“Henricus quartus Dei gratia Rex Angliæ, Iberniæ et Irlandæ, Princeps Gales, et Dux (Lancastrie?). Hanc ecclesiam sacratissimæ Virginis et Matris Mariæ construxit locupletavit et a fundamentis edificavit, et eam in honorem dictæ Sanctissimæ Virginis et Matris multis possessionibus et redditibus et inquiliniis ditavit, et eam cum suis omnibus possessionibus, inquiliniis subditis et redditibus donavit in donum perpetuum ordini et hospitali generali coenobii Sanctæ Mariæ Roncesvallis in anno domini Salvatoris nostri Jhesu Christi, MCCCLXXVIII.”
The document goes on to say that the Priory possessed in England property including the Chapel and Convent at Charing Cross (“Caringrasso”) of the yearly value of 9,300 pounds English money, corresponding to 8,223 Spanish ducats, and that it also owned property in Canterbury (“Conturbel”) of the yearly value of 4,000 pounds, and in Oxford (“Oxonia”) of 5,700 pounds. A Procurator was appointed directly by the Abbot at Roncesvalles, who had his headquarters in London at Charing Cross, and had complete powers of administration to deal with the property of the Convent scattered through England, Scotland, and Ireland, and he also directed the Hospital and other enterprises of the Brotherhood.
The Huarte MS. also states that, in the ancient archives of the Abbey there existed a record in alphabetical arrangement, from which it is gathered that Henry VI of England, finding that no official was being sent from Roncesvalles, directed one of his chaplains to obtain from Roncesvalles an account of the property in London and Charing Cross belonging to the Priory: “Las pertenecientes á la capilla y encomienda de Roncesvalles situada junto á Caringrasso de Inglaterra,” and a warrant to collect the income and charitable contributions and send them to Roncesvalles for the maintenance of the clergy and the poor. There is also a statement on the authority of a “military personage in the City of London,” that there existed in London a large house which had belonged to Roncesvalles, as shown by the crosses of the special form used by the Order still to be seen on the stones, and that this house had been converted into a seminary of the Anglican Church.
It will be observed that much of the information in the Huarte MS. is traditional and cannot be accepted without careful collation with the more complete and authentic information contained in the English records. It is, however, of much interest to know that a document perpetuating the memory of the Hospital of Roncevall in London still exists in the parent House.
The Illustrations.
Fig. 1.—The Chapel of St. Mary Roncevall on the bank of the Thames previous to 1544. The chapel is of the middle of the thirteenth century, in two storeys, with later additions, probably of the Tudor period, to the south of the church and at the north-east angle. The tower and belfry are at the north-east end of the church. The chapel is built on a terrace, faced by a high wall, pierced by a door giving access by steps to the river. The sketch gives indications of portions of the conventual buildings, some of which may be identified by referring to the inventory contained in the grant to Sir Thomas Cawarden; for instance, the gardens, the churchyard, wharf, the almshouse. The Cross at Charing, St Martin’s Church of that period, other features in the village of Charing, and St. Giles’s in the Fields, may be identified.
Fig. 2.—A chart of the Western Pyrenees, showing the roads through the passes, and the position of Roncesvalles and Ibañeta.
Figs. 3 and 4.—The effigy of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (ob. 1219), in the Temple Church.
Figs. 5, 6, and 7.—The effigy of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, son of the preceding (ob. 1231). These figures of the Marshalls are from Edward Richardson’s “Monumental Effigies of the Temple Church.” Longmans, 1843. William Marshall, sen., the regent, and his son were closely associated with the Knights Templars, and benefactors of the Order. It will be noted that the effigy of the father shows the figure in a straight position, whereas the effigy of the son is in the cross-legged attitude. The question is naturally raised as to the significance of the cross-legged position. There is no doubt that William Marshall the elder did go to the Holy Land in fulfilment of the dying request of Henry, the eldest son of Henry II, in the years 1185-87. In the case of the son there is no evidence of a journey to Palestine, though it is possible that he may have taken part in campaigns against the Moors in Spain.
Fig. 8.—A copy of an ancient drawing lately in the possession of Mr. E. Gardner, now in the collection of Sir Edward F. Coates, Bart. The drawing is supposed to be contemporary and to have been the work of an early Italian artist resident in England. It was purchased at the Strawberry Hill sale by Dr. Wellesley for the Gardner collection; and the Marquis of Salisbury is stated to have several drawings by the same early Italian artist. The sketch shows part of the north-westerly aspect of the Chapel of St. Mary Roncevall, with some of the later Tudor additions. The battlements were probably added when additions were built, perhaps in the time of Henry IV, or later. The Tudor chimneys appearing over the battlements are reminiscent of the work of Cardinal Wolsey at Hampton Court and would have been constructed in brick. The building on the extreme left of the sketch is probably the corner of a north porch. The sketch also shows the gardens of the Convent of which very special note is made in Cawarden’s inventory, and in the distance the buildings of Whitehall and of Westminster.