ABBEY Church of St. Peter’s, Westminster. Many have been the fables invented and propagated by the monks, relating to the original foundation of this ancient edifice; but the most probable account is given by those who place it under Sebert, King of the East Saxons, who died in 616. These say, that this Prince being converted to christianity by Austin’s discourses, and his uncle Ethelbert’s example, erected this church on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Apollo, in the island of Thorney, and caused Mellitus, Bishop of London, to consecrate it to St. Peter.

As many ridiculous miracles have been related of its foundation, it is the less surprizing that its dedication should also be represented as miraculous, and that St. Peter himself, five hundred years after his decease, should be represented by the monks, as doing honour to the new fabric, by performing the ceremony himself. For according to the legend, the King having ordered Mellitus to perform the ceremony, St. Peter over-night called upon Edricus, a fisherman, and desired to be ferried over to Thorney, which happened to be then overflowed by the heavy rains that had lately fallen; the fisherman consented, and having carried over the Apostle, he saw him consecrate the church amidst a grand chorus of celestial music, and a glorious appearance of heavenly lights. After which the Apostle returning, discovered himself to the fisherman, and bid him tell Mellitus what he had heard and seen, and as a proof of his divine mission, gave him a miraculous draught of salmon, and then assured him, that none of his profession should ever want that kind of fish in the proper season, provided they made an offering of the tenth fish for the use of the new church; which custom, it seems, was continued by the fishermen four hundred years after.

This church and its monastery were afterwards repaired and enlarged by Offa, King of Mercia, but being destroyed by the Pagan Danes, they were rebuilt by King Edgar, who endowed them with lands and manors, and in the year 969 granted them many ample privileges.

The church and monastery having again suffered by the ravages of the Danes, were again rebuilt by Edward the Confessor, who pulled down the old church, and erected a most magnificent one, for that age, in its room, in the form of a cross, which afterwards became a pattern for that kind of building. The work being finished in the year 1065, he caused it to be consecrated with the greatest pomp and solemnity, and by several charters not only confirmed all its ancient rights and privileges, but endowed it with many rich manors, and additional immunities: ordained that all its lands and possessions, should be subject to none but its own jurisdiction, and the convent be free from the authority of the Bishop of London; and the church, by a bull of Pope Nicholas I. was constituted the place for the inauguration of the Kings of England. In short, he gave it a charter of sanctuary, in which he declares, that any person whatsoever, let his crimes be ever so great, who takes sanctuary in that holy place, shall be assured of life, liberty, and limbs, and that none of his ministers, nor those of his successors, should seize any of his goods, lands or possessions, under pain of everlasting damnation, and that whoever presumed to act contrary to this grant, should lose his name, worship, dignity, and power, and with the traitor Judas, be in the everlasting fire of hell. This was the pious language of St. Edward the Confessor, and from this charter, Westminster Abbey became an asylum for traitors, murderers, robbers, and the most abandoned miscreants, who lived there in open defiance of the laws.

This, and King Edward’s other charters, in which he recites the ridiculous story of its consecration by St. Peter, as above related, its destruction by the Danes, the grants and privileges of his predecessors, and those bestowed by himself, drew people thither from all parts, so that in a short time there was not sufficient room in the Abbey church for the accommodation of the numerous inhabitants, without incommoding the monks; he therefore caused a church to be erected on the north side of the monastery, for the use of the inhabitants, and dedicated it to St. Margaret.

William the Conqueror, to shew his regard to the memory of his late friend King Edward, no sooner arrived in London, than he repaired to this church, and offered a sumptuous pall, as a covering for his tomb; he also gave fifty marks of silver, together with a very rich altar cloth, and two caskets of gold; and the Christmas following was solemnly crowned there, his being the first coronation performed in that place.

The next Prince who improved this great work, was Henry III. who in the year 1200 began to erect a new chapel to the blessed Virgin; but about twenty years after, finding the walls and steeple of the old structure much decayed, he pulled them all down, with a design to enlarge, and rebuild them in a more regular manner; but he did not live to accomplish this great work, which was not compleated till 1285, about fourteen years after his decease. And this is the date of the building as it now stands.

About the year 1502, King Henry began that magnificent structure which is now generally called by his name; for this purpose, he pulled down the chapel of Henry III. already mentioned, and an adjoining house called the White Rose Tavern; this chapel, like the former, he dedicated to the blessed Virgin, and designing it for a burial place for himself and his posterity, he carefully ordered in his will, that none but those of royal blood should be permitted to lie there.

At length on the general suppression of religious houses, the Abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII. by William Benson, the Abbot, and seventeen of the monks, in the year 1539, when its revenues amounted to 3977l. 6s. 4d. ¾ per annum, a sum at least equal to 20,000l. a year at present. Besides its furniture, which was of inestimable value, it had in different parts of the kingdom, no less than two hundred, and sixteen manors, seventeen hamlets, and ninety-seven towns and villages. And tho’ the Abbey was only the second in rank, yet in all other respects it was the chief in the kingdom; and its Abbots having episcopal jurisdiction, had a seat in the house of Lords.

The Abbey thus dissolved, that Prince erected first into a college of secular Canons, under the government of a Dean, an honour which he chose to confer on the last Abbot. This establishment, however, was of no long duration, for two years after he converted it into a bishopric, which was dissolved nine years after by Edward VI. who restored the government by a Dean, which continued till Mary’s accession to the crown; when she, in 1557, restored it to its ancient conventual state; but Queen Elizabeth again ejected the monks, and in 1560 erected Westminster Abbey into a college, under the government of a Dean, and twelve secular Canons or Prebendaries, a Schoolmaster, Usher, and forty Scholars, denominated the Queen’s, to be educated in the liberal sciences preparatory to the university, and to have all the necessaries of life, except cloathing, of which they were to have only a gown every year. To this foundation also belong choristers, singing-men, an organist, twelve almsmen, &c.

The Abbey church, which was stripped of many of its decorations by Henry VIII. and was much damaged both within and without during the unhappy civil commotions that defaced the ancient beauty of most of the religious houses in this kingdom, has continued from the death of Henry VII. almost to the present time, without any other considerable repairs, and was gradually falling to ruin, when the Parliament interposed, and ordered a thorough reparation at the national expence.

This venerable fabric has been accordingly new coated on the outside, except that part called Henry the Seventh’s chapel, which is indeed a separate building: and the west end has been adorned with two new stately towers that have been lately rebuilt, in such a manner as to be thought equal in point of workmanship to any part of the ancient building; but though such pains have been taken in the coating, to preserve the ancient Gothic grandeur, that this church in its distant prospect has all the venerable majesty of its former state, yet the beautiful carving with which it was once adorned, is irretrievably lost; the buttresses, once capped with turrets, are now made in plain pyramidical forms, and topped with freestone; and the statues of our ancient Kings that formerly stood in niches, near the tops of those buttresses, are for the most part removed, and their broken fragments lodged in the roof of Henry the Seventh’s chapel. Three of these statues are still standing next the towers on the north side, and indeed that is the only side where you can take a view of the Abbey, the other side being so incumbered with buildings, that even its situation cannot be distinguished.

What next to the new towers principally engages the attention on the outside, is the Gothic portico which leads into the north cross, which by some has been stiled the Beautiful, or Solomon’s Gate. This was probably built by Richard II. as his arms carved in stone was formerly over the gate. It has been lately beautified, and over it is a new window admirably well executed. Besides these there is little in the outward appearance capable of engaging the attention, and its principal beauties are to be found within.

The author of the work entitled English Architecture, seems to prefer the Gothic to the Grecian architecture, as most suited to the purposes of devotion, and gives this edifice as an instance, “There is in it, says he, a majesty and grandeur, a sedate, and if we may so speak, religious dignity, which immediately strikes the imagination; and never failed to impress on the most insensible observer, that holy awe which should attend, and which always disposes the mind to devotion.” But this holy awe, thus mechanically incited, would be as friendly to Paganism as to Christianity; and indeed, this awe is so far from being holy, that it is a thing entirely distinct from rational piety and devotion, and may be felt without any inclination to enter the choir.

Indeed the multiplicity of puerile ornaments profusely lavished, the strong and beautiful perspective, and that romantic air of grandeur so visible in this structure, and above all the height of the middle isle at our first entrance, fill the eye, strike us in a very forcible manner, and at once raise our admiration and astonishment. To which let it be added, that the ranges of venerable monuments on each hand, some of them most magnificent, have a natural tendency to strike the mind with an uncommon degree of solemnity, and to raise the most serious reflections.

The extent of the building is very considerable; for it is 360 feet within the walls, at the nave it is 72 feet broad, and at the cross 195. The Gothic arches and side isles are supported by 48 pillars of grey marble, each composed of clusters of very slender ones, and covered with ornaments. The moment you enter the west door the whole body of the church opens itself at once to your view, the pillars dividing the nave from the side isles being so formed as not to obstruct the side openings, nor is your sight terminated to the east, but by the fine painted window over Edward the Confessor’s chapel, which anciently, when the altar was low, and adorned with the beautiful shrine of that pretended saint, must have afforded one of the finest prospects that can be imagined.

The pillars are terminated to the east by a sweep, enclosing the chapel of Edward the Confessor, in a kind of semicircle. And it is worthy of observation, that as far as the gates of the choir, the pillars are filletted with brass, but all beyond with stone. Answering to the middle range of pillars, there are others in the wall, which as they rise, spring into semiarches, and are every where met in acute angles by their opposites, and meeting in the roof are adorned with a variety of carvings. On the arches of the pillars are galleries of double columns fifteen feet wide, covering the side isles, and enlightened by a middle range of windows, over which there is an upper range of larger windows, and by these, together with the four capital windows, facing the north, east, south and west, the whole fabric is so admirably enlightened, that in the day you are never dazzled with its brightness, nor incommoded by its being too dark. But before we leave these capital windows, which are all finely painted, it is necessary to observe, that in the great west window is a curious painting of Edward III. to the left of which in a smaller window is a painting of one of our Kings, supposed to be Richard II. but the colours being of a water blue the features of the face cannot be distinguished. On the other side the great window is a lively representation of Edward the Confessor in his robes, and under his feet are painted his arms. At the bottom of the walls between the pillars are shallow niches, arched about eight or ten feet high, on which the arms of the original benefactors are depicted, and over them are their titles, &c. but these are almost all concealed by the monuments of the dead placed before them, many of which are extremely noble, and which we shall particularly examine after having gone through the several parts of the edifice.

After viewing the open part of the church, the next thing to be seen is the choir, which can only be done during the times of divine service. The grand entrance into it is by a pair of fine iron gates, on each side of which is a very magnificent tomb. The floor is paved with the finest black and white marble. The ancient stalls are covered with Gothic acute arches, supported by small iron pillars, and are painted purple; but what is most worthy of observation, is an ancient portrait near the pulpit, of Richard II. sitting in a gilt chair, dressed in a green vest flowered with gold, with gold shoes powdered with pearls. This piece is six feet eleven inches in length, and three feet seven inches in breadth; but the lower part is much defaced.

The next thing worthy of observation is the fine altar enclos’d with a curious balustrade, within which is a pavement of mosaic work, laid at the expence of Abbot Ware, in the year 1272, and is said to be one of the most beautiful of its kind in the world: the stones of which it is composed are porphyry, jasper, lydian and serpentine. The altar is a beautiful piece of marble, removed from Whitehall, and presented to this church by order of her majesty Queen Anne. On each side of the altar are doors, opening into St. Edward’s chapel.

Of the several Chapels in Westminster Abbey. Besides that of Henry VII. which, as we have already observed, is a separate building, and will therefore be mentioned by itself when we have finished our survey of the Abbey, there are ten chapels, round that of St. Edward the Confessor, which stands as it were in the center, and, as has been said, is inclosed in the body of the church, at the east end of the choir, behind the altar; these, beginning from the north cross, and passing round to the south cross, are in the following order: St. Andrew’s, St. Michael’s, St. John the Evangelist’s, Islip’s chapel, St. John the Baptist’s, St. Paul’s, Henry the Fifth’s, St. Nicholas’s, St. Edmund’s, and St. Benedict’s.

The Chapel of St. Edward. The first curiosity that here fixes our attention, is the ancient shrine erected by Henry III. upon the canonization of Edward King of England, the third of that name before the conquest, and the last of the Saxon race; a Prince who owed the title of Confessor and Saint, to the vast sums he bestowed on the church, and the sollicitations of the monks, than to his own personal merit: for he was a bad son, a bad husband, and so bad a king, that he shewed greater favour to the Normans than to his own people, and by his folly prepared the way for the conquest. He died in the year 1066, and was canonized by Pope Alexander III. in 1269. This shrine, which was once esteemed the glory of England, is now much defaced and neglected. It was composed of stones of various colours, beautifully enriched with all the cost that art could devise. No sooner was it erected, than the wealth of the kingdom flowed to it from all quarters. Henry III. set the first example, though he afterwards made use of the jewels and treasure he offered there, to defray the charges of an expedition into France. Before this shrine was a lamp kept continually burning, on one side stood a silver image of the blessed Virgin, which with two jewels of immense value, were presented by Queen Eleanor, the wife of Henry III. on the other side stood another image of the Virgin Mary, wrought in ivory, presented by Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Here also Edward I. offered the Scots regalia and chair, in which the kings of Scotland used to be crowned, which is still preserved and shewn to all strangers. And about the year 1280, Alphonso, third son to the last mentioned king, offered here the golden coronet of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and other jewels; but it would almost fill a volume to enumerate the offerings made at this shrine. Yet it is now so stripped as to afford no satisfaction, except to the curious; however some of the stone-work with which it is adorned, is still to be seen. This stone-work is hollow within, and now incloses a large chest, which Mr. Keep, soon after the coronation of James II. found to contain the remains of St. Edward; for it being broken by accident, he discovered a number of bones, and turning them up, found a crucifix, richly ornamented and enamell’d with a gold chain of twenty inches long, both which he presented to his Majesty, who ordered the bones to be replaced in the old coffin, and enclosed in a new one made very strong, and clamp’d with iron.

