and the Houfe of Lords; but not either St. Stephen's chapel, or the Painted Chamber, can be particularifed. The Hall is very confpicuous; and we can discover the other open Spate now called Old Palace-yard, with the Eaft end of the Abbey church, St. Margaret's church, and fome other buildings ranging on the Weft fide of the Fall. Thus much for the information which is to be gathered from this aluable print. The other engravings are views of New Palace-yard only; and (from the drefs of the people) appear to have been taken in Charles. It's reign; from which, fee, the niches in the front of the Hall were filled with statues; and that the buildings on the left of the Hall were fimilar to thofe we now find on the right, with the great tower and the two gateways, but not the conduit as put down in the plan. . Thus informed, (though not in the most fatisfactory manner), we prepare to commence our furvey. New Palace Yard. On the Weft and North fides are ranges of modern buildings only; and we cannot find any traces of the two gateways or the conduit, The East fide thews the range of erections found in the plan. The South fide gives the front of the Hall; on the left of which, are fome brick buildings, of the latter end of Charles II's reign. The auguft front of the Hall is indeed ftanding; but how difgraced, mutilated, and hid by paltry huts, I fubmit to any unprejudiced mind, not vitiated with the rage to defpife our antient fabrics, if they can refift the rifing admiration excited by the rich and noble parts of the tracery and enrichments which arreft dur view. The porch, when perfect, muft have been of the first clafs of workmanfhip; and barbarous muft thofe minds have been, who demolished the groins of which we now lament the lofs. The parapet over the porch has likewife been deftroyed. In the frit Rory of the tower on the left, two of the fix niches are cut away for a modern window; fecond ftory, the window perfect; third ftory, the window has had its mullions hacked; the parapet modern. Tower on the right hand; first ftory, niches cut away for a modern defpicable window; fecond and third ftories, mullions of the windows hacked, and a modern parapet. The great window over the porch unaltered. On the point of the roof, the terminating niche has been curtailed of its pinnacles, and a common mafon's plinth for a vane fubftituted in its ftead. Not one of the ftatues that filled the niches are left; which, no doubt, were hiftorical, and gave the forms of our kings, warriors, and other ennobled characters. The range of buildings running from the Hall to the Weft fide of the yard, where ftood one of the gateways entering into Old Palace yard, were till very lately entire; when, from a fuppofed want of room for carriages (ever before thought fufficient), they were taken down to within two windows in breadth, Weft of the octagon tower, projecting from about the centre of this range. Interesting thefe chambers were, as we have from tradition that one of them was the bed-chamber of Henry VII The Weft fide of the Hall is partly perfect, excepting that on its wall a modern brick parapet has been placed, and towards its Northern extremity we find fome few old chambers left ftanding; but the whole line of its fide is blocked up by every fpecies of modern erections, fo that but little of its defign can meet the eye. The South end of the Hall likewife comes in for its fhare of exclufion; yet we can juft perceive the upper part of the great window and finith of the roof. The Eaft fide of the Hall is much fhut out from obfervation; but the erections there have been raised for neceffary attendant purposes on St. Stephen's chapel, fuch as the eloifters, &e. which we as Antiquaries muft overlook, when they remain โด fo great a ftore, fo rich a mine, of up, a hanging buttress, and a pro architectural treasure, to repay our jecting tower. These two latter wonder and curiofity. objects fronting the Thames, and We will at prefent delay making being that kind of work feen on the any obfervations on the exterior of exterior of manfions, or caftle walls, St. Stephen's chapel, its cloifters, against which the waters of fur and contiguous buildings, referving rounding ditches flowed, made me, them for a fucceeding effay; and, when fpeaking of the aqueduct in continuing our courfe, will comment the cloifters of the Abbey church, on the ftate of the Painted Chamber. fuppofe that its