on Churches” (1642), no less than 14 brasses have disappeared, and only 7 now remain. Gough, in his account, says that, on the brass of Maud Willoughby (1497), one of the small figures, with book and keys, at the side is inscribed “Sta Scytha.” St. Osyth was the daughter of Frewald, a Mercian prince, was born at Quarrenden, Bucks., and became the virgin wife of an East Anglian king. She is a saint not often mentioned. “Sithe Lane (says Stow the historian) at the east end of Watling Street, London, is known as St. Scythe’s Lane, so called of St. Sithe’s church.” [236] The windows of this church were originally filled with beautiful stained glass of the Perpendicular period, much of which survived the barbarism of the Commonwealth, only to be removed by Earl Fortescue in 1757, and presented to the Earl of Exeter for St. Martin’s church in Stamford, where some of it may still be seen, more or less damaged by transit. This spoliation so enraged the parishioners that they, with some justification, raised a riot to prevent it; and the glass was only, it is said, got away under cover of night. For 50 years afterwards the windows of the chancel remained unglazed, and being thus exposed to the weather, the finely carved oak stalls, rich screens, and other ornamental work, fell into a state of decay. The chancel was restored several years ago, and fitted up in a neat, plain manner by the present Lord Fortescue, at a cost of £800, £1,000 being further spent on the nave. Some very interesting fragments of the old glass were collected, and they are now chiefly in the east window. In both transepts are piscinas, shewing that they were formerly used as chapels. The north transept was enriched by Edward Hevyn, the agent of Margaret Countess of Richmond, as was evidenced by “a fayre marble within it,” when Holles visited the church, bearing this inscription:
Have mercy on ye soule, good Lord, we thee pray
Of Edward Hevyn, laid here in sepulture.
Which, to their honour, this chappell did array
With ceiling, deske, perclose, portrayture,
And pavement of marble long to endure
Servant of late to the excellent Princess,
Mother of King Henry, of Richmond Countess.
As this is not intended to be a complete guide to the church, and all its beauties, but rather to whet the appetite of the visitor to investigate them further for himself, I shall only make some detailed remarks upon the brass of Lord Treasurer Cromwell and his wife, which, while entire, was a fine typical specimen. A good engraving of it, from a drawing preserved at Revesby Abbey and made for Sir Joseph Banks, is given in “Lincolnshire Notes & Queries” (vol. iii., p. 193); a description is also given there, taken, it would seem, from the “Notes” of Gervase Holles, as follows:—Cromwell, with hands in prayer, is in armour of plain cuirass, with very short skirt of ‘taces,’ to the lower end of which are strapped a pair of ‘tuiles,’ or thigh-pieces, pendent over the cuisses genouillieres, jointed with mail, and having edged plates fastened to them above and below, long pointed ‘sollerets’ of plate armour, and rowell spurs, very large condieres, cuffed gauntlets of overlapping plates, with little scales to protect each finger separately; sword hanging from his waist in front by a strap; over all a mantle, once thought to be that of the Order of the Garter, but now supposed to be the official robe of Lord Treasurer, reaching to the ground behind, and fastened by cords which spring from rose-like ornaments, with long pendent tasselled ends. The support of the feet are two “Wodehowses,” or hairy wild men, armed with clubs. On the remaining portion of the canopy pier, on the right, is the figure of St. Peter, in a cope, wearing the tiara, a key in his left hand and a crozier in the right, with canopied niche. In another, above, is a figure of St. Maurice, in armour of the 15th century, in his right hand a halbert, and in his left a sword. Corresponding with these, on the left, is a figure of St. George, in similar armour, thrusting his lance into the dragon’s mouth. Above is the figure of St. Cornelius, holding a bannered spear in his left hand, and a sword in his right. The lost saints were on the right, St. Barbara, St. Hubert, and another, not known; on the left, St. Thomas of Canterbury, the Virgin, St. John Baptist, St. Anne with the Virgin kneeling, and a Saint with short spear and ring, probably Edward the Confessor. Beneath the two wild men is the inscription:—
Hic jacet nobilis Baro, Radulphus Cromwell,
Miles, dux de Cromwell, quondam Thesaurius Angliæ, et
Fundator hujus collegii, cum inclita consorte sua,
Una herede dni Dayncourt, qui quidm
Radulphus obiit quarto die mens Januarii, ano dni
Milio cccc, et p’dicta Margaretta obiit xv die
Septebv, ano dni milio cccc quor. aiab. p. piture Deus. Amen.
Men rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. The founder has passed away, and the college also is no more; and the once richly-endowed benefice is now little better than a starveling. But the humble Bede-houses, connected with the college, still remain.
One only further record can we give of Tattershall. Most places have had their characters. Tradition avers, and not so long ago either, that a certain worthy farmer, living in the neighbourhood, used to ride into Tattershall, almost nightly, to his hostel, to play his game of cards with certain boon companions. It was before our toll-bars were abolished, and there stood, near Tattershall bridge, a toll-bar with gate made formidable by a chevaux de frise of iron spikes. At times the play ran high, and our friend would return home without a coin in his pocket wherewith to pay toll. But he was well-mounted, and on a moonlight night he would not hesitate to obviate the difficulty by taking the toll-bar at full speed and landing safely on four legs beyond it. Although I cannot set my seal to this tradition, yet, from the style in which he would follow the hounds, I can well believe that not even a toll-bar, spikes and all, would debar him from his “long clay” and glass of wholesome “home-brewed” by his own fireside as a “night-cap.” [238]
We now bid adieu to Tattershall, prepared, presumably, to endorse the verdict of a writer
in the “Quarterly Review,” that the castle is indeed “the finest redbrick tower in the kingdom,” [239a] and the best example, except, perhaps, Hurstmonceux, of what good brickwork is capable of in architecture; and, further, that the church is not unworthy of a place beside it; and it is not a little remarkable that William of Waynfleet, who completed it, also built the most beautiful college in the world, viz., that of Magdalen, Oxford.
Our itinerary is now approaching its conclusion, yet we shall finish with a bonne bouche. We turn our faces northward, and, passing by land still called “Tattershall park,” though now under cultivation and broken up into fields; and, where formerly were two ancient encampments, British or Roman, but now obliterated, a walk of some three miles brings us in view of a tall fragment of stone-work, two fields distant on our left. This is the last remaining portion of Kirkstead Abbey. It is now some 50 feet high and 18 feet, or so, in width, but an engraving by Buck gives it as at least double that width; and the writer has conversed with a man whose father was labouring in the Abbey field when he noticed some cattle, which had been standing under the shade of the ruin, suddenly galloping away in alarm, and immediately afterwards a large portion of the stonework collapsed, and, with a loud crash, fell to the ground, leaving the relic much about the size which we see now.
There are mounds and hollows about the Abbey field which show how extensive the buildings at one time were, covering several acres; and a canal can be traced which had connection with the River Witham, which is two fields distant. [239b] We here give a brief account of the Abbey. The manor of Kirkstead was given by the Conqueror, along with that of Tattershall, as above stated, to the Norman soldier, Eudo; and his son, Hugh Fitz-Eudo, surnamed Brito, founded here a Cistercian monastery, in 1139, dedicated to the Virgin. The Abbey was very richly endowed from more than one source. The Harleyan MSS. (144) give a full account of its possessions (29 Henry VIII.). Its lands were situated in the city of Lincoln, and in Horncastle,