First among the abbots of Bury stands the name of Samson, “the wolf who raged among the monks.” Many of the brothers had become entangled with Jewish moneylenders in the 12th century, and Abbot Samson, while protecting the Jews at the time of the massacre, discharged all the debts of his house, established many new rules, and set a godly and strenuous example to his followers. Later, in 1205, the chief barons met at Bury in opposition to King John and swore at the second meeting, four years later, in the presence of the King and Archbishop Langton, to stand by their cause till the King should be induced to sign the Great Charter, and to establish those liberties which we still enjoy.
“Where the rude buttress totters to its fall,
And ivy mantles o’er the crumbling wall;
Where e’en the skilful eye can scarcely trace
The once high altar’s lowly resting-place—
Let patriotic fancy muse awhile
Amid the ruins of this ancient pile—
Six weary centuries have passed away;
Palace and abbey moulder in decay—
Cold Death enshrouds the learnèd and the brave—
Langton—Fitzwalter—slumber in the grave.
But still we read in deathless records how
The high-soul’d priest confirmed the Barons’ vow
And Freedom, unforgetful, still recites
This second birthplace of our Native Rights.”
J. W. Donaldson and J. Muskett.
On the roll of illustrious visitors to the abbey are the names of Edward the Confessor, who always dismounted and approached the gates on foot; Richard I.; Henry I.; Henry II.; King John; Henry III.; Edward II.; Edward III.; and Richard II. The visit of Henry VI., with his Queen, took place during the rule of Abbot Curteys, at which time the poet Lidgate was a member of the fraternity. The foul murder of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, by the Duke of Suffolk (described by Shakespeare in Henry VI.) is supposed to have taken place in St Saviour’s Hospital, which formed part of the abbey buildings. The writer, who had the pleasure of viewing the pageant presented at Bury St Edmunds in 1907, on a site near St Edmund’s chapel, was impressed by the historical fitness of the environment as the procession of black-robed monks filed slowly by, chanting an old Gregorian mode as they walked. Less realistic, if more diverting, was the spectacle of tonsured figures darting in and out of 20th century hostelries, and of Argyll cars filled with Roman and Elizabethan ladies and driven possibly by an Edwardian knight. These pageants, despite their incongruities, have much to commend them, reminding the English people, as they cannot fail to do, of the sources of their greatness, and illustrating to them so graphically the customs of the so frequently regretted “good old times.”
[WALTHAM (Augustine Canons)]
1017-35, Village and church founded by Tovi—1060, Rebuilt and endowed by Earl Harold—1117, Regular Canons appointed in place of secular Canons by Henry II.—1216-70, A favourite residence of Henry III.—1444, Campanile of the church struck by lightning—1539-40, Surrendered to Henry VIII. by Abbot Robert Fuller. Annual revenue, £170, 4s. 9d—The site granted to Sir Anthony Denny, eventually passing to the family of Sir William Wake, Bart., D.C.L.—1847-63, Church restored—1875, North aisle added.
Waltham, or Wealdham, from the Saxon “a dwelling near the forest,” an ancient and quaint market town, lies on the great North road. Tovi, standard-bearer to Canute, after building a few houses, set up a church here in the 11th century in which the Holy Rood, accredited with miraculous power, was guarded by priests. Dugdale in his Monasticon states that Harold, when visiting Waltham, was healed of the palsy, and, being overcome with gratitude, granted lands and endowments to the priests, increased their number, rebuilt the church, and set up an establishment for the furtherance of learning. Harold is supposed to have been buried in Waltham Abbey after the battle of Senlac, “in confirmation of which it is stated that in the reign of Elizabeth a rich grey marble tomb was discovered, and from the pillarets which support the cross fleury upon it, little doubt exists that it covered the remains of the ill-fated Harold and his brothers” (Cassell’s Gazetteer). This was situated at the end of the church near the altar, and two inscriptions are ascribed to it, one of which is half a dozen lines of Latin, the other, more simple and consequently impressive, consists of two words, “Harold infelix.” The tomb was destroyed in 1540.
The venerable church was founded by a king of England; deprived of many of its valuables by the Norman Conqueror; firmly established by the Plantagenets—receiving both from Henry II. and Henry III. peculiar marks of favour—and finally was overwhelmed by Henry VIII. It is said that this monarch once visited the abbey in disguise, and after faring well on the sirloin of beef set before him by the abbot, the latter observed that he would give the king £100 if he too could enjoy his food, and lamented the state of his digestion which even prevented him from enjoying the breast of a chicken. Shortly after this the abbot was forcibly taken to London and lodged in the Tower, where he for some time enjoyed only bread and water for sustenance. At length a sirloin of beef was brought, upon which he fed in a most hearty manner. At this point King Henry strode into his cell and demanded £100, to which request the unfortunate abbot very reluctantly was obliged to concede.
Apart from its old associations, the town of the present day is of no special interest. Its streets are crooked and narrow and there is no particularly attractive feature about either the town or the exterior of the abbey church—one mile distant from the station. The present edifice of Norman origin, and dedicated to St Mary and St Lawrence, has been restored at various times since the Dissolution.
Of the early building practically only the nave remains—a very fine specimen of Norman architecture. Of seven bays—the two easternmost of which form the present chancel—and having massive circular columns with chevron or spiral channels, it is somewhat akin to the nave of Durham Cathedral. Other interesting features include the Lady chapel (now used as a schoolroom), beneath which is a crypt—“the fairest,” says Fuller, “that I ever saw,”—a chantry on the south-east side of the nave, of the time of Henry VII., and the western tower, erected in 1556 after the fall of the original tower. During the restoration of 1847 some fine fresco paintings, composed of life-sized figures, were discovered on the walls, and in 1875 the north aisle was added. There are several monumental brasses in the church, and in the south aisle is a large tomb to Sir E. Denny, Knight, and Margaret his wife, with recumbent effigies. The site of the abbey passed into the possession of this family after the Dissolution, then to the celebrated James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, and lastly to the family of Sir W. Wake, Bart., D.C.L. A few walls, a small bridge, and a gateway are all that remain of the monastery.