needs follow an unnatural war betwixt them, and of dangerous consequences even to him that conquested. With these and the like allegations, at last Stephen began to bend, and a parley for peace was signified unto the Duke.”—Speed, edit. 1629, fol. 481.

[49]“ ...estre grand voyagier,Tournoiz suir et jouster pour sa mie.”—Deschamps, cité par Sainte Palaye.

[49]

“ ...estre grand voyagier,Tournoiz suir et jouster pour sa mie.”—Deschamps, cité par Sainte Palaye.

[50]Siege of Caerlaverock.—Edited by Sir Harris Nicolas.

[51]Hume, 4to, 175; Wals. 148.

[52]Speed, fol. 689.

[53]Froiss. C. 132.

[54]The fortunes and fate of the noblemen and prelates will be detailed in a future page of this work.

[55]“They sware each to other to be assistant in all such matters as they should determine; and therewith received the sacrament at the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who celebrated mass before them the following morning, which done, they withdrew into a chamber and fell into conversation together. When in the end they light upon this point—to take King Richard, the Dukes of York and Lancaster, and commit them to prison; and also the lords of the King’s Council they determined should be drawn and hanged. Such was the purpose which they meant to have accomplished in the August following. But the Earl Marshal, Arundel his son-in-law, discovered all to the King.” Holinshed, 1. 448.

[56]“He was arrayned,” says the old picturesque chronicle, “in a red gown and scarlet hood; and forthwith the Duke of Lancaster, John-of-Gaunt, said to the Lord Neville, Take from him his girdle and hood, and so it was done; and herewith the appeal being to the said Earl declared, with a valyaunt and bolde minde he denies that he was a traytor, and required benefit of y pardon, protesting that he would not go from the benefit of the King and his grace. The Duke of Lancaster then said, Why didst thou purchase the pardon? The Earl answered, To the tongues of mine enemies, whereofthou art one. The Duke of Lancaster said, Thou traytor, this pardon is revoked. The Earl answered, Truely thou lyest, Inever was a traytor.”

[57]“The constancy of this Earl’s courage,” says Speed, “as well as his arraignement, passage, and execution, in which he did not discolour the honour of his blood with any degenerous word, look, or action, encreased the envy of his death upon his his persecutors. That he was a traitor either in word or deed, he utterly did deny, and died in that denial.”—Speed, 739.

[58]“In the form and manner as you have heard did Duke Henry take King Richard, his lord. The duke led him straight to the Castle, which is fair and strong, and caused him to be lodged in the dungeon. And then he gave him in keeping to the son of the Duke of Gloucester, Humphrey Plantagenet; and Thomas Fitzalan, the son of the Earl of Arundel; who hated him more than any man in the world, because King Richard had put their fathers to death.”—French Metrical History, deposition of King Richard, Archæologia, vol. xx. 173. By the Rev. John Webb, M.A.; also Dallaway, p. 139.

[59]Froissart, vol. ii. 295. Dallaway, 139.

[60]“The next day after the coronation, were kepte triumphant joustes and tourneys, in which the Erle of Arondelle and the Bâtard de St. Pol, by the judgement of the ladyes, wanne the prize.”—Holinshed.

[61]Monstrelet, vii. 51.

[62]The French historians bear ample testimony to his prowess:—“Le Comte d’Arondelle, Anglais de grande réputation, se mit en campagne pour prendre des places sur les Français.”—Dallaway, quoting Montfaucon, t. iii. 309.

[63]Grafton’s account of this affair is very picturesque:—“The which town of Builleyne, he, King Henry VIII., so sore assaulted, and so besieged with such abundance of great ordnance, that never was there a more valyaunt assaut made, for beside the undermyning of the castell, tower, and walles, the towne was so beaten with ordinaunce, that there was not left one house whole therein. In the morning the Duke of Suffolk rode into Bulleyne, to whom in the king’s name they delyvered the keyes of the towne; and at afternoone departed out of Bulleyne all the Frenchemen. The last person that came forthe was Monsire de Verinne, graund captaine of the towne, which, when he approched near where the kinge stoode, he alighted from his horse, and came to the kinge. And after he had talked with him a space, the kinge toke him by the hande, and he reverently kneeling upon his knees, kissed his hand, and afterward mounted upon his horse and so departed. The xviii. day the kingis highnesse, having the sworde borne naked before him, like a noble and valyaunt conqueror rode into Bulleyne, and all the trumpetters standing on the walles of the towne, sounded their trumpettes, to the great comfort of all the kinges true subiectes, the same beholding.”—Vol. ii. 492.