On the south side of this shrine lies Editha, daughter to Goodwyn, Earl of Kent, and Queen to St. Edward, with whom she lived eighteen years, and tho’ she was the most accomplished woman of that age, confessed on her death-bed, that he suffered her to live and die a virgin; and, as an ancient manuscript in the Cotton library has it, “nathelees, tho’ the Kinge had a wyfe, he lived ev’moe in chastete, and clennes, wythowten any fleshley dedes doynge wyth his wyfe the Queen, and so dyd the Queen on her syde.” She survived her husband eight years, and beheld all the miseries consequent upon his dying without issue. She was however treated with great respect by William the Conqueror, who allowed her an apartment in the King’s palace at Winchester, where she died, and was interred here, by his express orders.

Near the remains of this Princess lie those of Queen Maud, surnam’d the Good, the daughter of Malcolm Conmair, King of Scotland, to whom she was espoused, in order to unite the Saxon and Norman lines, and thereby to reconcile the affections of the English to the future Kings that should spring from them. She died on the 11th of May 1118. This excellent Princess was distinguished by her many virtues, particularly her humility, and her placing her chief delight in relieving the poor.

On the north side of this chapel is the tomb of Henry III. the pannels are of polish’d porphyry, and around them is mosaic work of gold and scarlet. At the corners of the table are twisted pillars, gilt, and enamell’d, and upon it is placed the effigy of that King in brass gilt, finely executed. He died in 1272, aged 65, after a troublesome reign of 56 years.

At the feet of the last mentioned Prince lies the effigy of Eleanor, Queen to Edward I. On the sides of this monument are engraven the arms of Castile and Leon, quarterly, and those of Ponthieu, hanging on vines and oak-trees, and round the copper verge is embossed this inscription in Saxon characters;

It is remarkable, that the body of this Queen was only interred here, and that her heart was placed in the choir of the friars predicants in London.

There is also here a large plain coffin of grey marble, composed of seven stones, four of which form the sides, two the ends, and one the cover. This rough unpolished tomb incloses the body of the glorious King Edward I. just mentioned, who was born on the 17th of June 1239. He was named Edward, in honour of Edward the Confessor, and afterwards surnamed Long Shanks, from his tall and slender habit of body. This brave Prince died on the 7th of July 1307, aged 68.

In this chapel is a tomb of black marble, to the memory of Philippa, the third daughter to William Earl of Hainault, and Queen to King Edward III. who bestowed a profusion of expence on her tomb, round which were placed as ornaments, the brazen statues of no less than thirty Kings, Princes, and noble personages her relations.

Tho’ Edward III. was interred in the same grave as the Queen, he has a monument erected for him adjoining to hers, covered with a Gothic canopy. The effigy of this Prince, who died June 21, 1377, lies on a tomb of grey marble, and at his head are placed the shield and sword carried before him in France: the latter is seven feet long, and weighs eighteen pounds. This tomb was, like the former, surrounded with statues, particularly with those of his children.

Next to this is the tomb of Richard II. and his Queen, over which is a canopy of wood, remarkable for a painting of the Virgin Mary and our Saviour still visible. This Prince was murdered on Valentine’s day 1399, and on the robing of his effigy are curiously wrought, peascod shells open, and the peas out, perhaps in allusion to his being once in full possession of sovereignty, which before his murder, was reduced to an empty title.

Between St. Edward’s shrine, and the tomb of Queen Philippa, under a large stone, once plated with brass, lies the great Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and uncle to the above Richard II. who murdered him on the 8th of September, 1397, for being too free and too faithful a monitor.

Here is also a table monument in memory of Margaret, daughter to Edward IV. by his Queen Elizabeth Woodville; and a small monument of black Lydian marble finely polished, in memory of Elizabeth Tudor, the second daughter of Henry VIII who died at three years of age.

Henry the Fifth’s Chapel, is only parted from St. Edward’s by an iron screen, on each side of which are statues as big as the life. His monument, which is surrounded with iron rails and gates, is of black marble, and upon it is placed his statue; but what is very remarkable, it lies without the head. Your guides say, that the body is heart of oak, and the head of beaten silver; as were also the scepter and other ensigns of royalty with which this statue was adorned; but that the value of these occasioned their being sacrilegiously taken away. This is by some writers represented at a ridiculous tale. Over this tomb is a chauntry chapel, in which the weapons, armour, and caparisons of Henry V. were carefully laid up, and remain to this day.

Near this tomb lies enclosed in an old wooden chest, the remains of Catharine, daughter of Charles VI. King of France, and the consort of Henry V. She died on the 2d of January 1437, and was honourably interred in the chapel erected by Henry III. but when her grandson Henry VII. pulled down that to build his own chapel, her body was taken up, when the bones appeared firmly united, and thinly covered with flesh; but the coffin being decayed, was put into a wooden chest, and removed to the place where it is now seen. This is the account given by those who shew this venerable dust, the miserable remains of a lady of royal blood, and of distinguished beauty.

The Chapel of St. Andrew, which is next the northern cross, has in the center a magnificent monument erected to the memory of Sir Francis Norris, ancestor to the late Sir John Norris. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth he distinguished himself by his bravery in the Low Countries, and was created Lord Norris of Rycot. This monument has a fine representation of an encampment in relief, and is otherwise beautifully ornamented; but has no inscription.

Against the east wall is a table monument to the memory of Sir John Burgh, who was killed in 1594, in taking a large Spanish ship, laden with gold, silver and jewels of inestimable value.

In one corner is an ancient monument of Robert Kirton, that has several labels in black letters round his portrait, which rests upon eagles crowned. He died Oct. 3, 1466.

St. Michael’s Chapel has only one monument worthy of notice, which is that of Sarah, Duchess of Somerset; and mother to the last Duke of that branch of the family. On the base sit two charity boys, one on each side, lamenting the loss of their great benefactress, who is represented resting upon her arm, under a canopy of state, and looking earnestly upon a group of cherubims, issuing from the clouds above her. Underneath is a Latin inscription, enumerating her many charitable foundations, and informing us that this excellent Lady died on the 5th of September 1692.

St. John the Evangelist’s Chapel, has in the center a curious monument to Sir Francis Vere, a gentleman of the first reputation for learning and bravery, who particularly distinguished himself at the battle of Newport, in which he commanded in front under Prince Maurice, in the service of the States, against the Spaniards. This great warrior was 30 years in the Dutch service, and in 20 of them commanded the auxiliary troops of England. He died on the 28th of August 1608, in the 54th year of his age. His monument is a table supported by four knights kneeling, on which lie the several parts of a complete suit of armour, and underneath the effigies of Sir Francis, lying, as if undressed, in a loose gown, on a quilt of alabaster. On the base is a short Latin inscription in gold letters, shewing to whom it belongs; that he was nephew to the Earl of Oxford, and Governor of Portsmouth and the Brille, and that his disconsolate widow consecrated this monument to his memory.

Close to the wall is a monument of Sir George Hollis, nephew to Sir Francis Vere, and a Major General under him. On the pedestal is represented the siege of a town in relief, where the principal figure is a General on horseback holding a battoon, and having one eye blemished, perhaps alluding to the siege of Newport, in which Sir George also gained great honour, and had a horse killed under him. On each side of this pedestal sits a Pallas, lamenting the death of the great warrior, who is represented above in the Roman habit, standing erect upon a lofty altar, with a cherub supporting the plinth on which he stands. Sir George died in January 1626. An ingenious author speaking of this monument, says, that Sir George was the first erect figure set up in the Abbey; “an attitude, says he, which I am far from discommending, for ’tis my opinion, statues should always represent life and action: ’tis peculiarly adapted to heroes, who ought never to be supposed at rest, and should have their characters represented as strong as possible: this before us is bold and manly, though not chaste and elegant: ’tis finely elevated too, and the mourning Pallases, at the base of it, are both well fancied and well applied.”

Near Sir Francis’s tomb is that of Aubery de Vere, the last Earl of Oxford of that name, and Lieutenant-General of Queen Anne’s forces, who died March 12, 1702.

In this chapel there are also some antique monuments; particularly on the right hand, is that of John de Eastney, one of the Abbots, who was a great benefactor to this church, and died on the 4th of May 1438. A brazen statue of this Abbot in his mass habit, lies upon his tomb. It is remarkable, that in breaking up a grave about thirty years ago, his body was discovered in a coffin quilted with yellow sattin, having on a gown of crimson silk, girded round him with a black girdle; on his legs were white silk stockings, and over his face a clean napkin doubled up, and laid corner wise. His body and legs are said to have been plump and firm, but his face somewhat discoloured.

There is likewise here the monument of Sir John Harpedon, Knt. who died in 1457. He lies in armour, resting his feet on a lion, and his head on a greyhound.

St. Erasmus’s, or Islip’s Chapel, has but two monuments worthy of notice; the first that of John Islip, Abbot of Westminster, the founder of this chapel, which he dedicated to St. Erasmus. It is adorned with much carving in devices, intaglios, and febuses, alluding to the name of the founder, as a person slipping boughs off a tree; an eye with the slip of the tree; and a youth sliding from a bough, with I slip, in a label proceeding out of his mouth. In the middle is Islip’s tomb which is a plain marble table, supported by four small brass pillars; over it was anciently painted on the roof, a picture of our Saviour on the cross. He died in January 1510.

The other is the tomb of Sir Christopher Hatton, son to Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor of England. The principal figures are a knight in armour, and a lady in deep mourning resting on the ascending sides of a triangular pediment, parted in the middle by a trunkless helmet. Over their heads is a neat piece of architecture, in the center of which is a scroll with their arms, held up by naked boys, one of whom holds an extinguished torch reversed over the Knight, to shew that Sir Christopher died first; the other over the Lady holds his torch upright and burning, to signify that she survived him. The inscription informs us, that Sir Christopher died on the 10th of September 1619.

Over this chapel is a chauntry, in which are two large wainscot presses, filled with the effigies of Princes, and others of high quality, interred in the Abbey. These effigies, ’tis said, resembled the deceased as near as possible, and were formerly exposed at the funerals of our Princes and other great personages, in open chariots, with their proper ensigns of royalty or honour. Those here deposited are all maimed, some stripped, and others in tattered robes; but the most ancient are the least injured, which seems as if the value of their cloaths had occasioned this ravage; for the robes of Edward VI. that were once of crimson velvet, but now appear like leather, are left entire; while those of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. are taken away, as is every thing of value from all the rest.

St. John Baptist’s Chapel, contains several monuments: one at the entrance is to the memory of Mrs. Mary Kendall, the daughter of Thomas Kendall, Esq; she died in her thirty-third year, and her epitaph informs us, that “her many virtues rendered her every way worthy of that close union and friendship, in which she lived with Lady Catharine Jones; and in testimony of which, she desired that even their ashes, after death, might not be divided; and therefore ordered herself here to be interred, where she knew that excellent Lady designed one day to rest, near the grave of her beloved and religious mother, Elizabeth Countess of Kendall.”

Next to this is a monument erected to the memory of Col. Edward Popham, and his Lady, whose statues in white marble stand under a lofty canopy, resting their arms in a thoughtful posture upon a marble altar, on which lie the gloves of an armed knight. This gentleman was an active officer in Cromwell’s army, and his atchievements were here inscribed on his tomb. Upon the restoration, the monument was ordered to be demolished, and the inscription erased; but at the intercession of some of his Lady’s relations, who had eminently served his Majesty, the stone whereon the inscription was cut was only turned inwards, and no other injury done to his monument.

In the midst of this chapel is a large table monument for Thomas Cecil, Earl of Exeter, Baron Burleigh, Knight of the Garter, and Privy Counsellor to King James I. whereon is placed his statue lying down, with his Lady on his right side, and a vacant space on his left for another. The Lady on his right side is his first wife the Lady Dorothy Nevil, daughter to the Lord Latimer; and the vacant space was left for his second wife, Frances Bridges, of the noble family of Chandois; but as the right side was taken up, she gave express orders in her will, not to place her effigy on his left, however, according to the inscription, they are all buried together in one vault.

But the most magnificent monument in this chapel is against the east wall, where stood the altar of St. John Baptist; this was erected to the memory of Henry Carey, first cousin to Queen Elizabeth, who, on being denied the honours of peerage, laid the disappointment so much to heart, that he languished for a long time on a sick bed, at which the Queen being moved, too late, created him a Baron, and ordered the patent and robes to be laid before him, but without effect. He died on the 23d of July 1596, aged seventy-two.

Here also is a monument to Thomas Carey, second son to the Earl of Monmouth, who is said to have died of grief in 1648, at the age of thirty-three, on account of the untimely fate of his royal master King Charles I.

Here are likewise a few antique monuments, particularly one in which the figure of a Bishop properly habited, lies under a Gothic canopy. This is supposed to be erected for Thomas Rathal, Bishop of Durham, who died in 1524.

And an ancient stone monument for William of Colchester, whose effigies lie with the head supported by an angel, and the feet by a lamb.

St. Paul’s Chapel, has on the left hand, a lofty monument erected to the memory of Sir John Puckering, Knt. and Lord Chancellor in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in which office he died on the 20th of April 1596. His epitaph in Latin over his effigies, is thus translated:

Adjoining to this monument, is one, much decay’d, for Sir James Fullerton and his Lady, whose effigies lie upon it, and on a table of black marble is the following quaint inscription:

There is a monument erected to the memory of Sir James Bromley, Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth, who died on the 12th of April 1587. This monument is of alabaster, with pillars of Lydian marble gilt, and Sir James is represented lying in his Chancellor’s habit, with his four sons and four daughters kneeling on the base.

In the same chapel is a plain monument of Sir Dudley Carlton, who for his services to King James I. and King Charles I. was made Viscount Dorchester, and Secretary of State. He died on the 15th of February 1631, and is represented on his tomb sitting in a half rais’d posture.

To the east of this monument is another of alabaster to the memory of Frances the wife of Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, who distinguished herself by her humanity and generosity, and died on the 15th of April 1589. She is represented in a recumbent posture, resting on an embroidered cushion, dressed in robes, and with a coronet on her head.

Next to this is the monument of Francis Lord Cottington of Hanworth, who died on the 9th of June 1652, and of his Lady who died in 1633. This monument is of black touchstone, and remarkably different from every other in the Abbey, On the top is a circular frame of gilt brass, enclosing the bust of the Lady, and beneath is his Lordship on a table monument resting on his left arm, and over a satyr’s head is the inscription in English mentioning his Lordship’s titles and employments.

