“That tongue which set the table in a roar
And charmed the public ear is heard no more;
Closed are those eyes, the harbingers of wit,
Which spake before the tongue what Shakespeare writ;
Cold is that hand which living was stretched forth
At friendship’s call to succour modest worth.
Here lies James Quin: deign reader to be taught
Whate’er thy strength of body, force of thought,
In nature’s happiest mould however cast,
To this complexion thou must come at last.”
Ob. MDCCLXVI Etates LXXV.
[TEWKESBURY (Mitred Benedictine)]
715, Monastery founded by two brothers, Oddo and Doddo, Dukes of Mercia, on the site of the cell inhabited by Theocus, a hermit—1102, Refounded and endowed by Robert Fitz-Hamon as a Benedictine abbey—Church and monastery built—1123, Church consecrated—1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £1598 1s. 3d.—Conventual buildings destroyed but church purchased by the parishioners—John Wakeman, last abbot, retires on a pension and becomes first Bishop of Gloucester—1875, Church restored by Sir Gilbert Scott.
The ruins of this abbey church of a former Benedictine monastery stand overshadowed by the glorious Malvern hills in a beautiful valley in Gloucestershire, through which flow the Avon and Severn with two tributaries. The rich colouring of the country side and the ever varying tints of the surrounding hills make the environment of Tewkesbury one of singular beauty—a perfect setting for the abbey with its imposing Norman tower, one of the most perfect of the kind in England.
The whole building is essentially Norman in spite of the addition of Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular work. The nave of eight bays is of exceptional length, being divided from its aisles by seven massive columns and having both triforium and clerestory. The groined vaulting dates from the 14th century. There are also north and south transepts, the latter having an eastern apsidal chapel; a choir of two bays, while the ambulatory is surrounded by four polygonal chapels. The massive and lofty tower was erected in 1130. Immediately beneath it is inserted a brass to Edward, son of Henry VI., who was foully murdered after the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. This battle, so fatal to the cause of the Red Rose, was fought in a field within half a mile of Tewkesbury, long after known as the Bloody Meadow. Many of the wounded sought refuge in the abbey, only to be dragged forth, after a few days, to their execution in the market place.
Among the many structural beauties which abound in Tewkesbury, none reflect more credit on the design and workmanship of mediæval times than the seven beautiful pointed windows of the choir. The ancient stained glass which fills in these windows is of priceless value—the purity of its colouring excelling the very best modern work. Much of the original glazing has disappeared—that which remains has occupied its place for over four and a half centuries and is a highly prized possession. The window on the north exhibits Fitz-Hamon, the Norman knight who liberally endowed the abbey at the time of its rebuilding in 1102 and was mortally wounded at the siege of Falaise.
Probably the most interesting part of the abbey church to ordinary visitors are the chapels and monuments, which suffered serious injury in the 16th and 17th centuries, but were repaired in the later centuries. Many lords of Tewkesbury, including members of the family of Clare, Despenser, and Beauchamp, are interred in the church, while on the south side of the choir are the remains of what were at one time probably the memorials of every abbot of Tewkesbury from Giraldus to John Wakeman. The Clarence vault is supposed to contain the remains of George, Duke of Clarence, who was mysteriously put to death in the Tower of London by his brother Edward IV. It is said that having been allowed to choose the manner of his death, the Duke elected to be drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine. Adjoining the church is the abbey house—formerly the infirmary of the monastery; and west of this again is the embattled gate-house, built in the 14th and 15th centuries by Abbot Parker. Tewkesbury was the last of the religious houses of Gloucestershire to surrender to the commissioners of Henry VIII. Its annual revenue at the time amounted to a sum equivalent to about £40,000 of the present day—a third of which was allotted as pensions to the abbot and monks. The present beautiful church, deemed to be superfluous and consequently ordered to be destroyed, was bought from the king by the people of Tewkesbury. It has undergone frequent restorations, no less than £25,000 having been expended on it between the years 1875 and 1892, while at the present time an effort is being made to restore the grand west front—one of the most beautiful examples of ancient church architecture in England.