direction lay towards On the North fide, the basement thefe walls, which once, no ftory has had fome modern altera- doubt, the river wafhed with its tions; the principal ftory, two of tideful ftream, the windows, and buttreffes remain. there is at prefent fuch a plot of notwithstanding Towards its Eastern extremity, are ground between them and the water. the veftiges of adjoining cham- The next building which comes bers of rich work, and a modern to our obfervation, and the laft that brick parapet has been put as a finifh is in being of this once magnific to the wall, The Eaft end prefents cent and extensive Palace, is the much of its original work; and, to Court of Requests. The South end prevent the confequences of fome is indeed a curiofity, a choice rem-. fracture, a prodigious fupporting nant of the firft erections of this pier of brick-work has been built Palace by Edward the Confeffor. up. The upper part of this end Thefe Purfuits have guided us juft: has likewife been repaired with in the fortunate moment to catch a modern make-fhift mafonry, dif- look at its defign, as a common gracing the fublimity of this moft kitchen, and its appendages are curious, and the leaft unaltered, part nowraifing up againftit. It may be of the Palace; and which from its thus deferibed. From the ground appearance muft create the greateft line to the fecond story the wall is attention and veneration. The plain, except two fimple quarter South fide, and Weft end, abut round brackets. The line marking against other buildings. That on the commencement of the fecond its South fide is the prefent Houfe ftory has the diagonals: two large of Lords; and that at its Weft end, femicircular-headed windows with a part of the Court of Requefts. the diagonals (ftoptup) next claim our notice: Above, modern brickwork gives a finish to this end of the building. The Weft fide thews the old wall (plain) to a certain height; and then, modern brick-work gives the finifhias at the South end. The firft ftory of the North end thews likewife the old wall; and its upper ftory finishes in the modern way, like the forementioned parts. The Eatt fide is entirely hid by the Painted Chamber, and a range of modern apartments leading from the Houfe of Commons to the Houfe of Lords, through the Painted Chamber, The walls of the Houfe of Lords fill preserve much of their old work, but are blocked up on both the Weft and Eaft fides with modern apartments, and houses for the conveniency of the attending Lords. The North end abuts against the Painted Chamber, and the South end against the Prince's Chamber. This latter chainber thews its Eaft end and South fide in their original ftate; but the Weft end is hid by a modern colonade, &c. and its North fide abuts against the House of Lords From the Eaft end of this Chamber, running Eaft, and then turning to the North, taking its direction towards the Eaft end of the Painted VIH. confumed the principal part As the fire in the reign of Henry Chamber, are certain remains of of the Palace, and judging from old walls, with windows ftopped the great Hall and other buildings before before us; we may naturally conclude, the whole pile of edifices was immenfe and ftupendous! Our conceptions are carried away by comparisons to views of unnumbered fcenes of royal fplendour; and, when we read of the luxurious banquetings; the heroic exercises of valorous knights; the brilliant and coftly entertainments; we muft raife to our imaginations the profufe defigns of the bowers of the ladies, the chambers of the knights and the great officers of the household, the queen's chamber, the king's chamber, and all the attendant train of offices dependant on kingly ftate! Then fhall we be enabled to grafp in our mind's eye" the original granduer of the antient Palace at Westminster! Withdrawing our ideas, fo deeply imbibed with that juft fervour, caught from the love of former times, we become common fpectators of the mean, the defpicable, and unheeded ftate of this remnant of a departing antient Royal Palace! If fome minds could partake with us of the felicity in contemplating these relic manfions of our antient Sovereigns, how foon fhould we have to rejoice at being happy witneffes of the fweep ing command of-Away with thefe ufurping excrefcences, of theds, hovels, taverns, and alehoufes, that blot out and disfigure the walls of old English fplendour and old Engli hofpitality! and let them Hand, while a particle remains, to remind us who thofe toric evidences which we read are not romantic fictions; and that we may emulate thote deeds of high renown recorded by the pens of infpired Bards, which gave prophetic harmony to the enrapturing harps of the enchanting Minftrels! "What paffion cannot Mufic raife or Honour, Courage.