St. Nicholas’s Chapel contains several remarkable monuments: near the entrance is one of black marble, finely polished, to the memory of the Lady Jane Clifford, youngest daughter to the Duke of Somerset, and wife to Charles Lord Clifford and Dungarvan, who died Nov. 23, 1679. This black monument is adorned with cherubims and a scroll of alabaster, whereon is written a long inscription in English, containing an account of the Lady’s descent and marriage.

By the door on the same side, is a monument of alabaster erected for Lady Cecil, the daughter of Lord Cobham, who having married Sir Robert Cecil, son to William Lord Burleigh, Treasurer of England, died in child-bed in 1591. The Latin inscription is a dialogue between herself and husband, expressing their mutual affection.

At some distance is a magnificent temple of various coloured marble, erected to the memory of Anne Duchess of Somerset, wife to Edward Duke of Somerset. She died on the 16th of April 1618, aged twenty-eight. The inscription is in Latin and English, and contains a pompous detail of the noble lineage of this great Lady, her alliances and issue.

In this chapel is likewise a very expensive monument, erected by the great Lord Burleigh, to the memory of his wife Mildred, and their daughter the Lady Anne, Countess of Oxford, representing a stately temple built with porphyry, and other kinds of marble gilt. It is divided into two compartments, one elevated over the other. In the lower lies Lady Burleigh, in a recumbent posture, with her daughter Lady Jane in her arms; and at her head and feet are her children and grand-children kneeling. In the upper compartment is the figure of a venerable old man, supposed to be the Lord Burleigh, on his knees, as if at fervent prayer. The Lady Burleigh died April 4, 1589, aged sixty-three, after being forty years married, and her daughter, the Lady Oxford, June 5, 1588. On the tomb is a long Latin inscription, explaining the figures, and displaying their respective virtues and accomplishments.

The next monument I shall mention in this chapel, is that of the Lady Winifrid, married first to Sir Richard Sackville, Knt. and afterwards to John Paulet, Marquis of Winchester. On the base are the figures of a Knight armed and kneeling, and facing him a Lady in mourning also on her knees; behind whose back lies an infant on a baptismal font with its head supported by a pillow.

In the middle of the chapel is a fine raised monument of polished marble, to the memory of Sir George Villars and his Lady, whose son was raised by King James I. to the dignity of Duke of Buckingham.

In this chapel are two beautiful pyramids; the largest erected to the memory of Nicholas Bagnal, a child of two months old, overlaid by his nurse; the other to the memory of Anna Sophia Harley, a child of a year old, daughter to the Hon. Christopher Harley Embassador to the French King. She died in the year 1600, and her father, as appears by the inscription, caused her heart to be inclosed in a cup, and placed upon the top of the pyramid.

There are also in this chapel, a monument to the memory of the Lady Elizabeth Fanes, and one or two others, scarcely worth notice.

The Chapel of St. Edmund, has at the entrance a lofty monument with Gothic spires erected to the memory of John of Eltham, second son to King Edward III. and so called from Eltham in Kent. His statue in armour is of white alabaster, the head incircled by a coronet. He died in Scotland at nineteen years of age, unmarried, tho’ three different matches had been proposed to him, the last of which, to Mary daughter of Ferdinand King of Spain, he accepted, but lived not to consummate it.

Next to this is a small table monument, on which lie the effigies of William of Windsor, and Blanch of the Tower, the son and daughter of Edward III. They took their surnames from the places of their birth, and both died in their infancy. They are dressed in the habits of the times, the young Prince in a short doublet, of the indecency of which Chaucer’s parson complains, and the Princess in a horned head-dress, which Stow says, was frightful.

On another tomb lies the statue of the Lady Frances, Duchess of Suffolk, represented dressed in her robes. She was the daughter of the famous Charles Brandon by Mary the French Queen, daughter to Henry VII. and became Duchess of Suffolk by marrying Henry Grey, Marquis of Dorset, who, upon her father’s decease, was created Duke of Suffolk. On her tomb are two inscriptions, the first in Latin verse in praise of her virtues, and the other in English, shewing her different marriages.

The next is an elegant monument of white marble, erected by John Earl of Clare, to the memory of his son Francis Hollis, a youth of great bravery, who, after returning from making a campaign in Flanders, died on the 12th of August 1622, aged eighteen. He is represented clad in Grecian armour, sitting on a Greek altar. A good author mentioning this statue, says, that it expresses more juvenile sweetness and beauty, than any thing of the kind he ever saw, and that if this figure has any fault in character or design, it is being placed in a languid sedentary posture, tho’ cloathed in armour, and described as a hero in his bloom; a more spirited attitude, he observes, would have been more suitable to the person represented, would have given the statuary greater latitude to exert his genius, and afforded more satisfaction to the spectator. The epitaph on this is as follows:

On an altar, in the same taste, but differently ornamented, sits the statue of the Lady Elizabeth Russel, the daughter of Lord Russel. This statue is of white alabaster, and the Lady is represented in a sleeping posture. Your guides say, that she died with a prick of her finger; but this story has no other foundation, than a misapprehension of the statuary’s design; for having represented her asleep, and pointing with her finger to a death’s head under her right foot, it has been supposed, by the position of her finger pointing downwards, that it was bleeding, and that this had closed her eyes in death; though the artist’s design seems rather to allude to the composed situation of her mind at the approach of death, which she considered only as a profound sleep, from which she was again to wake to a joyful resurrection, of which the motto under her feet, is an evident illustration; Dormit, non mortua est; “She is not dead, but sleepeth.” The Latin inscription on the scroll beneath, only tells that this monument was erected to her memory by her afflicted sister Anne. The device is an eagle, the emblem of eternity, resting on a florilege of roses, &c.

Within the iron rails that inclose this last monument, is a magnificent one to the memory of John Lord Russel, son and heir to Francis Earl of Bedford, and of his young son Francis, by Elizabeth the daughter of Sir Anthony Cook, Knt. This monument is of various coloured marble and alabaster, and is adorned with gilding. Lord Russel is represented lying in his robes, with his infant son at his feet. His Lady, who erected this tomb, was esteemed the Sappho of the age, and was not only an excellent poetess, but mistress of the learned languages; and five epitaphs on this tomb are of her composition, three of which are in Latin, one in Greek, and the other in English, which last is here transcribed as a specimen of the rest, that are to the same purpose:

In this chapel is a monument partly enclosed, to the memory of Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury and his Lady, who are represented lying on a black marble table supported by an alabaster pedestal. This monument is adorned with variegated marble finely carved. The inscription contains his titles and character, which is a very noble one, and informs us that he died on the 8th of February 1617, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.

In this chapel are several other monuments, adorned in their ancient manner, with statues lying flat on the backs; and also some other monuments affixed to the walls.

The Chapel of St. Benedict, which is that next to the south cross, has a monument erected to the memory of Lionel Cranfield Earl of Middlesex, Lord High Treasurer of England in the reign of King James I. This monument was erected by his relict the Lady Anne, and is of black marble, on which are two statues in a recumbent posture, representing his Lordship lying in his robes, with his Lady. It has a long Latin inscription, representing his various employments and honours, and that he finished his life in a retired leisure, and died on the 6th of August 1645, aged seventy.

On the east side, where stood the altar of St. Benedict, is a monument of various kinds of marble, in memory of Lady Frances Countess of Hertford, who died on the 14th of May 1598, in the forty-fourth year of her age. It is of various kinds of marble, and the Countess is in the old taste represented in her robes, lying with her head resting on an embroidered cushion, and her feet on the back of a lion.

On the south side of this chapel is a table monument of white marble to the memory of George Sprat, the second son of Dr. Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, an infant of a year old.

Near it is the monument of Dr. Gabriel Goodman, the first Dean of this church, who founded an hospital, and instituted a school at Rathven in Denbighshire, where he was born. He was a person of great piety, and was the first who raised the learned Camden from obscurity. He is represented kneeling, in his proper habit. He died in 1601.

The Tombs in the open parts of the Abbey.

1. At the corner of the last mentioned chapel is a plain neat monument to the memory of Mr. Dryden, adorned with no other ornaments than an elegant bust of that great poet. It was erected by the late Duke of Buckingham, who thought no inscription necessary to transmit the fame of that great poet to posterity; we therefore only see these few words, J. Dryden, born 1632, died May 1, 1700, and underneath, John Sheffield Duke of Buckinghamshire erected this monument, 1720.

2. High on a pillar is a neat table monument to the memory of Mrs. Martha Birch, who died in 1723, in the fiftieth year of her age. The inscription also informs us, that she was daughter to Francis Viner, Esq; and was first married to Francis Millington, Esq; and after his death to Peter Birch, Prebendary of this Abbey; and that she was pious, chaste, and prudent.

3. At a small distance is a plain neat monument, to the memory of Abraham Cowley, on which is placed a flaming urn, begirt with a chaplet of laurel; expressive emblems of the glory he acquired by the spirit of his writings. The Latin inscription and epitaph on the pedestal have been thus translated.

Near this place lies Abraham Cowley, the Pindar, Horace, and Virgil of England; and the delight, ornament, and admiration of this age.

So wishes, and desires that wish may be sacred to posterity, George Duke of Buckingham, who erected this monument for that incomparable man. He died in the forty-ninth year of his age, and was carried from Buckingham-house, with honourable pomp, his exequies being attended by persons of illustrious characters of all degrees, and interred August 13, 1667.

His grave is just before the monument, as appears by a blue stone, on which is engraved his name.

4. The monument of that ancient poet Geoffery Chaucer, was once a handsome one in the Gothic stile; but is now defaced by time. Chaucer, who is stiled the Father of the English poets, was the son of Sir John Chaucer, a citizen of London, employed by Edward III. in negociations abroad relating to trade. He was first a student at Cambridge; but afterwards studied at Merton College, Oxford; and to perfect himself in the knowledge of the laws, entered himself of the Middle Temple: thus accomplished, he soon became a favourite at court, and was employed as shield-bearer to the King; was a gentleman of the bedchamber, and by Edward III. was sent Embassador abroad. However, in the succeeding reign he fell into disgrace, and was committed to the Tower for high-treason, where he wrote his Testament of Love: but upon the death of Richard II. he became a greater favourite at court than ever, from his having married the great John of Gaunt’s wife’s sister. He was born in 1328, and died in 1400.

5. The plain monument of Mr. John Phillips, has his bust in relief, represented as in an arbour, interwoven with vines, laurel branches, and apple-trees; and over it this motto, Honos erit huic quoque pomo, alluding to the high qualities ascribed to the apple, in his excellent poem called Cyder. He was author of but few pieces; but those were masterly performances. His Blenheim, Splendid Shilling, and Lyric Ode to Lord Bolingbroke on Tobacco, have been much admired. He was the son of Dr. Stephen Phillips, Archdeacon of Salop, was born at Brampton in Oxfordshire on the 30th of December 1676, and died of a consumption at Hereford, on the 15th of February, 1708, in the prime of his life. The inscription on his monument contains an account of his virtues and abilities, and is the strongest testimony of his merit, since that alone could inspire his great patron Sir Simon Harcourt, Knt. with such a generous friendship for him, as to countenance and encourage him in the amplest manner when living; and to extend his regard for him even after his death, by erecting this monument to his memory.

6. Next this is Mr. Michael Drayton’s monument. This gentleman was esteemed an excellent poet, and learned antiquarian. The inscription and epitaph were formerly in gold letters; but are now almost obliterated, and are as follow:

7. Ben Johnson’s monument is of white marble, and his bust is executed with great happiness and spirit; ’tis inclosed with a tablature ornamented with a few proper and elegant decorations, consisting of emblematical figures: and has no other inscription but the words O Rare Ben Johnson! This gentleman was the son of a clergyman, and educated at Westminster school, while Mr. Camden was Master; but after his father’s death, his mother marrying a bricklayer, he was forced from school, and being obliged to work for his father, ’tis said, that at the building of Lincoln’s Inn, he was sometimes seen at work with his trowel in one hand, and Horace in the other. However, Mr. Camden having an esteem for him on account of his abilities, recommended him to Sir Walter Raleigh. He attended that brave man’s son in his travels, and upon his return, entered himself at Cambridge; afterwards he wrote a considerable number of plays; became Poet Laureat to King James I. and died on the 16th of August 1637, aged 63. His tomb was erected by the Earl of Essex, who has inscribed his own name on the stone.

8. Spenser’s tomb is of grey marble, and has suffered greatly by time. It was erected in an age when taste was in its infancy in England, and yet has something in it venerably plain, and not absurdly ornamental. The inscription upon it is as follows:

Here lies (expecting the second coming of our Saviour Christ Jesus) the Body of Edmund Spenser, the Prince of Poets in his time, whose divine Spirit needs no other witness than the works he left behind him. He was born in London in 1510, and died 1596.

9. Above Spenser’s monument is that of Samuel Butler, the author of Hudibrass. By the Latin inscription, it appears, that it was erected by John Barber, Esq; Citizen of London, and afterwards Lord Mayor in 1731, that he who was destitute of all things when alive, might not want a monument when dead. Mr. Butler was born at Shernsham in Worcestershire in 1612, and died at London in 1680.

10. A plain and neat monument of white marble in memory of that divine poet, John Milton, who died in 1674. Under a very elegant bust made by Rysbrack is this inscription:

In the year of our Lord Christ 1737, this bust of the author of Paradise Lost was placed here by William Benson, Esq; one of the two auditors of the imprest to his Majesty, &c.

11. A monument erected to the memory of Thomas Shadwell, is adorned with his bust crowned with a chaplet of bays, an urn, and other decorations. It was erected to his honour by his son Dr. Thomas Shadwell, and the Latin inscription informs us, that he was descended from an ancient family in Staffordshire; was Poet Laureat and Historiographer in the reign of King William, and died November 20, 1692, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. This poet was the author of several plays; but falling under the lash of Mr. Dryden, was satirized by him under the character of Ogg, in the second part of his Absalom and Achitophel.