[64]Arundel affirmed that the only method of making atonement for their past offences, was by a speedy return to the duty which they owed to their lawful sovereign; the motion was seconded by Pembroke, who clapping his hand to his sword, swore that he was ready to fight any man that expressed himself of a contrary sentiment.—Hume, 373.

[65]This however did not “enable him to ascertain, according to the old English proverb, the exact length of her Majesty’s foot!”—Anon.

[66]Shakspeare, in his Richard the Third, has introduced this incident into the opening scene of the battle.Norfolk.This found I in my tent this morning. {Giving a scroll.Richard.[reads] “Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold.”A thing devised by the enemy.Then dismissing them, continues:Go, gentlemen—every man unto his charge,Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;Conscience is but a word that cowards use,Devised at first to keep the strong in awe;Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.King Richard III. act v. sc. 3.

[66]Shakspeare, in his Richard the Third, has introduced this incident into the opening scene of the battle.

Norfolk.This found I in my tent this morning. {Giving a scroll.

Richard.[reads] “Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold.”A thing devised by the enemy.Then dismissing them, continues:Go, gentlemen—every man unto his charge,Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;Conscience is but a word that cowards use,Devised at first to keep the strong in awe;Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.King Richard III. act v. sc. 3.

[67]History of Framlingham and its Lords, p. 89, 90. R. Green.

[68]Hist. of Framlingham, note, p. 90.

[69]Sir Walter Scott’s Lay of the Last Minstrel.

[70]Arundelian Marbles, called also the Parian Chronicle, are ancient stones on which is inscribed, in capital letters, a chronicle of the city of Athens, supposed to have been engraved in the island of Paros, 264 years before Christ. They take their name from the Earl of Arundel, who procured them from the East, or from this Earl, his grandson, who, as above stated, presented them to the University of Oxford.

[71]The origin of this screen is thus gravely recorded: During the Abbot Richard’s visit at Tinmouth, he received a wonderful cure of a withered arm, with which he had been afflicted many years. It is related, that being present at Durham, when the monks were removing the corpse of St. Cuthbert, the founder of Durham Cathedral and the Apostle of the North, he assisted to lift and support the shrine, and received from that instant a cure of his malady, and found his arm restored to health. And accordingly, on his return, he built a wall, or screen, across the nave of the church, about 50 feet below the choir; and, adjoining to the wall, a chapel, dedicated to St. Cuthbert. This chapel stood on the west side of the said screen, and had service performed in it, and an altar; but has been long since pulled down, though the screen remains to this day.—Lives of the Abbots.

[72]“It is to be understood, that in those days,” says the historian of the abbey, “there was no screen at the top of the choir, that the great altar stood where the rails and table now stand, and the shrine was placed in what is now the consistory; so that it was all open, even from Cuthbert’s screen, to the view of the whole choir and congregation.“Abbot Symond caused the shrine to be a little elevated, for a better view, and to appear directly before the eye of the priest who was celebrating mass; whose place it was to stand and kneel with his back to the people, and on the west side of the altar. This position of the shrine was not only the most splendid to the eye of the beholder, but was intended to raise and elevate the devotion of the priest; and to this purpose, also, was intended the Decollation of St. Alban, which was painted on the wall opposite.“The Shrinewas in form somewhat resembling an altar-tomb, but rising with a lofty canopy over it supported on pillars, and was intended to represent the saint lying in great state. The inside contained a coffin, wherein had been deposited the bones of Alban by Abbot Geoffrey. This was enclosed in another case, which, on the two sides, was overlaid with figures cast in gold and silver, showing the chief acts of Alban’s life, in work that was highly raised and embossed. At the head, which was toward the east, was placed a large “Crucifixion,” with a figure of the Virgin Mary on one side and of St. John on the other, ornamented with a row of very splendid jewels. At the feet, which were towards the east and in front of the choir, was placed an image of the Virgin, holding her son in her bosom, seated on a throne; the work seemingly of cast gold highly embossed, and enriched with precious stones and very costly bracelets.“The four pillars which supported the canopy, and stood one at each corner, were shaped in resemblance like towers, with apertures to represent windows, and all of plate gold, supporting the roof or canopy, whose inside was covered with crystal stones.”—Newcome, ed. 1793, p. 76.

“Abbot Symond caused the shrine to be a little elevated, for a better view, and to appear directly before the eye of the priest who was celebrating mass; whose place it was to stand and kneel with his back to the people, and on the west side of the altar. This position of the shrine was not only the most splendid to the eye of the beholder, but was intended to raise and elevate the devotion of the priest; and to this purpose, also, was intended the Decollation of St. Alban, which was painted on the wall opposite.