-Truth, Loyalty. And (the last of all human defires) AN ARCHITECT. (To be continued.) MEMORANDUMS OF KINGSWOOD, INGSWOOD, in the hun- fifting of rich meadow lands; and The fite is flat, principally conbetween the main village and the hamlet of Nind, runs a rivulet, upon which are erected mills. The old Roman military way, branching from the great Fofle. Paffage. (Collinfon's Somerfet. runs through this place to Auft thire, I. 160.) No information on the spot enabled me to identify it; but there is an old road at the fide of the manor houfe, and almost adjoining to its out buildings, which from its appearance and direction was, perhaps, the road Mr. Collinfon alludes to *. Leland (Collect. I. 32.) tells us that there was a monaftery + founded at Tetbury. co. Gloc by Reginald * I am unable to refer to Mr. Wyndham's Wiltshire, for the Domesday account. + "Of Ciftercians," fays Mr. Smyth, from the Pat. Rolls of 22 Ed. I. m. 6. [printed in Meyner's Apoft. Benedict. 62 feq.] and which he, who wrote before the publication of Dugdale, fays, "sheweth of whatorder eachmonaftery in England was of de de St. Walery, which was tranfferred to Kingfwood; in confequence of which, Roger de Berkeley, who had been the inftrument of this tranflation, was confidered as founder. Of this fecond foundation, there is the following account in Mr. Smith's MS Hiftory of Berkeley Herneffe, at Berkeley Caftle, tit. Caldecote.-"The Abbey of Kingfwood, by Wotton Underedge; a monaftery feated and in the county of Wilts, of the foundation of that ancient Saxon Family of the Berkeleys, of Durley, though compaffed round about with the parts of Gloucefterfhire; and hath been taken as part of that manor of Kingswood, antiently of old called Acholt, wherein the Abbey house was feated, though now fevered by the grant of in the year of his reign, made to [Sir John Thynne, knt. had Letters patent for the fite of this Abbey, and other lands in Wilts, 2 Eliz. Jones's Index, vol. I. And fee Tanner, under the article Kingswood.] "And King Henrie the Third, in 11th of his reigne, confirmed to the Abbot of Kingfwood and his Convent, the manor of Acholt, which Roger de Berkeley, of Durfey, gave to that Monaftery, and all other their lands as freely as King Henry the fecond, his grandfather, confirmed them to them; in which are alfo divers liberties recited. And to bee free, ab omni feculari exactione et fervicio*, as by Rot. Chart. 11 Hen. 1. pars 1. mem. 12. appeares. For which charter of confirmacion, the Abbot gave to the Kinge 10 marks, as by Rot. Fin. 11 Hen. III. appeares, where of the premiffes is alfo a particular expreffion." 3 Hen. V. Feb. 2, 1415. Thomas Lord Berkeley left by will, among other legacies, to the church of Kingfwood, his beft collar of the King's livery, his pair of quilt vefments, wrought with white an This they had long before claimedHearne's Lib. Nig. Scacc. I. 166, ed. 1774. gels, &c. Id. Mr. Smith, in "Lives of the Berkeley Family, II, 349.MS." "The laft Abbot of the monaftery, before the diffolution thereof, was William Bewdeleye; as a leafe fhews, made by him, 20th Dec. 28 Hen. VIII. and the monaftery was diffolved by furrender." Íd. Mr. Smith, Berkeley Herneffe, loc. fup. cit. In 1610, the manor was, among other lands and revenues, affigned for the eftablishment of P. Henry, and then valued at 781. 9s. 6d. per annum. Ordinances of Royal Houfholds, 314.-It now belongs to Mr. Wale, of Adderley. "The impropriate rectory of Kingfwood (if I may foe call it), and the 71. per annum of antient cuftome, paid by the inhabitants there, or rather 61. 