12. The monument of Matthew Prior, is adorned with great expence. On one side of the pedestal stands the figure of Thalia, one of the Muses, with a flute in her hand; and on the other History, with her book shut; between these statues is Prior’s bust upon a raised altar, and over it is a handsome pediment, on the ascending sides of which are two boys, one with an hour-glass in his hand run out; the other holding a torch reversed. On the apex of the pediment is an urn, and on the base of the monument is a long inscription in Latin, mentioning the public posts and employments with which he had been intrusted; and above we are informed, that while he was writing the history of his own times, death interposed, and broke both the thread of his discourse and of his life, on the 18th of September 1721, in the fifty-seventh year of his age.

13. The monument of St. Evremond is a very plain one, adorned with a bust. The inscription observes, that he was of a noble family in Normandy, and was employed in the army of France, in which he rose to the rank of a Marshal; but returning to Holland, was from thence invited by King Charles II. into England, where he lived in the greatest intimacy with the King and principal nobility; more particularly with the Duchess of Mazarine. He was of a very sprightly turn of humour, as well in his conversation as writings, and lived to the age of ninety, when he was carried off by a fit of the strangury, on the 9th of September 1703.

14. The monument erected to the memory of the immortal Shakespear, a print of which we have here given, is worthy of that great dramatic writer, and both the design and execution are extremely elegant. Upon a handsome pedestal stands his statue in white marble in the habit of the time in which he lived, with one elbow leaning upon some books, and his head reclined upon his hand, in a posture of meditation. The attitude, the dress, the shape, the genteel air, and fine composure observable in this figure of Shakespear, cannot be sufficiently admired, and the beautiful lines of his upon the scroll are happily chosen.

Immediately over his head upon a curious piece of dark-coloured marble, is the following inscription, in capital letters raised in gold:

The heads on the pedestal representing Henry V. Richard III. and Queen Elizabeth, three principal characters in his plays, are likewise proper ornaments to grace his tomb. In short, the taste that is here shewn, does honour to those great names under whose direction, by the public favour, it was so elegantly constructed; these were the Earl of Burlington, Dr. Mead, Mr. Pope, and Mr. Martin. It was designed by Kent, and executed by Scheemakers; and the expence defrayed by the grateful contributions of the public.

Mr. Fleetwood, then Master of Drury Lane Theatre, and Mr. Rich of Covent Garden, gave each a benefit, arising from one of his own plays, towards it, and the Dean and Chapter made a present of the ground.

15. The next monument is a very fine one to the memory of Nicholas Rowe, Esq; and his only daughter. On a pedestal about twenty inches high, which stands on an altar, is a fine bust of Mr. Rowe; near it is his Lady in the deepest affliction, and between both, on a pyramid behind, is a medalion, with the head of a young Lady in relief. On the front of the pedestal is this inscription:

To the memory of Nicholas Rowe, Esq; who died in 1718, aged forty-five, and of Charlotte his only daughter, wife of Henry Fane, Esq; who inheriting her father’s spirit, and amiable in her own innocence and beauty, died in the 23d year of her age, 1739.

Underneath upon the front of the altar are these lines:

16. Near this last, is a fine monument erected to the memory of Mr. John Gay, by the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, his great patrons. His bust is a very good one, and the masks, instruments of music, and other devices, are blended together in a group, in allusion to the various species of writings in which he excelled, as farce, satire, fable, and pastoral. The short epitaph in the front, was written by himself, and has given some offence, as the sentiment at first view seems by no means proper for a monument;

Underneath are these lines:

Here lie the ashes of Mr. John Gay, the warmest friend, the gentlest companion, the most benevolent man; who maintained independency in low circumstances of fortune; integrity, in the midst of a corrupt age; and that equal serenity of mind, which conscious goodness alone can give, throughout the whole course of his life. Favourite of the Muses, he was led by them to every elegant art, refined in taste, and fraught with graces all his own. In various kinds of poetry, superior to many, inferior to none: his works continue to inspire what his example taught; contempt of folly, however adorned; detestation of vice, however dignified; reverence of virtue, however disgraced.

Charles and Catharine, Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, who loved his person living, and regret him dead, have caused this monument to be erected to his memory.

17. The next is a most magnificent, lofty and elegant monument, erected to the late Duke of Argyle, enclosed with rails, and decorated with figures finely executed. The statue of the Duke is spirited even at the verge of life. On one side of the base is Pallas, and on the other Eloquence; the one looking sorrowfully up at the principal figure above, and the other pathetically displaying the public loss at his death. Above is the figure of History, with one hand holding a book, and with the other writing on a pyramid of most beautiful variegated marble, admirably polished, the name and titles of the Hero in large gold letters, JOHN DUKE OF ARGYLE AND GR. at which point the pen of History rests. His actions are supposed to be contained in the book she holds in her other hand, on the cover of which in letters of gold are inscribed the date of his Grace’s death, and the years of his life. Above is inscribed on this beautiful pyramid in gold letters, the following epitaph, said to be written by Paul Whitehead, Esq;

On the base of the monument is this inscription:

In memory of an honest man, a constant friend, John the Great Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, a General and Orator exceeded by none in the age he lived. Sir Henry Fermer, Baronet, by his last will left the sum of five hundred pounds towards erecting this monument, and recommended the above inscription.

19. The monument of Isaac Barrow, D.D. is remarkable for a fine bust of that great divine and mathematician, who, as the inscription shews, was Chaplain to King Charles II. Head of Trinity College, Cambridge; Professor of Geometry at Gresham College in London, and of Greek and Mathematics at Cambridge. He died on the 14th of May 1677, aged forty-seven.

19. A table monument of white marble, erected to the memory of Sir Richard Cox, who was taster to Queen Elizabeth, and King James I. and to the latter steward of the household.

20. A neat monument erected to the memory of the learned Isaac Casaubon, by Dr. Moreton, Bishop of Durham. That profound scholar and critic whose name is inscribed upon it, was born in France, and in his younger years was keeper of the royal library at Paris; but at length being dissatisfied with the Romish religion, he, upon the murder of his great patron Henry IV. quitted his native country, and at the earnest entreaty of King James I. settled in England, where he died in 1614, aged forty-five.

21. Above this last monument, is another for John Earnest Grape, a person well skilled in oriental learning, who is represented as large as the life, sitting in a thoughtful posture upon a marble tomb, as if contemplating on death.

22. Next to the west corner of the south cross is an ancient monument to the memory of that great antiquarian William Camden, who is represented in a half length, in the dress of his time, holding a book in his right hand, and in his left his gloves. He rests on an altar, on the body of which is a Latin inscription, which mentions his indefatigable industry in illustrating the British antiquities, and his candour, sincerity, and pleasant good humour in private life. He died Nov. 9, 1623.

In this south cross are several stones to be met with on the pavement, worthy of notice. Among these is one over the body of Thomas Parr, of the county of Salop, born in 1483. He lived in the reigns of ten Princes, King Edward IV. King Edward V. King Richard III. King Henry VII. King Henry VIII. King Edward VI. Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, King James I. and King Charles I. and was interred here Nov. 15, 1635, aged an hundred and fifty-two.

At a small distance from Parr, is a small white stone, over the body of Sir William Davenant, who succeeded Ben Johnson as Poet Laureat to King Charles I. and died in 1688, aged sixty-three. On this stone is inscribed O rare Sir William Davenant! and this probably gave the thought of putting the like inscription on the monument afterwards erected to his predecessor Ben Johnson.

Under the pavement near Dryden’s tomb, lie the remains of Francis Beaumont, the dramatic writer, who died in London in March, 1615, and was buried here without either tomb or inscription.

Affixed to the pillars in this south cross, are also two table monuments; which we shall but just mention, one for Samuel Barton, D.D. a Prebendary of this church, who died in Sept. 1715, aged sixty-two: and the other to the memory of Anthony Horneck, D.D. who was born at Wittenberg in Zealand, but was educated at Oxford, and became King’s Divinity Professor and Chaplain, a Prebendary of this church, and a Preacher at the Savoy. This gentleman, who was remarkable for his piety, died of the stone on the 30th of January, 1696, aged fifty-six.

23. On entering the south side, there is next the wall a monument erected to the memory of Sophia Fairholm, Countess of Anandale. It is the representation of an ancient sepulchre, over which a stately edifice is raised, ornamented at the top with the family arms. She died in the year 1716, aged forty-six; and the monumental inscription informs us, that it was erected by her son the Marquis of Anandale, as a mark of his duty and gratitude.

24. The monument of the brave Sir Cloudesly Shovel, who here appears a very unmeaning figure, with a large stiff wig, reposing himself upon velvet cushions under a canopy of state; and on the base is represented in bas relief, the ship Association in which the Admiral last sailed, striking against a rock, with several others perishing at the same time, and at the top are two boys blowing trumpets.

This monument has been highly censured by all persons of taste, tho’ it is erected to his memory at great expence, and even by his Sovereign Queen Anne. The great Mr. Addison has justly exposed it in the Spectators, and complains at this brave rough English Admiral’s being here represented by the figure of a beau; and also censures the inscription, which instead of celebrating the many remarkable actions he had performed in the service of his country, only informs us of the manner of his death, from which it was impossible to reap any honour, tho’ it may excite our pity. The inscription is as follows:

Sir Cloudesly Shovel, Knt. Rear-Admiral of Great Britain, and Admiral and Commander in chief of the fleet—the just reward of his long and faithful services. He was deservedly beloved of his country, and esteemed, tho’ dreaded by the enemy, who had often experienced his conduct and courage. Being ship-wrecked on the rocks of Scylly, in his voyage from Toulon, the 22d of October 1707, at night, in the 57th year of his age. His fate was lamented by all, but especially by the seafaring part of the nation; to whom he was a generous patron, and a worthy example. His body was flung on the shore, and buried with others in the sand; but being soon after taken up, was placed under this monument, which his royal Mistress had caused to be erected to commemorate his steady loyalty and extraordinary virtues.

25. The monument of George Stepney, Esq; has his bust under a canopy, and two naked boys weeping and holding handkerchiefs at their eyes. This monument, though the materials are very rich, is allowed to be void of design, and but poorly executed. The Latin inscriptions give an account of his virtues, his learning and abilities, and the many negociations in which he was employed at foreign courts. He died at Chelsea in 1706.

26. A lofty and much more elegant monument for George Churchill, whose merits are mentioned in a long Latin inscription, where it is said that he was the second son of Sir Winston Churchill, of Dorsetshire, Knt. and a not unworthy brother of John Duke of Marlborough: that he was early trained to military affairs, and served with great honour by sea and land, under King Charles II. King James II. King William III. and Queen Anne: that he was Admiral of the English fleet, at the burning of the French fleet at La Hogue, in King William’s reign; and for his bravery there, made one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty: that in the succeeding reign he was made Admiral in chief, and died on the 8th of May 1718, aged fifty-eight.

27. Near that of Churchill’s, is a stately monument erected for Sir Palmes Fairborne. Two pyramids of black marble standing on cannon balls, have two Moorish Emperors heads in profile on their tops; these pyramids are adorned with relievos, on one Sir Palmes is shot while viewing the enemy’s lines before the town; and on the other is a hearse and six horses bringing him off wounded to the castle. Above in a lofty dome are the arms of the deceased, with this motto underneath, TUTUS SI FORTIS, and over his arms a Turk’s head on a dagger, by way of crest, which he won by his valour in fighting against that people in the German war. On this monument is the following inscription:

Sacred to the immortal memory of Sir Palmes Fairborne, Knt. Governor of Tangier, in execution of which command, he was mortally wounded by a shot from the Moors, then besieging the town, in the 46th year of his age, October 24, 1680.

His epitaph, wrote by Mr. Dryden, runs thus:

26. On a table monument enriched with military trophies, and raised against the wall, is the following inscription:

To the memory of the honoured Major Richard Creed, who attended his Majesty King William the Third in all his wars, every where signalizing himself, and never more himself than when he looked an enemy in the face. At the glorious battle of Blenheim, Ann. Dom. 1704, he commanded those squadrons that began the attack; in two several charges he remained unhurt; but in a third, after many wounds received, still valiantly fighting, he was shot through the head. His dead body was brought off by his brother, at the hazard of his own life, and buried there. To his memory his sorrowful mother erects this monument, placing it near another which her son, when living, used to look upon with pleasure, for the worthy mention it makes of that great man Edward Earl of Sandwich, to whom he had the honour to be related, and whose heroic virtues he was ambitious to imitate.

27. The monument of Sir John Chardin, who distinguished himself by his travels into the east, is adorned with a globe, which exhibits a view of the different countries he visited, and around it are represented a number of geographical instruments.

28. The monument of Sidney Earl of Godolphin is adorned with a bust richly dressed, and has an inscription which mentions the employments and honours through which he passed. He died on September 15, 1712, aged sixty-seven.

29. The next is a double monument erected to the memory of Sir Charles Harbord, and Clement Cottrel, Esq; On the base is represented in relievo a dreadful sea-fight, and on the top in a wreath of laurel is this inscription, “To preserve and unite the memory of two faithful friends, who lost their lives at sea together, May 28, 1672.” These two young gentlemen both perished in the Royal James, with the Earl of Sandwich, who commanded in that ship as Vice-Admiral against the Dutch in that memorable fight off the coast of Sussex in the reign of King Charles II. The Royal James being set on fire, Sir Charles Harbord, first Lieutenant, though he might have saved himself by swimming as many others did, yet out of pure affection to his worthy Commander, chose to die with him. Young Cottrel was a volunteer, and after being the first man who had boarded a Dutch ship of 70 guns, and pulled down her ensign with his own hands, returned to the Royal James unwounded, and also perished with his friends. This gentleman understood seven languages, tho’ but twenty-two years of age. This moving story is recited at large on the monument.

30. A tomb erected to the memory of Anne Fielding, the first wife of Sir Samuel Morland, Knt. and Bart. chiefly remarkable for having two very learned inscriptions: the first, in Hebrew, is to this effect:

O thou fairest among women! O virtuous woman! The hand of the Lord hath done this.

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Under this is an Ethiopic inscription, which has been thus translated:

Come let us lament over this monument, raised for thee by a beloved husband; but in certain hope that thou art united with Christ.

