used. "For round about, the walls y'clothed were As faining to be hidd, from envious eye. Like to a discoloured snake, whose hidden snares, ture, and many attempts have been made to establish "Fairie Queene" Spenser describes the hangings a character for it, from the time Lord Burlington built Chiswick House, after a design of Palladio's Villa Capra, to the period of the erection of Fonthill Abbey, on the model of Ely Cathedral, and fifty old churches. I forbear to mention either the complete failures, or the partial accomplishments; but it will not be denied that no one has been entirely successful since the time of Cardinal Wolsey. He indeed produced many splendid examples of original taste, not Greek, not Roman, and certainly not Gothic. His knowledge of what was requisite in the habitation of a person of high degree Our painters do not yet appear to be sensible what was doubtless one of the reasons of the King's par- a fund of variety an attention to the peculiar style of tiality to him. His edifices, which still remain, are our early architecture, characteristic of each individual eminently superior, notwithstanding their antiquity, to period, will afford in illustration of historical subjects. all others of their kind, in design and magnificence, I am led to this remark by a picture now in exhibition, and his name is familiarly used to denote the highly where Wolsey appears as a conspicuous actor, and enriched manner of building then, and afterwards used, in which the omission of the Tudor character in the during the reigns of the Tudors, by the appellation of architectural back-ground is an oversight, the less "The Wolsey Architecture." As an instance I shall pardonable as the halls of Hampton Court and Christ mention Hampton Court, one of the superb edifices Church remain in their pristine splendour. I allude erected by the Cardinal, which may be truly said to to a representation of the banquet scene, with the inoffer an unobjectionable model for a Palace, one that if troduction of King Henry VIII. to Anne Boleyn, as erected, would not only establish the fame of the archi- described by Shakspeare, painted by J. Stephanoft, at tect, or clerk of the works, but would confer celebrity the command of his majesty. This event happened on the reign in which such a noble design was carried at York Place, (now Whitehall) the very mansion into execution. The peculiar style or order of archi- Wolsey had just built in that style, which afterwards tecture, adopted in every one of the mansions and became the common fashion. Fuller, the historian, colleges, erected by the munificence of the Cardinal, alluding to this period, says, "Now began beautiful is uniform, and original, perfectly suited to the purpose buildings in England, as to the generality thereof, of display. It is completely distinct from the ecclesi- homes were but homely before, but now many most astical style, and includes a variety of elegant combi- regular pieces of architecture were erected.”—This nations admirably calculated for the use of the painter very subject has been previously treated by Hogarth, in historical composition, as marking the precise period but in his picture no notice is taken of the gorgeous of the subject throughout the Tudor reigns, as well as assemblage of visitors at the banquet. On such ocharmonizing with the extremely gorgeous costume casions, the very sight of them was deemed, to use a then prevalent, and otherwise employing the fancy of common expression, " fit for a prince." Archbishop the artist. In Wolsey's buildings the imposing sim- Parker, in the reign of Elizabeth, on giving a banquet plicity of the graceful pointed architecture, that had at Lambeth Palace, thus writes, "If her Highness for ages retained its sway, was united with arabesque will give me leave, I will kepe my bigger hall, that ornaments skilfully introduced, together with a redund-day, for the nobles, and the rest of her traine; and if ance of quaint device, and heraldic enrichment of every it please her majesty, she may come in through my kind. On the inner walls, gilding and colour were pro-gallery, and see the disposition of the hall, at a winfusely lavished, so as to give a mosaic appearance to the spacious rooms which on state occasions were decorated with tapestry, as described by Wolsey's biographer in the preparation for a banquet. "The Yeomen, and Grooms of the wardrobes, were busied in hanging of the chambers with costly hangings, and furnishing the same with beds of silk and other furniture, apt for the same, in every degree." This practice was carried to greater excess in the reign of Elizabeth In the dow opening thereinto." I shall now take the liberty of mentioning some particulars (though perfectly familiar to the antiquary) in explanation of the enrichments which are usually found at the upper end of our great halls. This room was in every manor-house a necessary appendage for holding "the court," the services belonging to which are equally denominated "the homage," with those of the king's palace. The dais, or raised part of the upper end of the hall, was so called, from the administration of justice. A dais | the body of James the Fourth was buried at Shene. man is still a popular term for an arbitrator in the Stowe, in his "Annals” says, "I have beene shewed north, and Domesday Book (with the name