“The Shrinewas in form somewhat resembling an altar-tomb, but rising with a lofty canopy over it supported on pillars, and was intended to represent the saint lying in great state. The inside contained a coffin, wherein had been deposited the bones of Alban by Abbot Geoffrey. This was enclosed in another case, which, on the two sides, was overlaid with figures cast in gold and silver, showing the chief acts of Alban’s life, in work that was highly raised and embossed. At the head, which was toward the east, was placed a large “Crucifixion,” with a figure of the Virgin Mary on one side and of St. John on the other, ornamented with a row of very splendid jewels. At the feet, which were towards the east and in front of the choir, was placed an image of the Virgin, holding her son in her bosom, seated on a throne; the work seemingly of cast gold highly embossed, and enriched with precious stones and very costly bracelets.

“The four pillars which supported the canopy, and stood one at each corner, were shaped in resemblance like towers, with apertures to represent windows, and all of plate gold, supporting the roof or canopy, whose inside was covered with crystal stones.”—Newcome, ed. 1793, p. 76.

[73]In the “Philosophical Transact.” No. 333, p. 426, the reader will find a paper on the extraordinary size of human bones dug up in this neighbourhood, communicated by the celebrated Mr. Cheselden.

[74]“As protector of the realm,” says Hollinshed, “he was highlie esteemed of learned men, himselfe also not meanlie furnished with knowledge, hauing rare skill in astrologie, whereof beside manie other things he compiled a singular treatise, obteining the name of Tabula directionum.” Whethamstead, the abbot above-named, concludes a copy of Latin verses on the death of the Good Duke in the following complimentary terms:—Fidior in regno regi duce non fuit isto,Plusque fide stabilis aut major amator honoris,Et tamen ut prædo voto potiretur iniquo,Fraudem consuluit, cum fraude dolum sociavit,Sicque ducem falsi maculans cum proditioneObtinuit votum praedator oratque bonorumIllius, et tristis obiit Dux criminis expers.

Fidior in regno regi duce non fuit isto,Plusque fide stabilis aut major amator honoris,Et tamen ut prædo voto potiretur iniquo,Fraudem consuluit, cum fraude dolum sociavit,Sicque ducem falsi maculans cum proditioneObtinuit votum praedator oratque bonorumIllius, et tristis obiit Dux criminis expers.

[75]Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham built a large and noble hall, with a double roof, to entertain strangers in; near which he built a fair bedchamber. Abbot John of Hertford built a noble hall for the use of strangers, adding many parlours, with an inner chamber and a chimney, (no common luxury in those times,) with a noble picture. He built also an entry, a small hall, and a most noble entry with a porch or gallery, and many fair bedchambers, with their inner chambers and chimneys, to receive strangers honourably.—Willis’ Mitred Abbeys.

[76]The buildings called the “royal lodging,” were separated from the rest of the monastery by a range of cloisters, running nearly the whole length of the church, but divided from it by the great square, and by all the principal buildings of the convent. The royal apartments were pleasantly and quietly situated near the southern edge of the hill, overlooking the valley of the Ver.—Notes to “St. Albans Abbey,” p. 89.

[77]In the Archæologia, vol. xx. p. 519, is an interesting account of the first battle of St. Albans, from a contemporary MS., communicated by John Bayley, Esq., F.S.A., to which the reader is referred.

[78]History of St. Albans, p. 358.

[79]The Rev. Peter Newcome, Rector of Shenley, Herts, whose history of St. Albans is compiled from that of Matthew Paris and Walsingham (both monks of this Abbey, and men of undoubted veracity), and from numerous MSS. in the Cotton Library, Harleian Collection, &c. &c. London, printed for the author, 1793, 4to. pp. 547.

[80]Sir Thomas Meautys, who erected the monument, was Lord Bacon’s private secretary. He continued his faithful services to him through all his troubles, and at his death inherited as next heir the family possessions.

[81]The woodcut here introduced, shows the north entrance, with part of the interior, of theLady-Chapel, through which there is a common passage leading to the town, called the ante-chapel.

[82]Among the lesser works expressly devoted to Eltham Palace, Mr. Buckler’s “Historical and Descriptive Account,” published about sixteen years ago, and just when the repairs had been commenced, under the direction of Mr. Smirke the Architect, is the best. But in “the Gentleman’s Magazine,”—the grand repertorium of subjects of this class—some excellent papers, accompanied with illustrative engravings of Eltham, have appeared from time to time, during the last fifty years.—Some years ago, “The Graphic and Historical Illustrator,” edited by E. W. Brayley, Esq., F.S.A. &c. opened a fine field of investigation; but, much to the regret of every littérateur and antiquary, it was discontinued. It contains a good paper on Eltham.

