Henceforth the chapel will be associated with the name of John Harvard, who was born in the parish, and baptized in the church on 29th November, 1607, and its restoration is intended to take the form of a memorial to that great and good man. It is not unlikely, in fact, that his name will popularly supersede the original dedication (almost forgotten already) much in the same way as the "Little Chapel of our Lady" was overshadowed by the great name of Bishop Andrewes.
The first practical step in this direction was taken by the Hon. Joseph H. Choate, who manifested great interest in the ancient fabric while he was American Ambassador, and presented the east window to the chapel in commemoration of John Harvard, founder of the renowned university which bears his name. The window, 'unveiled by Mr. Choate on Monday, 22nd May, 1905, is of three lights, transomed, as designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and Sons, the glass being made in America under the supervision of Mr. Charles F. McKim, the famous American architect. The design is by Mr. John La Farge. In the central light of the lower division the Baptism of Christ is depicted, attendant angels occupying the sides. The upper division contains the arms of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where John Harvard was educated, and of the Harvard University, with its mottoes, Veritas and Christo et Ecclesiae. The base bears the inscription, "In memory of John Harvard, founder of Harvard University in America, baptized in this church, Nov. 29, 1607."
Photo. G.P. Heisch.
THE HARVARD WINDOW.[ToList]
The window is a noteworthy example of modern work, and the treatment of the familiar subject is distinctly original, in which respect, as well as in colouring, it presents a very striking contrast to the other windows, especially to those of mediaeval character, throughout the church. Perhaps it is fortunate that it occupies an isolated position in the chapel, where the brilliance and peculiarity of the colouring are seen to full advantage without detriment to the other windows.
It is hoped that this generous gift inaugurates the restoration of the old chapel to its original dignity, as a worthy memorial to him whose name will henceforth be inseparable from it. The intention is to equip it with an altar and other necessary fittings for use at early celebrations and small gatherings of people, at present without accommodation. A new vestry for the clergy is badly wanted, as well as for the choir, whose cassocks and surplices now hang in the adjacent aisle.
The South Choir Aisle is lighted by a small lancet above the entrance porch representing the Good Shepherd; by another lancet to the memory of John Herd, an inhabitant; and by a window of three lights. The last commemorates George Gwilt, the distinguished architect who did so much for the restoration of 1832-3, elsewhere described.
Two tablets in the same aisle are worth noticing. The first is a brass, dated 1652, on the pier between the choir and aisle entrance, in memory of Susanna Barford, who died at the early age of ten years and thirteen weeks. The inscription quotes her as, "The Non-such of the world for Piety and Vertue in soe tender years." Below these words there is an epitaph in rhyming couplets and complimentary terms, separated from the inscription by a death's head and crossbones, and a pair of wings supporting an hourglass, on the dexter and sinister sides respectively. This is the only brass with any approach to antiquity in the Cathedral, though the matrix of another, evidently thought more worthy of a private collection, has been detected in one of the recesses, lately described, in the opposite aisle. The other memorial is a plain marble slab, scarcely seen in the darkness between the windows. It commemorates Abraham Newland, the model chief cashier of the Bank of England, whose strict notions of duty would not allow him to sleep a single night off the premises during the twenty-five years of his appointment. He died in 1807, two months after taking his pension, leaving £60,000, in the funds, to his landlady. This inexpensive memorial is a token of her gratitude.