At right angles, with the gateway extending outwardly, is a long battlemented wall, with a fine Norman archway; near the farther extremity, are several mullioned windows, now blocked up, and a doorway approached by deep steps. It is generally supposed that the court-house stood here; for on the steps the manorial court is still opened by the lord of the manor, or his representative. In the grounds, beneath a tower of considerable elevation, may be seen the ancient chapel of the monastery, with its adjoining cells; but the place
“Where monks their orisons and vespers sung,”
is now literally “a cage for unclean birds,” and a receptacle for garden-tools and decayed fruits and vegetables: it is still in good preservation, though damp and rottenness have discoloured the well-proportioned pillars and groined arches of the
ceiling. Without admitting or denying the truth of the inscription we have quoted concerning the holy men of other days, it is certain, that to them we are indebted for the noblest examples of ecclesiastical architecture of which the world can boast; and the ruins of St. Osyth’s Priory exhibit no mean specimen of their skill and industry.
The interior of the present mansion presents nothing that demands particular notice, except one room called the “King’s Room,” fitted with the furniture of the chamber in which George II. died (the Earl of Rochford was groom of the stole at that period), consisting of the satin mattress, crimson bed hangings, &c. &c.
The Church is a very ancient structure, built partly of brick, and partly of flint and stone, situated nearly opposite the Priory. It has recently undergone a thorough internal repair; new pews have been erected, and a neat Gothic organ has been placed in a newly constructed gallery. The roofs, which are lofty, are supported by massive oaken beams, resting upon arches that spring from hexagon columns fluted on four of their sides—the rafters in the northern aisle are boldly and richly carved in various devices. While the repairs were in progress, the Font, which had hitherto presented a plain surface, was accidentally found to be finely ornamented; and the mortar with which the interstices were filled being removed, it now presents the appearance exhibited in our cut—the initial letter. The chancel is separated from the nave by a low screen, behind which are the pews allotted to the Priory. The church contains several monuments—chiefly raised in honour of the Darcys.
St. Osyth, standing as it does, in an isolated spot, and almost apart from the business of active life, is scarcely known even to the Tourist. It is, however, full of deep interest, and, we feel assured, might throw considerable light upon the architecture of very remote periods; at all events, it would afford enjoyment and information amply to repay a lengthened visit of the antiquary.