preparing for a journey into Lincolnshire, to meet the justices itinerant, and said that he would settle the affair at his return. Not satisfied, they went into the pasture, and in driving out the abbot's mares and colts, drowned three worth twenty shillings, spoiled ten more to the value of ten marks, and beat the keepers, who resisted them, even to the shedding of blood. Fearing, however, that they should be prosecuted, on the return of the abbot, they desired a "love day," and offered to pay damages for the injury committed; but instead of doing so they went to London, and accused the abbot to the king, of having wrongfully taken away their common land, and bringing up new customs, adding that he would "eat them up to the bone." The abbot then excommunicated the men of Waltham; and they impleaded him at common law, for appropriating their common land to himself. They were unsuccessful, and after a long suit in the King's Bench, were glad to confess that they had done wrong, and they were amerced twenty marks, which the abbot remitted, and, on their submission, he assoyled them from the excommunication.‡ Not long afterwards the same abbot was engaged in a law suit with Peter, Duke of Savoy, the king's uncle, lord of the manor of Cheshunt, about boundaries. The contest concerned the property of some meadow land between two branches of the river Lea, one asserting that the eastern stream, and the other that the western stream was the main current of the river, dividing the counties of Herts and Essex. An agreement at length was made between Abbot Simon and Duke Peter; but the dispute about the land was often revived afterwards, and was undecided when the last abbot resigned the convent to Henry VIII.* During these unpleasant altercations the monks were + Hist. of Waltham, p. 71, 72. | charged by their enemies, with resorting for consolation to the holy sisters in the nunnery at Cheshunt. Stowe, in his account of the rebellion under Wat Tyler, says the king, Richard II., while it lasted, was now at London, now at Waltham." In 1444, the Campanile of Waltham Abbey Church was struck by lightning. The last event of importance recorded of Waltham, prior to the Reformation, was the accidental meeting of Thomas Cranmer (afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury) with Fox and Gardiner, which ended so remarkably in the advancement of the former, and produced such an important series of (still proceeding) consequences in the affairs both of church and state. + On the surrender of Waltham Abbey to the king's commissioners in the year 1539, (31st of Henry VIII.) the gross amount of the revenues was £1079. 12s. 1d. annually according to Speed; and the clear income, according to Dugdale, £900.4s. 3d. Waltham room from a private closet, and demanded his hundred pounds, which the abbot gave with no small pleasure, and on being released returned to his monastery with a heart and pocket much lighter than when he left it a few days before. * A ludicrous sample of these tales may be seen in Fuller's "Church History." This author relates, that Sir Henry Colt, of Nether Hall, who was a great favourite with Henry VIII. for his merry conceits, went late one night to Waltham Abbey, where being informed by his spies, that some of the monks were indulging in female converse at Cheshunt Nunnery, he determined to intercept their return. With this intent, he had a buck-stall pitched in the narrowest part of the meadow, or marsh, which they had to cross in their way home, and the monks getting into it, in the dark, were inclosed by his servants. The next morning, Sir Henry presented them to the king, who, heartily laughing, declared that "he had often seen sweeter, but never fatter venison !"-Speaking of the religious inmates of Waltham Abbey, Mr. Farmer (Hist. of Waltham Abbey, p. 35.) says, “These Augustinians were also called Canons Regular; where, by the way, I met with such a nice distinction, which disheartens me from exactness in reckoning up these orders: for thus I find it in Chaucer, in his Plow * Farmer relates the following pleasant anecdote of this Monarch;-but the abbot who enjoyed the benefit of his pre-man's Tale :scribed regimen is not named. "Having disguised himself in the dress of one of his guards, he contrived to visit, about dinner-time, the Abbey of Waltham, where he was immediately invited to the abbot's table; a sirloin of beef being set before him, he played so good a part, that the abbot exclaimed, Well fare thy heart, and here's a cup of sack to the health of thy master, I would give a hundred pounds could I feed so heartily on beef as thou dost; but my poor queasy stomach can hardly digest the breast of a chicken." The king pledged him in return, and having dined heartily, and thanked him for his good cheer, he departed. A few days after, the abbot was sent for to London, and lodged in the Tower, where he was kept a close prisoner, and, for some time, fed upon bread and water. At length, a sirloin of beef was set before him, on which he fed as heartily as one of his own ploughmen. In the midst of his meal, the king burst into the 'And all such other Counterfeitoure, Chanons, Canons, and such disguised, His true Religion have some despised. "It seems the h here amounted to a letter so effectual, as to discriminate Chanons from Canons, (though both Canonici