The king intended this magnificent Chapel not only for his own place of sepulture, but also for that of Henry VI.; but whether the latter monarch was buried there is not absolutely known. The Chapel of the Virgin and an adjacent Tavern were destroyed to make room for this building. The tavern bore the sign of the White Rose. No expence was spared in the erection of this royal foundation, intended only for the royal blood. The expence was 14,0001.* at that time a most enormous sum.* Let us, before we describe the external character of this "wonder of the world," as Leland hyperbolically calls it, enter within, and attempt a delineation of the vast store of ancient and modern beauties which pervade every part of this great structure. Following the plan laid down by one of our ablest antiquaries, I begin with THE CHOIR. The altar-table is of oak, perhaps nearly as old as the Reformation. It is covered with dark purple cloth, fringed and tasseled with a lighter purple. The eastern side of it is raised for the support of the great candlesticks. A large tablet above is covered by a cloth of the same kind as the table. The Altar-piece is a stately and beautiful piece of white marble, faintly veined with blue. It formerly stood in Whitehall Chapel, and was removed from the stores at Hampton Court, in the year 1707, and was presented by Queen Anne to this church. It consists of a Tuscan basement, in three compartments; the middle one is semicircular, and largest. It is formed by twelve pilasters, their architrave, frieze, and cornice. Over the altar, on a slightly projecting frieze, is the following inscription:"ANNA REGINE PIA, FELIX, AUGUSTA, PARENS PATRIE, D." On each side are doors leading into the Chapel of St. Edward, where the king retires to refresh himself on the day of his coronation. The spaces of the doors and under the architrave are filled by alto relievo figures of children on clouds, beneath gloPART III. CONTIN, B rious • Henry VIIth's Will, Preface, p. iv. as cited by Pennant, p. 64. fourth edit, 1905. ries, in the attitude of adoration. On each side of the table are empty niches; and above them a child with the thuribulum incensing the altar; and another on one knee, bearing the paten, on which are two cruets. On the cornice is a tablet, the base of which is exquisitely carved, with representations of grapes, flowers, and fruits. Within a frame of black marble is a glory of gold, and these words: "Glory to God in the highest; and on Earth peace, good-will towards men." Two palm branches enclose the following: "Do this in remembrance of me." On this tablet is a pediment, having a crown in the tympanum. Over it is another tablet, with four pilasters, and a circular pediment, containing a basso relievo of ten cherubim surrounding a glory of gold, on which is painted . On the apex of the pediment are three boys supporting the bible; the middle one waving a branch of palm over it. Six beautiful variegated marble columns, of the Corinthian order, extend over the centre compartment to the great tablet, adorned by kneeling angels, bowing to the altar below. Festoons of flowers hang in the open intercolumniations, and round the upper part of the altar piece. This was a most magnificent gift, and worthy of a queen to present; but not very creditable to the Abbey to receive, as it spoils the keeping of this exquisitely fine temple. Few antiquaries of taste will admire the discrepency of a fine piece of Grecian architecture, of white polished marble, made an essential portion of the furniture of an ancient Gothic Abbey, whose decayed stones and mouldering walls surround this modern altarpiece. The pavement is modern, and is formed into squares, lozenges, sexagons, stars, and crosses of rich white and coloured marble. This choir, with the pavement, is perhaps altogether one of the finest pieces of mosaic work in the world. Mr. Malcolm, whose taste could justly appreciate its various beauties, thus describes it" Descending two steps of white marble, which cover part of the grand mosaic platform, we tread on the wreck of the most glorious work in England; venerable through age, costly in its materials, and invaluable for its workmanship. What must have been the beauties of this holy place soon after the completion of the church! the altar-piece, resembling in workmanship its transcendant back in Edward the Confessor's Chapel; the shrine of that saint beaming with rich jewels, gold and silver statues, and other offerings; the sides of the choir shewing glances of the numerous altars in the chapels, with the rich tombs on the right and left; and this pavement, sparkling with the bright rays of vast tapers, and ever-burning lamps! And hither did Henry the Sixth, after making a public entry into