This Lady was truly religious, virtuous, faithful, and, as a dove, mild and chaste; while she continued in life, she was honoured, and, through mercy, is happy in death.

Under the Ethiopic is this inscription in English:

Anne, daughter to George Fielding, Esq; and of Mary his wife, the truly loving (and as truly beloved) wife of Samuel Morland, Knt. and Bart. died Feb. 20, Ann. Dom. 1679–80.

31. Near this last is a tomb much in the same taste, erected to the memory of Carola Harsnet, the second wife of the same Baronet, who died in child-bed of her second son, Oct. 10, 1674, in the 23d year of her age. Here are two inscriptions, the first in Hebrew, and the other in Greek, which have been thus translated:

Blessed be the Lord, my wife was precious: blessed be thy remembrance, O virtuous woman.

When I think of thy mildness, patience, charity, modesty, and piety, I lament thee, O most excellent creature, and grieve exceedingly: but not like such as have no faith; for I believe and expect the resurrection of those who sleep in Christ.

32. Between the two former is a beautiful monument to the memory of John Smith, Esq; a fine bust in relievo of that gentleman, is supported by a weeping figure representing his daughter, both which are designed and executed with great judgment and spirit. The Lady sits upon an urn, which, with its base and a pyramid behind, unite the whole in a most harmonious and agreeable stile. On the base is a Latin inscription, setting forth his descent and issue.

33. Over the door that opens into the cloisters is a noble and elegant monument erected for General Wade. In the center is a beautiful marble pillar, enriched with military trophies most exquisitely wrought. The principal figures, are Fame pushing back Time, who is eagerly approaching to demolish the pillar, with all the ensigns of honour, with which it is adorned; the General’s head is in a medalion, and the whole is executed with great beauty and elegance. The inscription underneath runs thus:

To the memory of George Wade, Field-Marshal of his Majesty’s forces, Lieutenant-General of the ordnance, Colonel of his Majesty’s third Regiment of Dragoon guards, Governor of Fort-William, Fort-Augustus, and Fort-George, and one of his Majesty’s most honourable Privy Council. He died March 14, 1748, aged seventy-five.

34. A plain neat monument erected to the memory of Robert Cannon, D. D. Dean of Lincoln, and Prebendary of this church, who died on the 28th of March 1722, aged fifty-nine.

35. An elegant monument of Mrs. Katharine Bovey. Faith is here represented with her book closed, and Wisdom lamenting the death of her Patroness, between which is the Lady’s head in relief enclosed in an annulet of black marble curiously veined. The inscription, which is in English, gives an excellent character of the deceased, who died on the 21st of January 1726, in the seventy-second year of her age; and informs us that Mrs. Mary Pope, who lived with her near forty years, in perfect friendship, erected this monument to her memory.

36. A small table monument to the memory of Mr. Henry Wharton, which is only remarkable an account of the distinguished character of the person whose name is inscribed upon it. Mr. Wharton was Rector of Chartham in Kent, Vicar of the church of Minster in the Isle of Thanet, Chaplain to Archbishop Sancroft, and one of the most voluminous writers of his years. He died on the 3d of March 1694, aged only thirty-one, and was so universally respected by the Bishops and Clergy, that Archbishop Tillotson, and several other prelates, with a vast body of the clergy, the choir and King’s scholars, all in solemn procession attended his funeral, and joined in an anthem composed on this occasion by the great Purcell.

37. A plain neat monument erected to the memory of Dr. Thomas Spratt, Bishop of Rochester, who died in 1713, aged seventy seven, and of his son Mr. Thomas Spratt, Archdeacon of Rochester, and Prebendary of the churches of Rochester, Winchester, and Westminster, whose remains lie near those of his father. This monument was erected by John Friend, M. D. as a testimony of his respect for those two worthy personages.

38. A monument for Sir Lumley Robinson, Bart. of Kentwell-Hall in Suffolk, who by an untimely death ended his life Aug. 6, 1684, aged thirty-six. It is adorned with columns supported by death’s heads, and the arms upon the base by a cherub. The sides of the pediment have enrichments of laurel branches, &c. and on the top is a vase.

39. The monument of John Friend, M. D. has an admirable bust of that gentleman, standing on a pedestal of fine white veined marble, and under it is a long inscription in Latin, setting forth the distinguished acquirements, and great abilities of that eminent physician.

40. Mr. Congreve’s monument has an half length marble portrait of that gentleman, placed on a pedestal of fine Egyptian marble, and enriched with emblematical devices relating to the drama. Underneath is this inscription in English:

Mr. William Congreve died January 19, 1728, aged fifty-six, and was buried near this place. To whose most valuable memory this monument is set up by Henrietta Duchess of Marlborough, as a mark how dearly she remembers the happiness she enjoyed in the sincere friendship of so worthy and honest a man; whose virtue, candour and wit, gained him the love and esteem of the present age; and whose writings will be the admiration of the future.

41. The monument of the Right Hon. James Craggs, Esq; his statue is represented leaning on an urn, and was one of the first in the Abbey represented standing. The inscription, which is in golden characters, shews that he was Principal Secretary of state, and a man universally beloved, which is there particularly remarked, because as he was only a shoe-maker’s son, it is the more surprizing that in the high station to which he was raised by his merit, he should escape envy, and acquire the general esteem. He died on the 16th of February 1720. Upon the base of this monument are the following lines, written by Mr. Pope:

42. On the south side of the great west entrance is a noble monument erected to the memory of the brave Captain Cornwall, who after distinguishing himself by his heroism, was unhappily slain in the battle between the English fleet, commanded by the Admirals Matthews and Lestock, and the French. This monument was erected to his honour by order of Parliament, and is a noble testimony of the public gratitude for his distinguished merit. On the back is a lofty pyramid of Egyptian marble beautifully variegated, and finely polished, standing on a base of the same marble. Upon this base is a rock of white marble, along the different parts of which run sea weeds. Near the top stands a fine figure of Fame, placing a medalion of the Captain on the summit of the rock, underneath which is a naval crown, a globe, the trumpet of Fame, and other ornaments, and behind rises to the top of the pediment a palm, entwined with a laurel. On the other side of the medalion stands a beautiful figure of Britannia, with the British Lion couchant at her feet. Beneath, in an opening of the rock, is a Latin inscription on a fine piece of polished porphyry, mentioning his descent, and the manner of his death, which happened while fighting for his country, on the 3d of February 1743, in the 45th year of his age, and that the Senate of Britain consecrated this monument to his memory. In another opening of the rock, a little lower, is represented in bass relief a view of the engagement in which this great man perished, and at the bottom of the rock on the sides lie cannons, flags, anchors, &c. all of white marble.

43. The next is an elegant monument for Sir Thomas Hardy, Knt. On the back is a lofty pyramid of a bluish coloured marble, at the foot of which the statue of the deceased is placed, reclining upon a tomb of elegant workmanship, with a naked boy on his left side weeping over an urn: the enrichments round the pedestal on which he stands are just and proper; and the inscription contains the following short history of his life:

Sir Thomas Hardy, to whose memory this monument is erected, was bred in the royal navy from his youth, and was made a Captain in 1693.

In the expedition to Cadiz, under Sir George Rooke, he commanded the Pembroke; and when the fleet left the coast of Spain, to return to England, he was ordered to Lagos Bay, where he got intelligence of the Spanish galleons being arrived in the harbour of Vigo, under convoy of seventeen French men of war: by his great diligence and judgment he joined the English fleet, and gave the Admiral that intelligence which engaged him to make the best of his way to Vigo, where all the aforementioned galleons and men of war were either taken or destroyed.

After the success of that action, the Admiral sent him with an account of it to the Queen, who ordered him a considerable present, and knighted him.

Some years afterwards he was made a Rear-Admiral, and received several other marks of favour and esteem from her Majesty, and from her Royal Consort Prince George of Denmark, Lord High Admiral of England.

44. The monument of John Conduit, Esq; is allowed, in point of design, to be not inferior to that last mentioned, and there is something in the manner which shews them both to be the workmanship of the same hand. In the middle of the pyramid is a large medalion of brass, round which is a Latin inscription, thus english’d, John Conduit, Master of the Mint; this medalion is suspended by a cherub above, and rests on another below. This gentleman succeeded his relation the great Sir Isaac Newton in that office, and desired to be interred near him, as appears from a long Latin inscription on the base. He died May 23d, 1727, aged forty-nine. Catharine his wife died Jan. 20, 1739, and lies interred under the same tomb.

45. The monument of William Horneck, Esq; is enriched with books, plans, and instruments of fortification, alluding to the employments of the deceased; who was chief engineer to the royal train of artillery, and, as his inscription informs us, learned the art of war under the great Duke of Marlborough. He died May 10, 1743.

46. The monument of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Knt. has a bust of Sir Godfrey under a canopy of state, the curtains of which are gilt and tied with golden strings, and on each side the bust is a weeping Cupid, one resting on a framed picture, the other holding a painter’s pallat and pencils. This monument is not however much esteemed.

On the pedestal is a Latin inscription, signifying that Sir Godfrey Kneller, Knt. who lies interred here, was painter to King Charles II. King James II. King William III. Queen Anne, and King George I. Underneath is his epitaph written by Mr. Pope, which has been also much censured:

47. We come now to the monument of Anna Countess Dowager of Clanrikard, which is adorned with excellent carving, and a fine statue of that Lady resting upon a tomb. The inscription gives an account of her descent, marriages, and issue, and informs us, that she died on the 14th of January 1732, in the 49th year of her age.

48. The monument of John Woodward, M. D. is a very beautiful one, and the figures most admirably finished. The head of the deceased is represented in profile, in a very masterly manner, and the Lady who holds it is inimitably performed. The inscription contains a panegyric on the parts and learning of the deceas’d.

49. A neat plain monument erected to the memory of Heneage Twisden, a young hero, who fell in the battle of Blairgnies in Hainault, while he was Aid de Camp to John Duke of Argyle, who commanded the right wing of the Confederate army. He was the seventh son of Sir William Twisden, Bart. and a youth of the greatest expectations; but the fortune of war put a stop to his rising merit, in 1709, and in the 29th year of his age.

Near this monument are two small ones to the memory of two of his brothers, Josiah and John; Josiah was a Captain at the siege of Agremont, near Lisle in Flanders, and was slain by a cannon shot in 1708, at twenty-three years of age. John was a Lieutenant in the Admiral’s ship, under Sir Cloudesly Shovel, and perished with him in 1707, aged twenty-three.

50. A monument erected in honour of Col. James Bringfield, ornamented with military trophies, cherubs, &c. and surrounded by a mantling enclosing a tablet, on which is inscribed the military preferments of the deceased, the manner of his death and burial, and the praises of his piety and virtue. He was born at Abingdon in Berks, was Equerry to Prince George of Denmark, and Aid de Camp to the Great Duke of Marlborough; but was killed by a cannon ball, as he was remounting his General on a fresh horse, at the battle of Ramelies, May 12, 1706, and was interred at Barechem in Brabant, in the 50th year of his age.

51. The monument of Mr. Killegrew has been reckoned one of the best pieces of sculpture in the whole church, and what is remarkable, is cut out of one stone. The embellishments are distinct and very picturesque, and the inscription, short, modest, and soldier-like. It is as follows:

Robert Killegrew, of Arwenack in Cornwall, Esq; son of Thomas and Charlotte, Page of honour to King Charles II. Brigadier General of her Majesty’s forces, killed in Spain in the battle of Almanza, April 14, 1707. Ætatis fuÆ 47. Militavi Annis 24.

52. The next is a monument erected to the memory of Mrs. Mary Beaufoy, who is represented in a devout posture, with cherubs crowning her: on each side are Cupids lamenting the early decay of a virgin beauty, and underneath the arms of her family quarterly upheld by cherubs. On the base is the following inscription:

Reader! whoever thou art, let the sight of this tomb imprint in thy mind, that the young and old without distinction, leave this world; and therefore fail not to secure the next. This Lady was only daughter and heiress to Sir Henry Beaufoy, of Guyscliffe, near Warwick, by the Hon. Charlotte Lane, eldest daughter of George Lord Viscount Lansborough. She died July 12, 1705.

53. After passing by a few monuments unworthy of notice, we come to that of Admiral Baker, adorned with a rostral column of curiously veined marble, decorated with the prows of galleys, a Medusa’s head, and other naval and military trophies, with this short inscription underneath:

To the memory of John Baker, Esq; Vice-Admiral of the White Squadron of the British Fleet; who, when he commanded in the Mediterranean, died at Port Mahon, Nov. 10, 1736, aged fifty-six. He was a brave, judicious and experienced officer; a sincere friend, and a true lover of his country.

Manet post Funera Virtus.

54. Next to this is Mr. Priestman’s monument, to which is suspended by a knot of ribbons, fastened to a column of variegated marble, a fine medalion, with the words Henry Priestman, Esq; round the head. Underneath are naval trophies and sea instruments; and upon the base is an inscription, shewing that the person to whom this monument is erected, was Commander in chief of a squadron of ships of war in the reign of King Charles II. a Commissioner of the Navy, and one of the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of England in the reign of King William III. He died Aug. 20, 1712, aged 65.

55. The monument of Philip Carteret, son to Lord George Carteret, who died a King’s scholar at Westminster, ripe for the university, on the 19th of March 1710, aged nineteen. On the upper part is an admirable bust of this noble youth, and underneath a very fine figure of Time standing on an altar, and holding a scroll in his hand, whereon is written in Sapphic verses, lines to the following import, which he is supposed to be repeating:

56. A neat monument erected for Edward de Carteret, the son of Sir Edward de Carteret, Gentleman Usher to King Charles II. who died on the 30th of October 1677, in the eighth year of his age. It is ornamented with cherubs and with festoons of leaves and fruit.

57. The monument of Thomas Levingston, Viscount Teviot, is decorated with the arms, supporters, and crest of that nobleman, and with military trophies, alluding to his profession of a soldier. On the face of the monument is a long inscription in Latin, shewing that he was born in Holland, but descended from the Levingstons in Scotland; that from his childhood he was trained to arms; and having attended the Prince of Orange into Britain, as a Colonel of foot, rose to the rank of a Lieutenant-General in the army, and General of the Scotch forces, was made Master of the ordnance, and a Privy Counsellor; that he secured Scotland to the King by one decisive action on the Spey, for which he was advanced to the dignity of a Viscount, and that he died on the 14th of Jan. 1710, aged sixty.