13 s. 4d. were by the Letters patent of Queen Eliz. dated 21 Julii, a gto Eliz. granted (inter alia) to Humphry Shelton, and Edmund Hunt, and theire heires, from whom the fame forwith came, accordinge to the trufte in them repofed, to Thomas Hanbury, one of her auditors, and from him to Francis his fon, who aliened the fame to Roger Fulfe." Smith, (Berkeley Herneffe, loc. fup. cit.) The inhabitants have fill a payment, called the Clobury rents, charged upon certain houfes and lands. Whether it was this Mr. S. alluded to, I could not learn. .I was alfo informed, that no other tythes or modus was paid than 10l. per annum to the minifter, and a like fum for the church. Of the antient buildings remaining here, the principal is the Abbey gate; a relick of the rich florid Gothic work, in part, at least, probably built, not long before the diffolution. In the window over the gateway, the mullion is a flower refembling the cone and leaves of a pine, but more flender, whofe brauching fhoots form the ramifications of the, bend of the window. Above is a rich croís, with our Saviour crucified, rich knots down the coping, and on each fide the pine pine end are two tufted pinnacles, Above the gateway is a demi-angel, with wings difplayed, and a plain fhield covering his breaft. Upon the right fide an empty niche with a rich canopy, abe which, in the corner (for the hollow of the niche is carried above the canopy), is a bird defcending obliquely; which thews plainly that it was filled by the flatue of a Pope, this being their uniform distinction in the cuts of the "Golden Legend*" Upon the other fide of the gateway is a flight of fteps leading to a door The roof, within, is richly vaulted with numerous heavy ribs, elabo-, rately moulded with foliage, roles, &e, as the interfections; and, in one corner, an Abbot's head with his mitre. In the centre is a large rofette. About a mile out of the town is a fine old, houfe, which I was informed was another Abbey, and, perhaps, the cell, which the monks of Tinterne had here. (Lel. Col. I. 104.) There is work in this house of the 13th and 15th centuries. There is a rich cross formy charged with roses upon the roof of the projecting porch; and over the door, on a plain fhield, is W T. E. 1705. for. Tho. and Eliz. Wichell, of Bourton, near Wotton Underedge, who refided here as the Manor houfe, Near, or upon the fite of a narrow flip of ground, about fix-yards wide and thirty long, ftood an an tient church. Within this place are flat ftones for families of the names of Thomas Smith, efq. 1732, and branches of his family; as well as for Robert Fenley, clothier, 1772, and his wife and children. building, entering between twe pillars at the Weft end, and a fmall turret for a bell at top. The Eaft end is all along the wall painted in the moft paltry style of modern beautification, like the frontifpiece of a barn theatre, or alehouse puppetfhow; to reprefent the fky with a glory; and Jehovah in the middle; Belief; Commandments; pelican feeding her young ones, emblematic of the facrifice of Chrift; communion-table clothed in crime. fon velvet and gold lace, &e. On each fide the altar are two long narrow-arched windows, in which are the arms of Berkeley twice repeated, croffes paties, rofettes, ftars, funs, foliage, tabernacles of niches; a fhield with a narrow faltire of fpiked thorns, furmounted, by four fceptres in crofs, conjoined: in the fefs point at their bafes Or, (as I cannot think the faltire to have been raguly, the whole feems: to me to have been a complex pun. upon the crois, crown of thorns, and kingdom of Chrift); a very fine head of a pilgrim in a light crown and couched hat, turned up before, and ap escalop thell in front, and on the oppofite window, another head of a nobleman of the 14th: century, as is plain by the headdreis. On the fame window, Sable, fretty Azure, between every joint a fleur de lis Qr, twice repeated, Ermine in a canton Gules, a cross crotllet fitehy, Argent, joined to the ftem of the crofs; below the tranfverfe beam a fquare-banner of St. George's crofs, (badge of a. Crufader), parts of the following letters H. I. HHPS. In the win dow of the fide wall, a lion paffant, Or, leaves, fars, foliage, flowers within circular bodies. The pulpit, on one fide of which . The prefent church is a modern is the King's arms, has a red velvet The dove, or doly Gholt, whipering cloth, with fringe and a cypher, in their ears; obviously alluding to their (M. B.) Mary Blagden, 1723.. The office and fuppofed infallibility. The statue benefactions, as too numerous, I in quetion was perhaps one of the four omit, adding only that the table fathers that was a Pope, viz. St.. Gregory, tells us the church was builtao 1722. This however is quite uncertain.. + Modern; and not for the antient afe of thofe by the entrance of churches. There is only one monument in this church (brought from the old one) |