in Latin,) but what should be the difference betwixt them, I shall not, nor shall I so much as conjecture." + Cranmer, when fellow of Jesus' College, Cambridge, retired to Waltham, (on account of the plague at his university,) to the house of a Mr. Cressy, whose wife was his relation. Whilst there, Edward Fox, the king's almoner, and Stephen Gardiner, his secretary, went fortuitously to the same house, and in conversation with them, on the then much-disputed point of the king's divorce, Cranmer said, that "it would be was one of the convents whose superiors were | 21. William. mitred parliamentary Barons, and its abbots, in res- 22. William Harleston, died A.D. 1400, soon after pect to precedency, held the twentieth place among his admission, of a pestilential fever. them in parliament. In preparing the following list of the Deans and Abbots of Waltham, all the known sources of information have been referred to. Deans of Waltham, upon Harold's Foundation. Wido, or Guido Rufus, in 1167; resigned in 1177. Abbots of Waltham. 1. Walter de Gaunt, 1177---1201 died. 2. Richard. 23. Walter, 1408. 24. William, abbot May 26th, 7 Henry V. as appears from the Pat. Rolls, that year. 25. William de Hertford, received the temporalities, October 12th, 8 Henry V. (1420.) William was the name of the abbot of Waltham in 1439 and 1444, as appears by the Register of the Bishop of London; and Cole, in his MS. notes on Browne Willis's "History of Abbies," says, mention is made of the Tomb of William Hunte, late abbot, in a will dated 1490. 26. John Lucas, 1460---1475 died. 3. Nicholas de Westminster, became abbot in 1214. 27. Thomas Edwards, 1475---1488 deposed for dila4. Walter, in 1217. 5. Richard, 1218. 6. Henry, who had been prior, elected in 1229; died 1248. pidation. Perhaps restored, as Cole says, “in some accounts he is called abbot in 1493 and 1494." Gervase Rose, received the temporalities May 20th, 1488---1497. 28. Alan Rede, received the temporalities November 12th, 1500---1507 died. 10. Reginald de Maidenheth, became abbot in 1273, or rather 1274. 11. Hugh, abbot in 1288. 12. Robert de Elintone, abbot in 1290---1301 died. 13. John de Badburgham, elected March 30th, 30 Edward I.; but the temporalities were not restored to him till February 6th, 1303---1307 died. 14. Richard de Hertford, 1307---1334 died. 15. John. 16. Richard---1345 died. 30. John Sharnbroke, received the temporalities June 23rd, 1507. 31. John Malyn---1526 died, or resigned. 32. Robert Fuller, the last abbot, to whom the temporalities were restored September 4th, 1526. He was afterwards elected prior of St. Bartholomew's Smithfield, which he held in commendam; and he surrendered this convent March 23rd, 31st Henry VIII. Abbot Fuller may be reckoned among the literati of this monastery; and from his "History," written 17. Thomas de Wolmersty, or Walmersty, 1345--- in four hundred and sixty pages folio, the fair Manu much better to have this question, Whether a man may marry his brother's wife or no?' discussed and decided by the divines, and the authority of the word of God, than thus from year to year prolong the time, by having recourse to the Pope." This opinion being reported by Dr. Fox to the king, the latter, in his occasional coarse language, vociferated that Cranmer "had the sow by the right ear," and ordering him to court, he commanded him to write on the subject of the divorce, and afterwards rapidly promoted him. * Probably Wolmersley, or Wymersley, for Cole says, "In Wrangle Church window, county of Lincoln, this:-Tho. de Wyversley Abbas de Waltham me fieri fecit."" script of which was in the possession of the Earl of Carlisle, Fuller, his namesake, (who had been made curate of Waltham by that nobleman, in 1648,) professes faithfully to have compiled almost all the materials for his account of " Waltham Abbey," subjoined to his "Church History of Britain;" which was published in a thick folio, in the year 1656.* Edward the Sixth, in his first year, (anno 1547) granted the conventual estate at Waltham to Sir Anthony Denny, for thirty-one years, and on the knight's decease within a year or two afterwards, his widow purchased the reversion in fee, of the same Among the natives of this parish, of some degree of literary talent, are recorded " Roger de Waltham, canon of St. Paul's, a writer in the thirteenth century; and John de Waltham, keeper of the privy-seal to King Richard II. monarch, for somewhat more than £3000. Sir Ed-south-east, is represented in the wood-cut at the head ward Denny (grand-child to Sir Anthony), created of this article. Earl of Norwich by Charles the First, was the next possessor, and from his family it passed, by the marriage of Honora his daughter, to the celebrated James Hay, Earl of Carlisle. It subsequently came into the possession of the family of Sir William Wake, Bart., the present lord of the manor. Though the buildings of Waltham Abbey were once so extensive as to include a space of many acres, scarcely any part remains but the nave of the Abbey Church, now the parochial church, an attached chapel on the south side, called the Lady Chapel, now a school-room and vestry; some ruinous walls, a small bridge and Gateway, near the Abbey mills, and a dark vaulted structure of two divisions connected with the convent garden, and which adjoined the Abbey House, inhabited by the Dennys.