The seventh of the martyrs is memorialised in the central window on the south, viz., the Ven. Archdeacon Philpot, the three lights being filled with pictorial scenes from his trial. He is here commemorated as having suffered at the same time with the others, though he was separately tried in the Bishop of London's house, by St. Paul's Cathedral. The rest were tried in this very chapel, then (and still occasionally) used as a Consistory Court. There is thus a peculiar appropriateness in the local commemoration, and especially in the position of the first window of the series, as it was in that identical bay that the Royal Commissioners sat in judgement, and pronounced sentence on the men they regarded as heretics. The lancet on the eastern side of the "Philpot" window is dedicated to Grace Pearse, and dated 1845. The other is at present filled with plain glass awaiting a suitable commemoration. The two triplets between the martyrs' windows on the east contain memorials to the Rev. W. Curling (1879) and the Rev. S. Benson (1881), who were co-chaplains at St. Saviour's.
These windows were contributed by the parishioners, and show some advance on those to the martyrs in their scriptural subjects as well as in their general treatment and colouring.
By far the best window is that of three lights on the north side. The architecture is in the Decorated style with reticulated tracery, as restored on the ancient model. The glass is modern, by Kempe, in his best mediaeval manner, in which respect, as well as in subject matter, the window presents a strong contrast to the earlier ones in its neighbourhood. The three lights contain figures of King Charles I, Thomas Becket, and Archbishop Laud, martyrs of another school, perhaps equally worthy of remembrance, as having suffered for their opinions.
Photo. G.P. Heisch.
WINDOW COMMEMORATING KING CHARLES I, LAUD, AND BECKET.[ToList]
On the western wall a granite tablet is to be noticed to the memory of George Gwilt, the architect who did so much work at the church in his day, and gave his services gratuitously during the restoration of this chapel. He died at the age of eighty-one, in the year 1856, and is buried in the family vault outside the southern wall.
The Choir Aisles, architecturally similar, differ very much in their contents, which are more interesting in the north aisle. On the south side of this aisle the Humble monument is conspicuously seen through the choir railings. The opposite side is lighted by three windows, more interesting in motive and association than in themselves. The first of these was presented in 1867 by Mr. Benson, the chaplain commemorated in the window already noticed in the retro-choir, and represents St. Peter in the Chamber of Dorcas (Acts, ix, 39). The next contains a picture of the Good Samaritan, erected in 1866 to the memory of John Ellis. The third, of three lights, was inserted in 1858 to the memory of George Wood, surgeon, who was so much appreciated by the parishioners that 670 of them contributed to the cost of his memorial. The central light contains a picture of Christ healing a cripple. The outer lights are at present plain.
In the wall beneath these windows two recesses will be noticed, exactly alike in size, and in their segmental headed and traceried canopies. Their proximity and close resemblance formerly led to the conjecture that they were the tombs of the two Norman knights, William Pont de l'Arche and William Dauncey, who co-operated with Bishop Giffard in refounding the Priory. If this is the case, the tombs must have undergone alteration at a later date, as the decoration is in the Perpendicular style, and much more ornate than that of the recess at the west end of the same wall, undoubtedly of late Norman, or Transitional, design. The westernmost of the two, again, has been held to be the burial-place of Thomas Cure, a local benefactor in the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth, who is commemorated by a tablet within it. The Latin epitaph (1588) is a string of punning allusions to his name. The most recent theory, and the most probable, respecting the recesses, is that they mark the tombs of Priors belonging to the Tudor period. The easternmost now contains the effigy of a supposed Crusader, which, after undergoing many "translations" from its unknown original place to the lumber of the church, and then to a ridiculous upright position against the north wall, has now found shelter in the recess which happens to hold it exactly. It is a remarkably fine piece of oak carving, and represents a knight clad in chain armour, consisting of a hauberk with sleeves, over which is thrown a surcoat crossed by two belts, one round the waist for the sword, the other crossing the body diagonally to hold the shield. The cross-guard of the sword is of metal, and is probably a reparation. The head wears a conical helmet, and the feet rest upon a lion. The legs are crossed at the knees, and the knight is in the act of placing his sword in the scabbard, both of which details are open to various interpretations. Conjecture has also been busy as to the person represented, who is now thought to have been a member of the de Warren family, several of whom were buried in the church, and the style of armour, unless a clever imitation, points to the date of Edward I or Edward II. After having been overlaid with successive coats of paint, which completely blocked up and concealed the delicate chain-work, the figure has been more or less redeemed, but not restored to its original colour. This appears to have been mainly a pale blue, not unlike the real armour, but it is now coated with bronze.[30]