of which the same body (as was affirmed,) lapped in lead, thrown I suppose every one to be familiar) is known to be a into an old waste room, amongst old timber, stone, list of manor houses. Here also is the oriel window led, and other rubble." At the Dissolution of this filled with the arms and badges of the various alliances Priory, (26th Henry VIII.) its annual revenues, acconnected with the family of the lord of the manor. cording to Dugdale, amounted to £777 12s. 0; but Speed states them at £962 11s. 6d. In the 32d of Henry the Eighth, the site of this foundation was granted to Edward, Earl of Hertford; and although Queen Mary restored the convent, it was dissolved again in little more than a year. The seal of these Carthusians, which was small, and of an oval shape, exhibited the Adoration of the Shepherds; beneath which were the arms of France and England, quarterly. In the account of Richmond, in Lysons' Environs," it is stated, that " an ancient gateway, the last remains of the priory of Shene, was taken down" in 1769. "The whole hamlet of West Shene, consisting of eighteen houses, one of which was a calico manufactory, was at the same time totally annihilated, and the site, which was made into a lawn, added to the King's inclosures." In the Survey, now in the Augmentation office, taken by order of Parliament, during the Interregnum, the old church is described to be standing, "but very ruinous and fit to be demolished;"-and also a structure of brick, called the Prior's Lodgings; the Monk's Hall, a stone building; the Lady of St. John's Lodgings; the Anchorite's Cell; and an old building, and a parcel of buildings, called the Gallery. In another picture, in the same exhibition, by A. Chisholm, the subject is Shakspeare before Justice Shallow, to be engraven for a work, entitled the Gallery of the Society of Painters in water colours. In this picture, the artist's idea of the hall window which is introduced must have been taken from some one in the chancel of a parish church; to speak in the mildest terms of criticism. At Charlecote itself, where the scene is laid, (but which there is a possibility never actually occurred,) the greatest attention has been paid to propriety in the decoration of the hall; and a numerous series of ancient coats of arms, coeval with Shakspeare, in characteristic compartments, fill the bays of the window. When this subject, therefore, is again taken up, I would recommend the painter to give it his attention, as the subordinate parts of a picture ought to partake of the character, at least, of the period represented,—although it is not recommended to restrict his pencil to a servile copy. In a third picture, of the same gallery, is King James I. and his jeweller, George Heriott, which has in the foreground a superb vase, designed in the style termed by our goldsmiths," the Louis Quartorze," almost a century later, in point of historical property, than could possibly have come into King James's possession. This introduction was unnecessary, as the finest specimens of workmanship are to be found, executed previously to the time here alluded to, and which are now so much in request, that any price may be obtained for them.-These hints, from an antiquary, will, it is hoped, be taken as kindly as they are meant, and I have not presumed to speak of the general composition of the pictures mentioned, that part being most admirably treated, particularly in the last piece. T. M. WEST SHENE PRIORY. A PRIORY of Carthusians, dedicated to Jesus of Bethlehem, was founded in 1414, at West Shene, in Surrey, (about a quarter of a mile from the old palace at Richmond,) by king Henry the Fifth; in whose will its endowment is stated at forty marks. Perkin Warbeck sought an asylum in this house, in the reign of Henry the Seventh, and in that of his successor, 66 ADAM KRAFFT. FEW cities possess greater attractions for the artist and antiquary, than Nuremberg, which was formerly to Germany what Venice and Florence were to Italy, the seat of commerce and the abode of art. Even were it less picturesque as a town, less opulent in studies of gothic architecture, in specimens of early painting and sculpture, it would still be interesting to the traveller as a place consecrated to history by names of such men as Albert Durer, Visscher, and Kraft. With the exception of Durer, however, their names are little known in this country, although no one who has beheld the Tomb of St. Sebaldus, or the celebrated "Sacramentshauslein," can refuse to place the other two among those who have been worthy devotees of art. As regards the last-mentioned of this illustrious trio, this, we think, will be in some degree apparent from his own portrait-figure, and we consider ourselves fortunate in being enabled to give a copy of it for the embellishment of this work. This effigy, with two others, all of the size of life, and in kneeling attitudes, support the lower part of the Sacramentshauslein, which they are attached. From this circumstance, and from its occupying the most conspicuous situation, there can be no doubt that it is the artist's own portrait, although it has been generally supposed that the one on the north side, which is that of a bald-headed aged man with a long beard, represented our worthy Adam Krafft. Sandrart has given the head of Krafft from the effigy we have just mentioned, and