* In this view several of the peculiarities of the church are accurately discriminated, The Lady Chapel, (or Vestry and School-room), which is probably of Henry the Third's time, is supported by graduated buttresses, ornamented with elegantlyformed niches. Beneath it is a crypt, (now a charne! house), "the fairest," says Fuller, "that ever I saw; ;"* the roof of which is sustained by groined arches. The super-structure, or school-room, has been so much modernized, that scarcely a vestige of its ancient character remains. In the contiguous burialground is a very fine widely-spreading elm, the trunk of which, at several feet above the earth, is seventeen feet and a half in circumference. The present tower, which is a massive stone fabric, embattled and supported by strong buttresses, stands Originally, the Abbey Church was a very mag- at the west end of the church. It rises to the height nificent building, and its curious remains must be of eighty-six feet, and was erected about the year regarded as the earliest undoubted specimen of the 1558, (4th and 5th of Philip and Mary) at the exNorman style of architecture now existing in Eng-pense of the parishioners "from their stock in the land. Though erected by Earl Harold, in the Anglo-church-box. The charge for building it, indepenSaxon period, it cannot be justly referred to any other dently of materials, was 33s. 4d. per foot for the first style than that which the Normans permanently in- fifty-three feet, and 40s. per foot for the remainder. troduced after the Conquest. The great intercourse between the two countries, which King Edward the Confessor so particularly encouraged previously to that era, and the preference which he gave to Norman customs and Norman artificers, will readily account for this church being constructed from Norman designs. Edward himself caused the Abbey Church of Westminster to be rebuilt on similar principles; and in respect to the Monastery at Waltham, that monarch, as appears from his charter, dated in 1062, may be almost regarded as its coeval founder with Earl Harold. Sufficient is known of this structure, to state that its original form was that of a cross, and that a square tower, which "contained a ring of five great tuneable bells," arose from the intersection of the nave and transept; the two great western supporters of which are connected with and partly wrought into the present east end. The exterior, as it now appears from the Not any remains exist of the Abbey House, (which is reported to have been a very extensive building,) except, perhaps, the vaulted structure mentioned above; and of a large mansion which was erected upon its site, nothing is left but a plastered wall. In the convent garden, which is now tenanted by a market gardener, is an aged tulip-tree, reported to be the largest in England; this tree, in the season of last year, (1831) was very full in flower. was purposely destroyed, as we gather from the following entry in the Churchwardens' Accounts. "Anno 1556. Imprimis. For coles to undermine a piece of the steeple which stood after the first fall, 2s." *The crypt was used as a place of worship, and it had its regular priest and other attendants; the reading-desk was covered with plates of silver. In the Churchwardens' Accounts, mention is made of six annual Obits, to defray the expenses of which various lands were bequeathed, and a stock of eighteen cows was let out to farm for 18s. The sum allotted for each Obit was thus expended:-To the parish priest, 4d.: to our Ladye's priest, 3d.: to the charnel priest, 3d.: to the two clerks, 4d.: to the children (choiristers,) 3d.: to the sexton, 2d.: to the bellman, 2d.: for two tapers, 2d.: for oblation, 2d., &c. + This stock was an aggregate from various sources, as the sale of stone, lead, and timber from the monastic buildings; but it was chiefly obtained by the sale of the goods of a brotherhood belonging to this church, consisting of three priests, three choristers, and two sextons, which was not dissolved until Two hundred and seventy-one Edward the Sixth's reign. ounces of plate, the property of this fraternity, (which had been saved from confiscation on account of the avowed intention of the parish to erect the above tower) were sold for £67,14s. 9d. At the same time many rich dresses were disposed of, including a cape of cloth of gold to Sir Edward Denny for £3, 6s. 8d.; and two altar cloths of velvet and silk, value £2. It is not im probable but that the brotherhood thus despoiled was that of an Hospital, which had been originally founded within the precincts of the monastery by the Abbot and Convent of Waltham, + Some part of the tower fell from mere decay; the remainder about the year 1218, Fuller states (" Hist. of Waltham Abbey") that the bells which the parishioners had purchased from the old steeple were for some time hung in a temporary frame of timber, erected at the south-east end of the church-yard, (where then stood two large yew trees) and remained there till the tower was completed; but that, notwithstanding gifts of timber, &c. the funds fell so short that the said bells were obliged to be sold to raise more money; so that Waltham, "which formerly had steeple-less bells, now had a bell-less steeple." This defect was remedied in the early part of the present century, when a tuneable set of bells was