58. A handsome monument erected for the Lord Constable, ornamented with a cherub below, and the family arms above. It has this short inscription:

Near this lies the Right Hon. Robert Lord Constable, Viscount Dunbar, who departed this life Nov. 23, 1714, in the sixty-fourth year of his age.

59. A plain neat monument for Peter Heylin, D.D. and Prebendary of this church, who died on the 8th of May 1662. It is adorned with a pediment, and the arms of the deceased, and contains a long inscription in Latin, mentioning the most remarkable incidents in his life.

60. The tomb of Charles Williams, Esq; adorned with very remarkable scroll-work, and scollopping; what is very singular is, its being supported by a death’s head on the wings of Time. This gentleman died on the 29th of August 1720, aged eighty-seven.

61. A small but elegant monument erected to the memory of the celebrated Henry Purcell, Esq; well known by his admirable musical compositions. The inscription consists of this short and comprehensive sentence:

62. The next is the monument of William Croft, Doctor in music. On the pedestal is an organ in bas relief, and on the top, a bust of the deceased,

63. The tomb of John Blow, Doctor in music, is adorned with cherubs, flowers, and a canon in four parts set to music. In the center is an English inscription, by which it appears he was organist, composer, and master to the children in the chapel royal thirty-five years, and organist to this Abbey fifteen years; that he was scholar to Dr. Christopher Gibbons; and master to the famous Mr. Purcell, and to most of the eminent masters of his time. He died Oct. 1. 1708, in his sixtieth year; and his epitaph observes, that his own musical compositions, especially his church music, are a far nobler monument to his memory than any other that can be raised to him.

64. We come now to the neat and elegant monument erected to the memory of Dr. Boulter, Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland. It is of the finest marble beautified with an admirable new invented polish. The bust of this worthy Archbishop is finely executed; his long flowing hair has all the gracefulness of nature, without the smallest degree of that stiffness which belongs to stone; and his venerable countenance strikes the beholder with reverence. The ensigns of his dignity wherewith the monument is adorned, are most exquisitely fine, and every part about it discovers a masterly genius in the sculptor. The inscription is inclosed in a beautiful border of porphyry, and is as follows:

Dr. Hugh Boulter, late Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of all Ireland, a Prelate so eminent for the accomplishments of his mind, the purity of his heart, and the excellence of his life, that it may be thought superfluous to specify his titles, recount his virtues, or even erect a monument to his fame. His titles he not only deserved, but adorned; his virtues are manifest in his good works, which had never dazzled the public eye, if they had not been too bright to be concealed; and as to his fame, whosoever has any sense of merit, any reverence for piety, any passion for his country, or any charity for mankind, will assist in preserving it fair and spotless, that when brass and marble shall mix with the dust they cover, every succeeding age may have the benefit of his illustrious example. He was born Jan. 4, 1671, was consecrated Bishop of Bristol, 1718, translated to the Archbishopric of Armagh, 1723, and from thence to Heaven, Sept. 27, 1742.

65. A plain table monument erected to the memory of Dr. Samuel Bradford, Bishop of Rochester, who died on the 14th of May 1731, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. It contains a long Latin inscription scarce legible, surrounded with the arms, and proper ensigns of his several dignities.

66. The next is a monument erected to the memory of Richard Kane, Esq; Governor of Minorca, adorned with a curious bust of that gentleman in white marble, placed upon a handsome pedestal, whereon are inscribed the most remarkable passages of his life. He was born at Down in Ireland, Dec. 20, 1661. In 1689 he first appeared in a military capacity at the memorable siege of Derry; and after the reduction of Ireland, followed King William into Flanders, where he distinguished himself, particularly by his intrepid behaviour at the siege of Namur, where he was grievously wounded. In 1702, he bore a commission in the service of Queen Anne, and assisted in the expedition to Canada; from whence he again returned into Flanders, and fought under the Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, and afterwards under Lord Carpenter. In 1712, he was made Sub-Governor of Minorca, through which island he caused a road to be made, which had been thought impracticable. In 1720 he was ordered by King George I. to the defence of Gibraltar, where he sustained an eight months siege against the Spaniards, when all hope of relief was extinguished. For which gallant service he was afterwards, by King George II. rewarded with the government of Minorca, where he died Dec. 19, 1736, and was buried in the castle of St. Philip.

67. The monument of Percy Kirk, Esq; is adorned with a fine bust of that gentleman, on each side of which is a winged seraph, one with a dagger in his right hand inverted, and in his left a helmet; the other resting on a ball, and holding in his left hand a torch reversed. The inscription lets us know, that he was Lieutenant-General of his Majesty’s armies; that he was son to Percy Kirk, Lieutenant-General in the reign of King James II. by the Lady Mary, daughter to George Howard Earl of Suffolk, and that he died Jan. 1, 1741, aged fifty-seven.

68. We come now to the monument erected to the memory of that brave commander the Lord Aubrey Beauclerk, ornamented with arms, trophies, and naval ensigns, and in an oval nich on a beautiful pyramid of dove-coloured marble, is a fine bust of that young Hero. On this pyramid is the following historical inscription:

The Lord Aubrey Beauclerk was the youngest son of Charles Duke of St. Albans, by Diana, daughter of Aubrey de Vere Earl of Oxford. He went early to sea, and was made a commander in 1731. In 1740, he was sent upon that memorable expedition to Carthagena, under the command of Admiral Vernon, in his Majesty’s ship the Prince Frederic, which, with three others, was ordered to cannonade the castle of Boccachica. One of these being obliged to quit her station, the Prince Frederic was exposed, not only to the fire from the castle, but to that of Fort St. Joseph, and to two ships that guarded the mouth of the harbour, which he sustained for many hours that day, and part of the next, with uncommon intrepidity. As he was giving his commands upon deck, both his legs were shot off; but such was his magnanimity, that he would not suffer his wounds to be drest, till he communicated his orders to his first Lieutenant, which were, To fight his ship to the last extremity. Soon after this he gave some directions about his private affairs, and then resigned his soul with the dignity of a Hero and a Christian. Thus was he taken off in the thirty-first year of his age, an illustrious commander of superior fortitude and clemency, amiable in his person, steady in his affections, and equalled by few in the social and domestic virtues of politeness, modesty, candour, and benevolence. He married the widow of Col. Francis Alexander, a daughter of Sir Henry Newton, Knt. Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Florence and the Republic of Genoa, and Judge of the high court of Admiralty.

Over his inscription is the following epitaph:

69. A beautiful monument erected to the memory of Admiral Balchen, on which is his bust well executed in the finest white marble. The enrichments, arms and trophies, are admirably wrought, but in fastening the cable to the anchor this excellent artist has shewn that he is no mariner. In the front is a fine representation of a ship in a storm. The inscription is as follows:

To the memory of Sir John Balchen, Knt. Admiral of the White Squadron of his Majesty’s fleet in 1744, being sent out Commander in chief of the combined fleets of England and Holland, to cruize on the enemy, was on his return home in his Majesty’s ship the Victory, lost in the Channel by a violent storm; from which sad circumstance of his death we may learn, that neither the greatest skill, judgment, or experience, joined to the most firm unshaken resolution, can resist the fury of the winds and waves; and we are taught from the passages of his life, which were filled with great and gallant actions, but ever accompanied with adverse gales of fortune, that the brave, the worthy and the good man, meets not always his reward in this world. Fifty-eight years of faithful and painful services he had passed, when being just retired to the government of Greenwich Hospital to wear out the remainder of his days, he was once more, and for the last time, called out by his King and Country, whose interest he ever preferred to his own, and his unwearied zeal for their service ended only in his death; which weighty misfortune to his afflicted family became heightened by many aggravating circumstances attending it; yet amidst their grief had they the mournful consolation to find his gracious and royal Master mixing his concern with the general lamentations of the public, for the calamitous fate of so zealous, so valiant, and so able a Commander; and as a lasting memorial of the sincere love and esteem borne by his widow, to a most affectionate and worthy husband, this honorary monument was erected by her. He was born Feb. 2, 1669, married Susannah, daughter of Col. Apreece of Washingly in the County of Huntingdon. Died Oct. 7, 1744, leaving one son and one daughter, the former of whom, George Balchen, survived him but a short time; for being sent to the West Indies in 1745, Commander of his Majesty’s ship the Pembroke, he died in Barbadoes in December the same year, aged 28, having walked in the steps, and imitated the virtue and bravery of his good, but unfortunate father.

70. A noble and elegant monument erected in honour of General Guest. It is adorned with a pyramid and base of the most beautiful Egyptian porphyry, ornamented with the finest enrichments, and on the latter is an admirable bust of the General of white marble. The whole is executed in the most delicate and masterly manner. It has this short, but apposite inscription:

Sacred to those virtues that adorn a Christian and a Soldier, this marble perpetuates the memory of Lieut. Gen. Joshua Guest, who closed a service of sixty years by faithfully defending Edinburgh castle against the Rebels, 1745.

71. The next worthy of notice is the elegant monument of Sir Charles Wager. The principal figure here is that of Fame holding a portrait of Sir Charles in relief, which is also supported by an infant Hercules. The enrichments are naval trophies, instruments of war and navigation, &c. on the base is represented in relief the destroying and taking of the Spanish galleons in 1708, The inscription is as follows:

72. The next tomb in the Abbey that demands our attention, is that erected to the memory of John Hollis Duke of Newcastle, by his daughter the Countess of Oxford. This is perhaps the loftiest and most costly of any in the Abbey. A pediment is supported by beautiful columns of variegated marble. The Duke is represented resting upon a sepulchral monument, holding in his right hand a General’s staff, and in his left a ducal coronet. On one side the base stands a statue of Wisdom, on the other, of Sincerity. On the angles of the upper compartment sit angels, and on the ascending sides of the pediment sit two cherubs, one with an hour-glass, alluding to the admeasurement of man’s life by grains of sand; the other pointing upwards, where life shall no longer be measured by hours and minutes. On the base is an inscription enumerating his Grace’s titles, and several employments; his marriage and issue; and informing us that he was born Jan. 9, 1661–2, and died July 15, 1711.

73. The monument of William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle is also very pompous, but is in the old taste. Under a rich canopy of state lie, as the inscription expresses it, “The loyal Duke of Newcastle, and his Duchess, his second wife, by whom he had no issue: her name was Margaret Lucas, youngest sister to Lord Lucas of Colchester, a noble family; for all the brothers were valiant, and all the sisters virtuous. The Duchess was a wise, witty, and learned Lady, which her many books do well testify: She was a most virtuous, and a loving and careful wife, and was with her Lord all the time of his banishment and miseries; and when he came home, never parted from him in his solitary retirements.” This is the English inscription. The Latin gives his titles and employments; and observes, that for his fidelity to King Charles I. he was made Captain-General of the forces raised for his service in the North, fought many battles, and generally came off victorious; but that when the rebels prevailed (being one of the first designed a sacrifice) he left his estate, and endured a long exile. It then gives his issue by his first wife, and concludes with observing, that he died Dec. 27, 1676, in his eighty-fourth year.

74. On the adjoining pillar is a neat tablet, on which is this inscription:

Grace, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Mauleverer of Allerton Mauleverer in Yorkshire, Bart. born 1622, married unto Col. Scott, a member of the Hon. House of Commons 1644, and died Feb. 24, 1645.

75. The monument of Dame Mary James is neatly ornamented with an urn, wreathed and crowned with a Viscount’s coronet, on a handsome pedestal The inscription observes that this Lady was wife to Sir John James, of the ancient family of the Lords of Hostrick in Holland, and that she died Nov. 6, 1667.

76. A magnificent and elegant monument of white marble to the memory of Sir Peter Warren, done by Roubiliac. Close to the wall is a large flag hanging to the flag-staff, and spreading in very natural folds behind the whole monument. Before it is a fine figure of Hercules placing Sir Peter’s bust on its pedestal; and on the other side, Victory, with a laurel wreath in her hand, is seated gazing on the bust with a look of melancholy mixed with admiration. Behind her a Cornucopia pours out fruit, corn, the fleece, &c. and by it is a cannon, an anchor, and other decorations. The inscription is as follows:

And a little lower:

On the bottom of the base:

77. The monument inscribed to the memory of Sir Gilbert Lort, of Stackpole in Pembrokeshire, who died Sept. 19, 1698, was erected to his memory by his sister Dame Elizabeth Campbell of Calder in Scotland. The author of The Review of the public buildings, &c. observes, that the two boys here placed on each side a little tomb, are in a very pretty taste, and a perfect contrast to each other; one representing passionate, exclamatory grief, and the other still and silent; and adds, “’Tis pity they are divided by so bad an ornament in the middle: had they leaned on a single urn, which, in the antique taste, might have been supposed to hold his ashes, they would have had a fine effect, and challenged more admiration than many a more pompous and expensive pile.”

78. The monument erected to Hugh Chamberlayne, M.D. was some years ago esteemed one of the best pieces in the Abbey; but some of the later monuments greatly exceed it. The principal figure lies, as it were, at ease, upon a tomb stone, leaning upon his right arm, with his hand upon his night cap, and his head uncovered. In his left hand, he holds a book, to shew his intense application to study. On each side are the emblems of Physic and Longevity; and over his head, is Fame descending with a trumpet in one hand, and a wreath in the other. On the top are weeping cherubs, and on the pedestal a long Latin inscription, which mentions his great knowledge and industry in his profession, his humanity in relieving the sick, and his affinities and connections in social and private life. He died June 17, 1728, aged sixty-four.

79. The tomb of Almericus de Courcy, Baron of Kinsale, in Ireland, is ornamented with the figure of his Lordship in armour, reposing himself after the fatigues of an active life, under a gilded canopy. The inscription shews, that he was descended from the famous John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster, who in the reign of King John, in consideration of his great valour, obtained the extraordinary privilege for him and his heirs, of being covered in the King’s presence. Almericus de Courcy died Feb. 9, 1719, aged fifty-seven.