his authority has misled succeeding writers, who have followed him without due examination, although the supposed identity is altogether at variance with what is said by Neudorfer in his chronicle of Nuremberg Artists; and also with the fact that Krafft, who died in 1507, could not have been so old by many years as that venerable personage with the long beard. As a proof how easy it is for a critic to discover what he is determined to find, we may remark, that the author of "Norica" a recent work containing many anecdotes of our artist and his contemporaries as related by a supposed contemporary, has adopted the more generallyreceived opinion, and says: "the aspect of the bearded bald-pated sire, is as noble as that of the other two figures is clownish and repulsive." Our readers will judge whether those discourteous epithets can be applied to the one of which we give them a copy. The Tabernacle, which rests against a pillar to the right of the high altar, consists of five divisions or stories, terminating at its summit in a kind of ornamental crosier. Each of those divisions is profusely embellished with columns, turrets, foliage and flowers, of most beautiful and elaborate design, and of such exquisite workmanship that the spectator may fancy he beholds real foliage which has been petrified; not the work of the chisel. This has given rise to a tradition that Krafft was acquainted with some peculiar method of softening stone so as to render it perfectly plastic, if not of fusing it and casting it like metal; which is, of course, a mere idle legend, although the possibility of the process was at one time credited. In addition to the ornaments we have mentioned, each story of the tabernacle, except the uppermost, which is too narrow for the purpose, is embellished with three bas-reliefs, representing various scenes from the passion of our Saviour. On the fifth story are only two figures, that on one side, shewing the Crucified, the other, the Glorified Redeemer. or Tabernacle, in the church of St. Laurence, at Nuremberg. The Tabernacle itself is about sixty-four feet high, and tapers upwards like a spire of rich carved-work till it reaches the roof of the building. It was commenced in the year 1496, and completed in 1500. The execution of the figures, especially that of Krafft himself, is truly admirable, combining the most careful attention to finish, with breadth of style and decision of touch. For anatomical correctness, felicity of expression, propriety of character, in short for energy of nature, and truth, they may shame many of the master-pieces of those whose reputation might seem lowered by the mere allusion to any comparison between them and a German of the 15th century. This figure, which is the one facing the west, is the Besides the preceding, Nuremberg contains various only one of the three that is represented in the costume other works which attest the powers of Adam Krafft of a mason or sculptor, and is further distinguished both as an architect and a sculptor, works of less celefrom the rest by displaying more freedom in its atti-brity, in truth, their fame being swallowed up by that tude, whereas the others seem to be employed more of his master-piece, yet of such merit that any one of expressly for purpose of supporting the structure to them would have conferred distinction on his name. menced for that purpose. St. Alban's Abbey Church, Waltham Cross, Crosby Hall in Bishopsgate-street, and the "LADYE CHAPEL," which forms the eastend of St. Saviour's Church, Southwark, and of which a view is annexed, in its present state, are the immediate buildings thus proposed to be restored. Descriptive and other particulars of all the above edifices will be given in our succeeding numbers. THE preservation of those beautiful edifices which siderable attention, and subscriptions have been comwere raised by our pious ancestors for the celebration of CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, must be a paramount object of regard with every admirer of our national antiquities; and we conceive that our pages cannot be devoted more usefully than by directing the public mind to those venerable buildings which either time or the ruthless hand of man has reduced to a state of ruin. During the present century, indeed, a great change has been progressively effected with respect to the estimation in which subjects of this kind are held, compared with by-gone times. The people generally have been taught a respect for science; and the merits of our forefathers, as exhibited in their productions, are better known and better appreciated. Still, however, it becomes a duty, wherever the power of imparting information exists, to urge on the already awakened feeling, and by pointin gout those dilapidated buildings which, from the talents displayed in their design and construction, demand to be upheld, contribute to the triumph of art, and increase our aptitude for intellectual pleasures. The Restoration of several decayed edifices within and near London, has recently become a topic of con VOL. I. DISSERTATION ON THE MANNER AND PERIOD OF THE DEATH OF BY LORD DOVER. Extracted from the ADDRESS delivered by his Lordship, at the Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society of Literature, on Friday, May 4th, 1832. It is well known, that the old account of the manner of the death of Richard, which was received implicitly by our historians who wrote during the eighteenth с century, has been now for some time exploded. That account first appeared in print in the additions to Hygden's "Polycronicon," published by Caxton in 1482; from whence it was copied by Fabyan, Hall, and Holinshed. It has also been adopted by Shakspeare, who has perhaps done more than all the others to render it the popular version of the story. It is also to be found in a manuscript of an earlier date than Caxton's publication, which is preserved in the Royal Library at Paris, and entitled, "Relation de la Mort de Richard, Roy d'Angleterre." This manuscript was first quoted by Carte, and has since been made use of by different historians.