[83]From the Doomsday record it appears “Hanno the sheriff of the county holds of the bishop Aletham, which is taxed at one suling and a half. The arable land is twelve carucates: on the demesne there are two ploughs: there are forty-four villans and twelve bordars who employ seven ploughs: there are nine slaves, and twenty-two acres of meadow: there is pasture for fifty hogs. In the time of Edward the Confessor it was valued at sixteen pounds, when it came into the present owner at twelve pounds; now at twenty pounds. Alwold held this manor of the Confessor.”—Hasted’s “Kent;” also “Eltham Palace.” Lond. 1804.

[84]“Eltham Palace.” Anon. 1804, with authorities from history.

[85]Camden, in his brief notice of Eltham, confirms this charge in the following terms; “Antony Becke, Bishop of Durham and patriarch of Jerusalem, built this ‘Eltham,’ in a manner new, and gave it unto Queen Eleanor, wife of Edwarde the Firste, after he had craftily conveyed unto himself the inheritance of the Vescyes, unto whom the place before belonged. For that Bishope, whom the last baron de Vescye had made his feofie for trust of all his inheritance to the use of William Vescye his little base sonne, dealt not so faithfully as he should with this orphan and warde of his, but despoiled him of Alnwick Castle, of this Eltham, and other faire lands.”—Camden, 327, 8.

[86]Chronicles. Stow. Holinshed. Grafton.

[87]King Henry keeping his Whitsuntide at the palace of Eltham, the next year ensuing, commanded that for those valiant acts against the Scots, as also for that his ancestors bore the eagle in their crest, he should be proclaimed Lord of Mounteagle, which was accordingly then and there done; and he gave to the officers of arms five marks, besides the accustomed fees, and likewise to Garter, principal king-at-arms, his fee; whereupon, he had special summons to parliament, the same year, by the title of Mounteagle, and was installed one of the Knights of the Garter. Rot. Parl. Collins, vol. ii. p. 450. This title has been recently revived, and conferred on Mr. Spring Rice, late Chancellor of the Exchequer.

[88]After the martyrdom of King Charles, three years later, the manor-house was surveyed and the materials valued at £2754. It was then described in the Parliamentary survey as built of brick, wood, stone, and timber—consisting of one fairCHAPEL, one greatHALL, thirty-six rooms and offices below stairs, with two large cellars. Above stairs were seventeen lodging-rooms on the King’s side, nine on the Prince’s side, and seventy-eight rooms in the offices round the court-yard, which contained an acre of ground. None of the rooms enumerated were then furnished, except the chapel and hall; and the house was reported as untenantable. Parliam. Survey. Paper on the Hall of Eltham, N. R. S., also Lysons, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 50.

[89]It appears, by a passage in the works of Erasmus, that Henry the Eighth and all the children of Henry the Seventh, except Prince Arthur, were educated at Eltham. The learned writer describes a visit which he paid them, accompanied by his friend Mr. Thomas More, afterwards Lord Chancellor, and at this time a student at Lincoln’s Inn. [Ed. 1811, Lysons, vol. i. 788, refers to Knight’s Life of Erasmus, p. 69.]

[90]Lysons—Buckler—Hist. of Kent.

[91]Parliam. Survey—Lysons, vol. i. pt. ii.

[92]Mr. Buckler remarks, that the external wall within the moat was built with great care and strength, and that its basement is likely to remain long after all other traces of the palace have disappeared. See “Eltham Hall,” edit. 1828.

[93]Lysons—Buckler—“Environs.”

[94]Buckler’s Eltham.—Graph. Illustrator.

[95]See Gent. Mag., sig. N. R. S. 1811-1822.

[96]The upper or western part had suffered the most from neglect; the cornices and beams, which were dangerously decayed, had been repaired, and perhaps restored to their original stability. Formerly, the deficiencies were supplied with chestnut, which is now substituted by oak, strongly bolted and strapped with iron. Whatever might have occasioned the injury, which was arrested several centuries ago, it is certain that the mischief which has been in operation upwards of fourscore years to the present time, was not accelerated by the dry-rot, which has not been discovered in any part of the building, except a small spot in the principal wall-plate, over the south bay-window.—Buckler’s Eltham.

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