80. The monument of Sir Thomas Duppa is adorned with flowers and foliage, and on the top with an urn wreathed. The inscription shews, that Sir Thomas in his youth waited upon King Charles II. when Prince of Wales, and at length became Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, in which office he died April 25, 1694, aged 75.

81. We come now to a monument that has been much admired, and as much censured, that of Dame Elizabeth Carteret, who died on the 26th of March, 1717, aged fifty-two. This Lady is represented springing upwards, with only one foot fixed to the earth, and a little winged seraph descending to receive her; but the disproportions are so great between them, that one cannot help thinking, that it is much more likely she should pull the aerial messenger down, than he raise her one inch from the ground; but what is still worse, her attitude is such, that it is impossible she should know that he is coming to give her a lift. Below her hovering on the base, is another of these heavenly spirits unfolding a very indifferent epitaph.

82. We come now to the grand and magnificent monument of the great Sir Isaac Newton, whose statue is formed recumbent, leaning his right arm on four folios, thus titled Divinity, Chronology, Optics, and Phil: Prin: Math: and pointing to a scroll supported by cherubs. Over him is a large globe projecting from a pyramid behind, whereon is delineated the course of the comet in 1680, with the signs, constellations and planets. On this globe sits the figure of Astronomy, with her book closed, in a very thoughtful composed and pensive mood. Beneath the principal figure is a very fine bas relief, representing the various labours in which Sir Isaac chiefly employed his time: such as discovering the cause of gravitation, settling the principles of light and colours, and reducing the coinage to a determined standard. The inscription on the pedestal is in Latin, short, but full of meaning, intimating, that by a spirit nearly divine, he solved on principles of his own, the motion and figure of the planets, the paths of the comets, and the ebbing and flowing of the sea; that he discovered the dissimularity of the rays of light, and the properties of colours from thence arising, which none but himself had ever dreamt of; that he was a diligent, wise and faithful interpreter of nature, antiquity, and the holy scriptures; that by his philosophy he maintained the dignity of the Supreme Being; and by the purity of his life, the simplicity of the gospel; and it concludes with a just exclamation, What reason have mortals to pride themselves in the existence of so great an ornament to the human race! He was born Dec. 25, 1642, and died in 1726.

So noble a monument erected to real merit, is a greater honour to the nation than to the great genius for whom it was raised; in this light it is viewed by all Europe.

83. On the other side of the entrance into the choir is another lofty and pompous monument. This last was erected to the memory of Earl Stanhope, who is also represented leaning upon his arm in a recumbent posture, holding in his right hand a General’s staff, and in his left a parchment scroll. Before him stands a cupid resting upon a shield. Over a martial tent sits Minerva, holding in her right hand a javelin, and in the other a scroll. Behind is a slender pyramid. On the middle of the pedestal are two medalions, and on each side the pilasters one. In short, under the principal figure is a Latin inscription, displaying the merits of this great man, as a soldier, a statesman, and a senator: observing, that in 1707, he concluded an advantageous peace with Spain; and the same year was sent Embassador to Charles III. In 1708, he took Port Mahon: In 1710, he forced his way to the gates of Madrid, and took possession of that capital: In 1715, being of the Secret Committee, he impeached the Duke of Ormond. In 1717 he was made first Commissioner of the treasury, and Chancellor of the exchequer; and in July following was created a Peer. He died in 1721, in the forty-seventh year of his age.

84. Mr. Thynne’s monument has always been esteemed a very fine one. That gentleman is represented dying, and at his feet is a boy weeping. Underneath on a table of black marble in white letters is this short inscription:

Thomas Thynne of Longleate in Com. Wilts, Esq; who was barbarously murdered on Sunday the 12th of February, 1682.

And upon the pedestal the story of his murder is finely represented in relief.

This last observation makes it necessary to give the particulars of this murder, which we shall do from a very accurate, tho’ small work, from which we have obtained considerable assistance in the description of many things relating to the Abbey. The above murder was conspired by Count Koningsmark, and executed by three assassins hired for that purpose, who shot this unhappy gentleman in Pall-Mall, in his own coach. The motive was, to obtain the rich heiress of Northumberland in marriage, who in her infancy had been betrothed to the Earl of Ogle, but left a widow before consummation; and afterwards married to Mr. Thynne; but being scarce fifteen, and her mother extremely tender of her, and at the same time desirous of her having issue, prevailed upon her husband to travel another year before he bedded her, in which time she became acquainted with Koningsmark at the Court of Hanover. Whether she had ever given him any countenance is uncertain; but having no grounds to hope to obtain her while her husband lived, he in this villainous manner accomplished his death: the Lady, however, detested this base and inhuman conduct, and soon after married the great Duke of Somerset.—At the time this happened, a report was spread that Mr. Thynne had formerly debauched a woman of family and character, on honourable pretences; but upon his uncle’s leaving him 10,000l. a year; he basely deserted her; whence arose the saying, that he had escaped his misfortune, if he had either married the Lady he had lain with, or lain with the Lady he had married. But we do not pretend to insinuate that there was any truth in this story. It may probably be only a cruel piece of defamation. Historical Description of Westminster Abbey.

85. The monument of Dame Grace Gethin, is ornamented with a figure of a Lady devoutly kneeling, with a book in her right hand, and her left on her breast; on each side is an angel, one holding over her head a crown, and the other a chaplet; and on the ascending sides of the pediment are two female figures in a mournful posture. It is adorned with three different coats of family arms, and on the base is an English inscription, which also lets us know that she was married to Sir Richard Gethin of Gethin Grott in Ireland; was famed for her exemplary piety, and wrote a book of devotions, which Mr. Congreve has complimented with a poem. She died Oct. 11, 1697, aged twenty-one.

86. A monument erected to the memory of two sisters, the daughters of Ralph Freke of Hannington in Wilts, Esq; whose busts in relief ornament the sides. The inscription observes, that the eldest, named Elizabeth, was married to Percey Freke of West Bilney in Norfolk, and died on the 7th of April 1714; that Judith the youngest married Robert Austin of Tenterden in Kent, and died May 19, 1716: and that they were both the best of daughters, the best of wives, and the best of mothers.

87. A large monument of black marble erected to the memory of Sir Thomas Richardson, Lord Chief Justice of England in the reign of King Charles I. He died in 1634, and his tomb is adorned with his effigy in brass, lying in his robes, and his collar of S S.

88. An ancient monument raised to the memory of William Thynne of Botterville, Esq.; it is of marble and alabaster gilt, and is adorned with the statue of that gentleman lying at full length. The inscription informs us, that he was a polite gentleman, a great traveller, and a brave soldier, and that he died on the 14th of March 1584.

89. A very handsome monument erected for that learned grammarian Dr. Busby, master of Westminster school; who is represented in his gown, looking earnestly at the inscription; holding in his right hand a pen, and in his left a book open. Upon the pedestal underneath are a variety of books, and at the top is his family arms. The inscription is a very elegant one, and intimates whatsoever fame the school of Westminster boasts, and whatever advantages mankind shall reap from thence in future times, are all principally owing to the wise institutions of this gentleman, who was born at Lutton in Lincolnshire, Sept. 22, 1606, and after being made Master of Westminster college was elected Prebendary of Westminster, and Treasurer of Wells. He died April 5, 1695.

90. The next monument, is that erected to the memory of Robert South, D.D. who is represented in a recumbent posture in his canonical habit, with his arm resting on a cushion, and his right hand on a death’s head. In his left he holds a book with his finger between the leaves, as if just closed from reading, and over his head is a group of cherubs issuing from a mantling. This monument is however very badly executed, and the statue is clumsy and unmeaning. It has a long Latin inscription, shewing that this celebrated divine was scholar to Dr. Busby, and student at Christ Church, Oxford; that by the patronage of the Lord Clarendon he was made Prebendary both of Westminster and Christ Church, and afterwards rector of Islip, where he rebuilt the parsonage house, and founded and endowed a school for the education of poor children. He died on the 8th of July 1718, aged eighty-two.

The Monuments in the Cloisters. The most ancient of these are towards the east end of the south walk, where lie the remains of four Abbots marked in the pavement by four stones.

The first of these covers the Abbot Vitales, who died in 1082, and was formerly covered with brass plates.

The second is of grey marble, to the memory of Gislebertus Crispinus, who died in 1114, and whose effigies may still be traced on the stone.

Under the third, which is a raised stone of Sussex marble, lies the Abbot Laurentius, who died in 1176, and is said to be the first who obtained from Pope Alexander III. the privilege of using the mitre, ring and globe.

The last is of black marble, and covers the ashes of Gervasius de Blois, who was natural son to King Stephen, and died in 1166. This is called Long Meg, from its extraordinary length, it being eleven feet eight inches. All these seem to have had their names and dates cut afresh.

In the east walk is a handsome monument erected to the memory of Daniel Pulteney, Esq; facing those of the above Abbots; the inscription on which is much admired for the purity of the diction, and its propriety and elegance, and is as follows:

Almost at the end of the north east walk is a monument against the Abbey wall to the memory of the Rev. Mr. William Laurence, the inscription on which is remarkable for its quaintness, and is as follows:

Henry the Seventh’s Chapel. As this is a separate building from Westminster Abbey, we did not think proper to confound it with the other chapels; and as it is joined to the Abbey, we did not chuse to render it so distinct an article as it would have been, had we given it the place it would have demanded in the order of the alphabet. It is to be examined at the same time with that edifice, and we have followed the example of the architect in uniting them.

This chapel, which was founded by Henry VII. in the year 1502, and the succeeding years, is styled by Leland the wonder of the world. It is situated to the east of the Abbey, to which it is so neatly joined, that on a superficial view it appears to be one and the same building. It is supported by fourteen Gothic buttresses, all beautifully ornamented, and projecting from the building in different angles, and is enlightened by a double range of windows that throw the light into such a happy disposition as at once to please the eye, and afford a kind of solemn gloom. These buttresses extend up to the roof, and are made to strengthen it by their being crowned with Gothic arches. In these buttresses are niches, in which formerly stood a number of statues; but these being greatly decayed, have been long taken down.

This chapel is one of the most expensive remains of the ancient English taste and magnificence; there is no looking upon it without admiration: yet, perhaps, its beauty consists much more eminently in the workmanship than the contrivance. The plate shews the outside, where it joins to the Abbey, and gives some idea of the fine taste of Gothic architecture in that age, which seems to have been its meridian; but it soon fell into the bad taste practised in the time of Queen Elizabeth, as may be seen in the tomb of this Queen and her predecessor in the side aisles of this chapel.

This may be sufficient for the outside of this edifice, the entrance to which is from the east end of the Abbey, by a flight of steps of black marble, under a very noble arch, that leads to the gates opening to the body or nave of the chapel: for, like a cathedral it is divided into a nave and side isles, to which you may enter by a door on each hand. The gates at the entrance of the nave are of brass curiously wrought in the manner of frame work, and have in every other open pannel a rose and portcullis alternately.

Being entered, the eye is naturally directed to the lofty ceiling, in the most admirable manner wrought with such an astonishing variety of figures as is impossible to be described. The stalls on each side are of oak, with Gothic canopies, most beautifully carved, as are also the seats; and the pavement is of black and white marble, laid at the charge of Dr. Killigrew, once Prebendary of this Abbey. The east view from the entrance presents you with the brass chapel and tomb of the founder, which will be hereafter described, and round it where the east end forms a semicircle, are the chapels of the Dukes of Buckingham and Richmond. At that end the side isles open to the nave. It must not be omitted, that the walls both of the nave and the side isles are adorned with the most curious imagery imaginable, and contain an hundred and twenty statues of patriarchs, saints, martyrs and confessors, under which are angels supporting imperial crowns, besides innumerable small ones, all of them esteemed so curious, that the best masters are said to have travelled from abroad to copy them. The roof of the side isles is flattish, and supported on arches between the nave and side isles turning upon twelve stately Gothic pillars, curiously adorned with figures, fruitage and foliage. The windows, besides a spacious one at the east end, are thirteen on each side above and as many below, and were formerly painted, having in each pane a white rose, the badge of the house of Lancaster, a B the initial letter of the founder’s name, or portcullises crowned, the badge of the Beaufort’s family, of which there are some now remaining.

This chapel was originally designed as a sepulchre appropriated solely to the use of those of royal blood; and so far has the will of the founder been observed, that none have been yet interred there, but those of high quality, whose descent may generally be traced from some of our ancient Kings: I shall therefore mention each of these tombs, beginning with that which is the most ancient, as well as the most astonishing.

It has been already observed, that in the middle of the east end of the nave is situated the magnificent tomb of Henry VII. this is enclosed with a screen of cast brass, most admirably designed, and executed; this screen is nineteen feet in length, eleven in breadth, and the same in height. It is ornamented with statues, of which those only of St. James, St. Bartholomew, St. George, and St. Edward, are now remaining; and also adorned with other devices alluding to King Henry the Seventh’s family; as portcullises, signifying his relation to the Beaufort’s by his mother’s side; roses twisted and crowned, in memory of the union of the two houses of Lancaster and York, by his marriage; and at each end a crown in a bush, alluding to the crown of Richard III. found in a hawthorn bush, near Bosworth field, where the famous battle was fought in which Richard lost his life. Within the rails are the effigies of the royal pair, in their robes of state, on a tomb of black marble, the head whereof is supported by a red dragon the ensign of Cadwalladar, from whom King Henry VII. was fond of tracing his descent, and the foot by an angel.

At the head of this tomb lie the remains of Edward VI. grandson to Henry VII. who died in the sixteenth year of his age, and the seventh of his reign. A fine monument was erected to his memory by Queen Mary, his sister and successor; it was adorned with curious sculpture representing the passion and resurrection of our Saviour; with two angels on the top kneeling; and the whole elegantly finished; but it was afterwards demolished as a relict of Popish superstition.

On one side of Henry the Seventh’s tomb in a small chapel, in which is the monument of Lewis Stuart Duke of Richmond, and Frances his wife; whose statues in cast brass are represented lying on a marble table under a canopy of brass curiously wrought, and supported by the figures of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Prudence; and on the top is a figure of Fame taking her flight, and resting only on her toe.