* This relation is to the effect, that King Richard was murdered by Sir Piers, of Exton, and his assistants, with battle-axes; who pursued him about his prison, striking at him till they had dispatched him, in spite of the heroic resistance of the king, who snatched a battle-axe from one of his assailants, and with it killed no less than four of them. In the year 1634, a pillar was still shown in the room which was supposed to have been the prison of Richard, in Pomfret Castle, which was hacked with the blows of the murderers, as the king fled round it from them.+ In spite, however, of this corroborative tradition, and of the general currency of the tale, Mr. Amyot has satisfactorily shewn, in his able paper on the death of Richard II., inserted in the twentieth volume of the Archæologia, that the story of Sir Piers of Exton rests upon no satisfactory foundation; but that, on the contrary, all the contemporary historians of the death of Richard II. give a totally different account of that event. Of these, Thomas of Walsingham, Thomas Otterbourne, the Monk of Evesham, who wrote the life of Richard, and the continuator of the Chronicle of Croyland, all relate that Richard voluntarily starved himself to death, in a fit of despair, in his prison at Pomfret. To these must also be added, the testimony of Gower the poet, to the same effect, who was not only a contemporary, but had been himself patronized by Richard. There is, however, another version of this tragedy, which relates that his starvation was not voluntary; but inflicted on him by his keepers. That he was, to use the expression of Hardyng the chronicler, who, however, only mentions it as a report, "forhungered." The Percys, in one of their contests with Henry IV., in their letter of defiance, accuse him of having caused Richard to perish "from hunger, thirst, and cold, Archæologia, vol. xx. + Archæologia, vol. xxiii. p. 280, note. after fifteen days and nights of sufferings unheard among christians." Archbishop Scroop also, in a subsequent manifesto, repeats the same charge; and Sir John Fortescue has copied the Archbishop's words into a work of his, which is quoted by Stowe, and of which the original is supposed by some to be no longer extant. This accusation of the bitter enemies of Henry, and the hearsay evidence of Hardyng, himself a partisan of Richard and of the Percys, cannot however be considered of sufficient weight to overthrow the concurrent testimony of the trustworthy and contemporary historians, who agree in affirming the voluntary starvation of the king. Nor must we, as Mr. Amyot very justly observes, entirely leave out of the account, the known character for clemency of Henry, which should lead us to imagine him not capable of so atrocious a cruelty, as the one he is here accused of. Of course, upon a subject of so mysterious and secret a nature as the death of Richard, certainty is not to be arrived at; but the probabilities of the case would appear to be very strongly in favour of his voluntary starvation. Before leaving this part of the subject, it may be as well to remark, that Mr. Amyot mentions, as the most positive disproof than can be given of the tale of Sir Piers of Exton, that when the tomb of King Richard, in Westminster Abbey, was accidentally laid open, the skull of the body contained in it was found entire, and without any marks of violence upon it. This testimony, however, becomes of no avail, if, according to Mr. Tytler, the body buried, first at Langley, and then in Westminster Abbey, is not that of King Richard; who, as he affirms, is interred in the Church of the Preaching Friars, at Stirling, in Scotland. This latter hypothesis, however, equally disproves the Exton fable,-and this leads us naturally to take a short view of Mr. Tytler's opinion upon the subject. After the publication of Mr. Amyot's paper, in the Archæologia, in 1819, from which I have quoted so largely, the question of the death of King Richard seemed as much set at rest, as the imperfect nature of our knowledge of the transaction would admit of. But in 1829, Mr. Tytler, whose admirable and instructive History of Scotland is well known to all the lovers of historical literature in this country, again * Sir J. Mackintosh, in his excellent History of England, published in Lardner's Cyclopædia, appears, though he delivers no decided opinion, to incline to that of Richard having been starved to death by his keepers. + See Mr. King's Sequel to the Observations on Ancient Castles, Archæologia, vol. vi. (1782). Mr. King is also of opinion that the story of Sir Piers of Exton is fabulous. |