London, come, "Where all the convent, in copis richely, Mette with hym, as of custom as yen ouzt; Among ye relikes, ye scripture out he souzt. Ex duabr arboribr vr Sci Edwardi et Sci Lodewyce Till he com to ye heize auter, And ful devoutly Te Deum y" was songe.' The Pavement, already mentioned, called Abbot Richard Ware's Pavement, is separated from the modern one by a skreen of iron rails. The materials are lapis lazuli, jasper, porphyry, alabaster, Lydian and Serpentine marbles, and touchstone. It was made at the charge of the abbot, whose name it bears, and is said to have been purchased by him in France. An admirer of the arts must view it with the deepest regret. It was injured, no doubt, at the Reformation, when the high-altar was removed, at its restoration by Queen Mary;, and afterwards almost demolished. B 2 * MS. Harl. No. 565.—Lidgate. ap. Mal. 88. lished. The most irreparable attack was made by the workmen at erecting the present altar-piece. The centre of the design is a large circle, whose centre is a circular plane of porphyry, three spans and a quarter in diameter; round it stars of lapis lazuli, pea-green, red and white, which, being of most beautiful colours, was much depredated; those enclosed by a hand of alabaster; and without a border of lozenges, red and green; the half lozenges contain triangles of the same colours, A dark circle held brass letters, whose places may be scen; but are now reduced to six: R, E, W, N, T, A, in the Saxon character. The extensive lines of this great circle run into four smaller circles facing the cardinal points; that to the fast, a centre of orange and green variegated; round it a circle of red and green wedges; without that, lozenges of the same colours, and completed by a dark border. To the north the centre has a sexagon centre of variegated green and yellow; round it a band of porphyry, and a dark border. The west circle nearly similar. The south, a black centre within a variegated octagon. A large lozenge incloses all the above circles, which is formed by a double border of olive colour; within which on one corner only, are one hundred and thirty-eight circles intersecting each other, and each made by four oval pieces inclosing a lozenge. The other parts vary in figure; but are equally rich in ornament and device. The above lozenge has a circle on each of its sides, to the north-east, and south-east. The first contains a sexagon, divided by lozenges of green; within which are forty-one red stars. In the intersections are red triangles. Green triangles form a sexagon round every intersection. The second contains a sexagon; within it seven stars of red and green, forming several sexagons, containing yellow stars. The third has a sexagon, formed by intersecting lines and triangles; the latter sixteen smaller triangles of red, green, and yellow. The last a sexagon with thirty-one within it, filled by stars of six rays, green and yellow. The spaces within the great lozenge round the circle is composed of circles, stars, squares, lozenges, and triangles, whose component parts are thousands of pieces of the above shapes. The whole of the great lozenge and circles is inclosed by a square; the sides to the cardinal points. It has held other parts of the inscription: of this O and E only remain on the eastern side, N Q on the south, none on the west, and E on the north. The four outsides are filled by parallelograms and circles of considerable size, all divided into figures nearly similar to those described. The design of the figures that were in it was to represent the time the world was to last; or the primum mobile according to the Ptolemaic system, was going about, and was given in some verses, formerly to be read on the pavement, relating to those figures: "Si lector posita prudenter cuncta revolvat Hic finem primi mobilis inveniet. Sepes trina, canes et equos, hominesque subaddas, Cervos & corvos, aquilas, immania cete, Mundum; quodque sequens pereuntes triplicat annos Christi milleno, bis centeno, duodeno Cum sexago, subductis quatuor, anno, Tertius Henricus Rex, Urbs, Odoricus, et Abbas Hos compegete porphyreos lapides " Of these, and they seem to need it, the following explication is given : * The threefold hedge is put for three years, the time a day hedge usually stood; a dog for three times that space, or nine years, it being taken for the time that creature usually lives; an horse in like manner for twenty-seven; a man eightyone: a bart two hundred and forty-three: a raven, seven hundred and twenty-nine: an eagle, two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven a great whale, six thousand five hundred and sixtyone: the world nineteen thousand six hundred and eighty-three: B 3 Biblioth. Cotton. Claudius, A. VIII, ap. Mal. 190. each 2 |