hung in the present tower. The prospect from the leads is extensive and pleasant, though not accompanied with any great diversity of scenery. The old circular staircase leading into the tower opens from the north aisle. The entrance from the tower to the interior of the church is accurately delineated in the annexed woodcut. From the style of its architecture and the ac south walls of the area, are large tables inscribed in | zig-zag form, but there are some distinct variations of character. The length of the church is 106 feet, and its breadth, including the aisles, is 53 feet: the tower is 15 feet square. gilt letters with particulars of the benefactions and other matters relating to this parish, which were placed there by an order of vestry in 1830... The following are extracts: "The Ecclesiastical Benefice of this Church is a perpetual Curacy, being a Donation in the Gift of Trustees under the Will of the Earl of Norwich, who gave a Messuage, (for the Habitation,) Ten loads of Firewood, (for Fuelling,) and a rent charge of £100. a year, payable out of the manor of Claveringbury, for the perpetual supportation and maintenance of such Ministers and Preachers as should officiate the Cure, celebrate Divine Service, administer the Sacraments, and Preach the Word of God, sincerely, within the Church of Waltham Holy Cross." "The Duties in Fees payable in respect of the Soil and Building of this Church, and the Soil of the Church-yard are [payable to the Churchwardens in trust for the Parish." The Church estates, which " are vested in trustees for repairing and maintaining the church," are next specified. They consist of meadow and arable lands and two dwelling-houses, the present annual receipts being stated at £91. 14s. The tables of benefactions include the time from 1579 to 1826. The interior of this church consists of a nave and two aisles; the east end of the former being railed in, as the chancel. Six massive columns on each side, (but varying from each other both in diameter and ornament) with their incumbent semicircular arches, separate the nave from the aisles. Spiral grooves, (deeply cut,) proceeding from the base to the capital, diversify two of these columns; and two others are surrounded by indented zig-zags, in successive rows; thus assuming a strict similarity of character with the great columns of the nave in Durham Cathedral.* Another tier of large arches, springing from very short columns and pilasters, surmounts the former arches, on each side; except at the west end, where, as before stated, two of the lower ones have been altered into the high-pointed form, and carried up to the string-course of the triforium, or clerestory, which contains the principal windows that give light to the nave. These are each fronted by a central and two smaller arches, between which and the windows there is a narrow passage extending along the sides. Most of the mouldings are of the * The rebuilding of Durham cathedral was commenced by Bishop William de St. Carilepho, in the Norman style, in the year 1093. It is one of the most interesting fabrics in the kingdom. Independently of its founder Harold, many persons of eminent rank were interred in this church in the monastic times. Hugh Nevil, Protho-forester of England, who died "full of years," anno 1222, was, according to Matthew Paris, buried here "under a noble engraven marble sepulchre ;" not the least remnant of which is now known to exist. His son also, John Nevil, the successor to his revenues and offices; and Robert Passelew, archdeacon of Lewes, a despised and discarded minion of Henry III., who died at his house at Waltham, in the year 1252, were also among the number of those interred here. Near the altar rails is a defaced grey slab, which is indented with a mitred figure; this, with two or three brass plates of Queen Elizabeth's time, are the oldest memorials which now remain. Near the east end of the south aisle is a mural Monument for Sir Edward Denny, Knt.,-"Sonn of ye Right Honorable St Anthony Denny, Counsellor of Estate and Executor to King Henry 8, and of Joane Champernōn, his wife," and his Lady who was the daughter of Pierce Edgecombe, Esq., of Mount Edgecombe, and "svmtime Maide of Honor to Queene Elizabeth,"-and who, "ovt of meane Fortvnes bvt no meane Affection, prodvced this Monvment." Sir Edward was one of the Counsel of Munster, in Ireland, and governor of Kerry and Desmond. He died on the 12th of February, 1599, aged 52 years, and is represented in plate armour, lying on his side: his head is partly supported by his helmet, and partly by his left hand, the elbow resting upon a cushion; his right hand, being brought across the body, rests upon his sword. His Lady has a ruff and close boddice; and kneeling in front are their ten children, viz. four boys and six girls. The inscription states, that "this Worthy Knight, cvt off like a pleasant frvite before perfect ripeness,”—was religiovs, wise, jvst, right valiant, most active, learnings frinde, prides foe, kindly lovinge, and mvtch beloved;" and that "he was honored with ye dignitie of knighthood, by dve deserte, in ye Field." Over the tomb are the family arms, (with quarterings) viz. Gu. a saltire Arg. between twelve Crosses patée Or.---Edward Denny, first and only Earl of Norwich, of his family, was also buried in this church, in December, 1630. |