The riches and piety of subsequent Earls of Warwick contributed to its grandeur and importance; and at the survey, 26th Hen. VIII., previous to the dissolution, its revenues were certified to amount to £334 2s. 3d. A fire, in 1694, destroyed the whole of the edifice, except the choir and the Beauchamp Chapel; and when the Church was rebuilt it was from a design of Sir Christopher Wren. It is, nevertheless, conspicuous for no architectural beauty, except the fine proportions of its Tower.
The choir—a part of the ancient church—is a rare example of the architecture of the period. It was built by Thomas de Beauchamp, about the 43rd Edward III.; and his remains, with those of his Countess, a daughter of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, were interred in a sumptuous tomb, placed in the centre of the edifice erected for their reception. Nearly five hundred years have passed since the Earl was laid there, and the mason, the gilder, and the sculptor, laboured to perpetuate the memory of a great soldier, who led the van at Crecy, bled at Poictiers, “did great service in a sea-fight,” “warred against the infidels,” and drove a besieging army from before Calais, by the mere sound of his name,—yet the monument endures almost unimpaired by time; telling its high tale of glory after a lapse of half a thousand years.[57]
A vaulted corridor extends from the transept nearly the whole length of the choir on its north side. This has been divided by a screen of blank panelling, and the eastern portion formed into a “Vestrie.” The remainder is used as a north entrance to the Church, having also an entrance into the Chapter House. This building is hexagonal on its exterior end, and is now appropriated as a mausoleum, to which those who love the muse will resort as to a place of pilgrimage, for here repose the earthly remains of that “servant to Queen Elizabeth, Chancellor to King James, and friend to Sir Philip Sidney,” whose name will be as imperishable as that of the dear brother of his heart, whose friendship was the climax of his fame, and the consummation of all his ambitious hopes. The monument to the memory of Fulke Grevill consists of a sarcophagus, placed beneath a heavy canopy, supported by Corinthian columns. It is a heavy and ungraceful erection—rendered picturesque, however, by the ancient helmets and glaives laid upon it, and the moth-eaten banners, and rusted armour, that hang above the tomb.
The entrance to the Beauchamp Chapel is by a descent of several steps, from the south transept of the Church, beneath a doorway of finely-carved stone—the work of a
native artist, “a mason of Warwick,” in 1704. Entered, the spectator beholds a sepulchral chapel, built in the “style of the later Gothic,” of limited extent—its size being 58 feet in length by 25 in breadth, and its height being 32 feet—but of surpassing beauty. The light is supplied by three large windows in the upper part of the side walls (north and south), on the west by a window which looks into St. Mary’s Church, and by a large window on the east. Formerly, they were all richly adorned with painted glass, of which some valuable relics yet remain. The east window is, however, even now, nearly perfect, and may be considered one of the finest examples of the art to be found in the kingdom. “Indeed,” (we quote from a writer in “The Antiquarian and Architectural Year Book,”) there are few windows of painted glass remaining in ecclesiastical or other buildings
in England that can, for its dimensions, exceed, either in beauty or general treatment, this Eastern Window of the Beauchamp Chapel.” Its value has been diminished by carelessness in repairs; some parts having been displaced: but the figures, which form its primary objects, are gorgeous specimens of art, on many accounts of rare value to the antiquary. The ceiling of the Chapel is ornamented with groined ribs, at the intersections of which are bosses elegantly painted and gilt. Old oak seats, richly carved, antique desks, niches—which, according to Dugdale, formerly held images of gold, each of the weight of 20 lbs.—and various other objects—minor, though of considerable interest—demand attention; but their examination may be postponed until a small oratory—of exquisite beauty—has been inspected. It is reached by a short flight of stone steps—the roof is fan-work, groined—peculiarly light and elegant; and a range of high and narrow windows open into the Chapel. Scattered about are some reliques—save for their antiquity, out of keeping with the peaceful and secluded character of the small confessional—glaives and head-pieces—one of which bears indisputable evidence that the wearer died not in his bed. From this oratory, some half-dozen steps, “worn by the knees of fervent devotees,” afford ascent to a small confessional, formed in the thickness of the south wall of the choir. Both these interesting objects, are represented, by woodcuts, on the preceding page. The ceiling and sides partake of the elegant character already described; and here could the holy father, through a small opening, unseen, witness the elevation of the Host, or listen to the o’erburthened penitent.
The grand object of attraction in the Beauchamp Chapel, however, is the gorgeous tomb of its founder. It is an altar-tomb, of Purbeck marble, bearing the recumbent effigy of the Great Earl, in fine latten brass, gilt. His head, uncovered, rests upon a helmet, and at his feet are a Bear and a Griffon. The tomb is surmounted by one of the few “hearses” that yet remain in our churches. It consists of six hoops of brass, kept extended by five transverse brass rods, on which formerly was hung a pall “to keep the figure reverently from the dust.” Around the tomb, in niches, are fourteen figures, in “divers vestures, called weepers”—friends and relatives of the deceased, who mourn his loss. Between each weeper are smaller niches, raised upon pillars, containing whole length figures of angels, holding scrolls inscribed—