On the north side of Henry the Seventh’s tomb is a monument decorated with several emblematical figures in brass gilt; the principal is Neptune in a pensive posture with his trident reversed, and Mars with his head crushed; these support the tomb on which lie the effigies of George Villars Duke of Buckingham, the great favourite of King James I. and King Charles I. who fell a sacrifice to the national resentment by the hand of Felton. His Grace married Catharine, daughter to the Earl of Rutland, who erected this monument to his memory, and lies in effigy on the same tomb by his side. The Latin inscription, after recounting his noble qualities, and high titles, alludes to the story of his death.

Of a later date, and superior in point of design and workmanship, is a noble monument erected to the memory of John Sheffield Duke of Buckingham, where his Grace’s statue in a Roman habit, is laid in a half raised posture on an altar of fine marble: his Duchess is represented standing at his feet weeping. On each side are military trophies; and over all an admirable figure of Time holding several medallions representing the heads of their Graces children. This monument is very justly admired. It has been observed, that the Duke himself appears the principal figure in the group, and though he lies in a recumbent posture, and his Lady is in the most beautiful manner placed at his feet, yet her figure is so characterized, as to be only a guide to his, and both reflect back a beauty on each other. The decorations are allowed to be extremely picturesque and elegant; the trophies at his head, the figure of Time above, with the medallions of his children, fill up all the spaces with such propriety, that little could be added, and nothing appears superfluous. The inscription sets forth the Duke of Buckingham’s posts, and his qualifications as a good poet, and a fine writer; and over his statue is inscribed in Latin sentences to the following purpose:

And underneath:

His Grace died in the 57th year of his age, Feb. 24, 1720, leaving the publication of his works to the care of Mr. Pope. He had three wives; the first, Ursula, Countess of Coventry; the second, Catharine, Countess of Gainsborough; the third, Catharine, Countess of Anglesey.

In this isle there is a lofty pyramid supported by two griffins of gilt brass, on a pedestal of the most curious marble, erected to the memory of Charles Montague, Marquis of Halifax, son to George Montague of Horton. He was placed at the head of the treasury in the reign of King Charles I. and undertaking the reformation of the coin, which was then most infamously clipped, he restored it to its proper value. For this, and other public services, he was first created Baron, and then Marquis of Halifax.

Against the east wall at the end of the north isle is a monument in the form of a beautiful altar, raised by King Charles II. to the memory of Edward V. and his brother Richard, on which is an inscription in Latin, to the following purport:

Here lie the reliques of Edward V. King of England, and Richard Duke of York, who, being confined in the Tower, and there stifled with pillows, were privately and meanly buried, by order of their perfidious uncle Richard the Usurper. Their bones, long enquired after and wished for, after lying two hundred and one years in the rubbish of the stairs, lately leading to the chapel of the White Tower, were on the 17th of July 1674, by undoubted proofs discovered; being buried deep in that place. Charles II. pitying their unhappy fate, ordered these unfortunate Princes to be laid amongst the reliques of their predecessors, in the year 1678, and the 20th of his reign.

At the east end of the same isle is a vault in which are deposited the bodies of King James I. and Anne his Queen, daughter to Frederic II. King of Denmark.

Over this vault is a small tomb adorned with the figure of a child, erected to the memory of Mary the third daughter of James I. who was born at Greenwich in 1605, and died at two years old.

There is also another monument on which is the representation of a child in a cradle, erected to the memory of Sophia, the fourth daughter of the same King, who was born at Greenwich in 1606, and died three days after.

In the same isle is a lofty monument erected to the memory of Queen Elizabeth by King James I. her successor. The inscription represents her character, high descent, and the memorable acts of her glorious reign, “That she was the mother of her country, and the patroness of religion and learning; was herself skilled in many languages, adorned with every excellence of mind and person, and endowed with princely virtues beyond her sex: that in her reign religion was refined to its original purity; peace was established; money restored to its just value; domestic insurrections quelled; France delivered from intestine troubles; the Netherlands supported; the Spanish Armada defeated; Ireland, almost lost by the secret contrivances of Spain, recovered; the revenues of both universities improved by a law of provisions; and, in short, all England enriched. That she was a most prudent Governess, forty-five years a virtuous and triumphant Queen; truly religious, and blest in all her great affairs; and that after a calm and resigned death in the 70th year of her age, she left her mortal part to be deposited in this church, which she established upon a new footing, till by the word of Christ she is called to immortality.” She died March 24, 1602.

In the south isle is a lofty and pompous tomb erected to the memory of Mary Queen of Scots, the mother of King James I. who flying into England from her rebellious subjects, was taken prisoner, tried and condemned for conspiring the death of Queen Elizabeth, and on the 8th of February 1587, beheaded on a scaffold erected in the hall of Fotheringhay Castle, in Northamptonshire. She was afterwards pompously interred by order of Queen Elizabeth, in the cathedral church of Peterborough; but upon the accession of her son to the throne of England, he ordered her remains to be removed from thence, and placed near this monument.

Near the last monument is a tomb enclosed with iron rails, on which lies a Lady also finely robed, the effigies of Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Queen of Scots by the Earl of Angus. Her son the Lord Darnely, father to King James I. is represented foremost on the tomb kneeling, with the crown over his head, and there are seven other of her children represented round the tomb. This great Lady, though she herself never sat on the throne, had, according to the English inscription, King Edward IV. to her great grandfather; Henry VII. to her grandfather; Henry VIII. to her uncle; Edward VI. to her cousin german; James V. of Scotland to her brother; Henry I. of Scotland to her son; James VI. to her brother. Having to her great grandmother and grandmother two Queens, both named Elizabeth; to her mother, Margaret Queen of Scots; to her aunt, Mary the French Queen; to her cousins german, Mary and Elizabeth Queens of England; and to her niece and daughter-in-law, Mary Queen of Scots. This great Lady died March 10, 1577.

In the south side is likewise the monument of Margaret Countess of Richmond, mother to Henry VII. by her first husband Henry Tudor. She was afterwards married to Humphry Stafford, a younger son to Humphry Duke of Buckingham, and at last to Thomas Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby; but by the two last had no children. The inscription mentions the charities of this humane and generous Princess, particularly her founding two colleges at Oxford, Christ Church and St. John’s; and a grammar school at Winbourne. She died in July 1509, in the reign of her grandson Henry VIII.

At the east end of this isle is the royal vault of King Charles II., King William III., Queen Mary his Consort, Queen Anne, and Prince George.

Over these royal Personages are their effigies (except that of Prince George) in wainscot presses; they are of wax work resembling life, and dressed in their coronation robes.

Another wainscot press is placed at the corner of the great east window, in which is the effigy of the Lady Mary Duchess of Richmond, daughter to James Duke of Richmond and Lenox, dressed in the very robes her Grace wore at the coronation of Queen Anne.

On leaving this isle you will be shewn in another wainscot press the effigies of General Monk, who had a great share in the restoration of King Charles II. to the throne of England, and was interred in a vault appropriated to him and his family. He is represented in armour, and his ducal cap is generally made use of by those who shew this chapel, to receive the bounty of those who visit it; these persons having no share of the money paid for seeing it.

Thus have we given a description of every thing remarkable in the Abbey, and that venerable pile adjoining to it, called Henry the Seventh’s chapel; we have mentioned and described the monuments in both that are worthy of notice, and we shall conclude this article with the following reflections, extracted from an ingenious writer, on this subject.

“However amiable fame may be to the living, ’tis certain no advantage to the dead, whatever dangers they have dared, whatever toils they have undergone, whatever difficulties they have surmounted; the grave is deaf to the voice of applause, and the dust of the noble and vulgar sleep in the same obscurity together. ’Tis possible the conscious spirit may have an idea of the honour that is paid to his ashes; but ’tis much more probable, that the prospect of this imaginary glory, while he lived among us, was all the pleasure it ever could afford him. I make this observation, because most monuments are said to be erected as an honour to the dead, and the living are supposed to be the least concerned in them: but one man’s fame is made the foundation of another’s, in the same manner with the gentleman’s, who ordered this sentence to be made his epitaph; Here lies Sir Philip Sidney’s friend. Some there are that mention only the names of the persons whose dust they cover, and preserve a noble silence with regard to the hand that raised them; but even here, the dead can receive no benefit from such disinterested affection; but the living may profit much by so noble an example. Another thing that displeases me is the manner of the inscriptions, which frequently mistake the very design of engraving them, and as frequently give the lie to themselves. To pore one’s self blind in guessing out ÆternÆ MemoriÆ Sacrum, is a jest, that would make Heraclitus laugh; and yet most of them begin in that pompous taste, without the least reflection that brass and marble can’t preserve them from the tooth of Time; and if men’s actions have not guarded their reputations, the proudest monument would flatter in vain. Sepulchral monuments should be always considered as the last public tribute paid to virtue; as a proof of our regard for noble characters, and most particularly as an excitement to others to emulate the great example.

“It is certain there is not a nobler amusement, than a walk in Westminster Abbey, among the tombs of heroes, patriots, poets, and philosophers; you are surrounded with the shades of your great forefathers; you feel the influence of their venerable society, and grow fond of fame and virtue in the contemplation: ’tis the finest school of morality, and the most beautiful flatterer of imagination in nature. I appeal to any man’s mind that has any taste for what is sublime and noble, for a witness to the pleasure he experiences on this occasion; and I dare believe he will acknowledge, that there is no entertainment so various, or so instructive. For my own part, I have spent many an hour of pleasing melancholy in its venerable walks; and have been more delighted with the solemn conversation of the dead, than the most sprightly sallies of the living. I have examined the characters that were inscribed before me, and distinguished every particular virtue. The monuments of real fame, I have viewed with real respect; but the piles that wanted a character to excuse them, I considered as the monuments of folly. I have wandered with pleasure into the most gloomy recesses of this last resort of grandeur, to contemplate human life, and trace mankind thro’ all the wilderness of their frailties and misfortunes, from their cradles to their grave. I have reflected on the shortness of our duration here, and that I was but one of the millions who had been employed in the same manner, in ruminating on the trophies of mortality before me; that I must moulder to dust in the same manner, and quit the scene to a new generation, without leaving the shadow of my existence behind me; that this huge fabric, this sacred repository of fame and grandeur, would only be the stage for the same performances; would receive new accessions of noble dust; would be adorned with other sepulchres of cost and magnificence; would be crouded with successive admirers; and at last, by the unavoidable decays of time, bury the whole collection of antiquities in general obscurity, and be the monument of its own ruin.”

Abbots Langley, a village in Hertfordshire, situated to the east of Kings Langley, and three or four miles to the S. W. of St. Alban’s, to whose abbey it once belonged. It is famous for being the birth place of Nicholas Breakspeare, who was made Pope by the title of Adrian IV. and had his stirrup held by the Emperor Frederic while he dismounted: but notwithstanding his pride, it is a still more indelible stain to his memory, that when Sovereign Pontiff, he suffer’d his mother to be maintained by the alms of the church of Canterbury. This place gives the title of Baron to the Lord Raymond, who has a seat in this neighbourhood.

Abbs Court, in the parish of Walton upon Thames in Surrey. The Lord of this Manor, which is also called Aps, used formerly upon All-Saints Day to give a barrel of beer, and a quarter of corn baked into loaves, to as many poor as came. This charity was begun in the days of Popery, in order, as ’tis supposed, to encourage the prayers for deliverance of souls out of purgatory.

Abchurch lane, 1. Gracechurch street.? 2.Lombard street.? See St. Mary Abchurch.

Abel court, Rosemary lane.

Abel’s buildings, Rosemary lane.†

Abingdon buildings, Old Palace yard.

Abingdon street, near Old Palace yard.

Academy court, Chancery lane.

Acorn alley, Bishopsgate street, without.*

Acorn court, Bishopsgate street, without.*

Acton (East) a village six miles from London, a little to the north of the Oxford Road, noted for the medicinal wells near it, which are frequented in the summer months.

Acton (West) a village in the road to Oxford, situated seven miles from London.

Adam-a-digging yard, Peter street, Westminster.*

Adam and Eve alley, 1. Barnaby street.* 2. by West Smithfield.*

Adam and Eve court, 1. Oxford street.* 2. Tottenham court road.* 3. West Smithfield.* 4. Hatchet alley, Whitechapel. 5. Petticoat lane.*

Adam and Eve yard, 1. Homerton.* 2. Ratcliff highway.*

Adam’s court, 1. Little Broad street.† 2. Pig street.† 3. Sharp’s buildings, Duke’s place.† 4. Near Swan’s close.†

Adam’s mews, 1. Audley street.† 2. Charles street near Mount street.†

Adam’s yard, Hockley in the Hole. †

Addington, a village in Surrey, three miles from Croydon, situated at the descent of a high spacious common to which it gives name. Its church, though said to be above 300 years old, is still very firm. But what is most remarkable, is, that the Lord of the Manor held it in the reign of Henry III. by the service of making his Majesty a mess of pottage in an earthen pot in the King’s kitchen at his coronation; and so late as the coronation of King Charles II. Thomas Leigh, Esq; then Lord of the Manor, made a mess according to his tenure, and brought it to his Majesty’s table, when that King accepted of his service, though he did not taste what he had prepared.

Addison’s yard, Peter street, Westminster. †

Addle hill, Great Carter lane, Thames street.

Addle street, Wood street, Cheapside.

Admiralty court. This court, which is held in Doctors Commons, was formerly under the direction of the Lord High Admiral, as it is now under the Lords of the Admiralty, who here take cognisance of all causes relating to merchants and mariners. The proceedings are in the Civil Law. The plaintiff gives security to prosecute, and if cast, to pay what shall be adjudged, and likewise to stand to all his proctor shall transact in his name. But in criminal cases, as the trial of pirates, and crimes committed at sea, the process, by a special commission, is by a judge, jury and witnesses, a Judge of the Common Law assisting: on which occasion the court is commonly held at the Session-house in the Old Bailey. The officers of this court are the Judge of the Admiralty, who must be a Civilian, an Advocate and Proctor, a Register, and a Marshal, who carries a silver oar before the Judge.

S. Wale delin. J. Green sc. Oxon.
Admiralty