Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury: with some Account of the Priory Church of Deerhurst GloucestershireMassé, H. J. L. J. (Henri Jean Louis Joseph)
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury: with some Account of the Priory Church of Deerhurst Gloucestershire
This chapel has become the museum for the storage of many interesting
fragments of destroyed portions of the fabric. Some of the coloured
fragments are under glass, others are grouped against the eastern
wall. It is to be regretted that no list is hung up in the cases. The
larger of the two cases contains in one division pieces of the broken
upper part of the sedilia, all finely coloured. In the other division
are fragments from the Warwick Chapel and other mutilated tombs in the
choir. Most of these were found buried in the choir at the restoration
in 1875. There are some iron rings which belonged to the coffin of Sir
Hugh le Despenser. They were removed when the tomb was inspected in
1875.
Portions of figures of the De Clares are also in the case--one with an
inverted torch, representing Gilbert de Clare, who died, the last male
of his line, at the battle of Bannockburn, 1314. Three bases of
figures contain inscriptions as follows:
1. Rob^s. Consull Filius Regis
2. Willelm^s. Comes Gloces^r.
3. . . . . . e Regis.
Another portion of a figure, in a blue mantle, is said to be Thomas
Lord Despenser, the last Earl of Gloucester. It has upon it the arms
of Despenser and Clare.
On the wall are some swords which recall the panic caused in 1803 by
Napoleon's projected invasion and humiliation of England. It is
difficult to see why they or the colours of the Volunteers were
removed to this position from the Town Hall.
Against the eastern wall are portions of a beautiful frieze, with
ball-flower ornament, and many shields bearing traces of rich colour.
There is a fine head, and a curiosity in the form of a coffin of an
infant, a portion of a cluster of marble columns, and a figure in
camelskin and leather girdle representing St. John the Baptist.
Across this chapel is the tomb of Abbot Cheltenham, who died in 1509
(_vide_ p. 95).
=The Vestry.=--The third of the chapels is the most regular in shape,
and is used, as it was in monastic times, as a Vestiarium or vestry.
The arch is closed entirely by masonry, built upon the original wall
which formed the outer wall of the Norman church. In the walled-up
space that corresponds to what is the entrance in the case of the
other chapels are a fine tomb and the doorway into the vestry. A
description of the tomb will be found on p. 97. The tomb of the Abbot
may have been removed from a grave outside the building, but it is not
known who was buried in it. Willis ascribed it to Robert Fortington,
who died in 1253. A fine doorway, richly decorated, with three
elaborately wrought brackets for images over it, gives access to the
Clergy Vestry. The door is of oak, plated with roughly wrought metal
plates, of which tradition has it that they were made by the monks out
of swords and armour found in and around the precincts after the
battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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