Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and CuriositiesAnonymous
History
Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and Curiosities
Anonymous
Westminster Abbey
Against the end wall is an altar, raised by Charles II. to the memory of
EDWARD V. and his brother, who, by their treacherous uncle, Richard III.,
were murdered in the Tower. The inscription, which is in Latin, gives a
particular account of their sad catastrophe, and is in English
thus:--"Here lie the relics of Edward V., King of England, and Richard,
Duke of York, who, being confined in the Tower, and there stifled with
pillows, were privately and meanly buried, by order of their perfidious
uncle, Richard, the usurper. Their bones, long inquired after and wished
for, after laying 191 years in the rubbish of the stairs (_i.e._, those
lately leading to the Chapel of the White Tower), were, on the 17th of
July, 1674, by undoubted proofs, discovered, being buried deep in that
place. Charles II., pitying their unhappy fate, ordered these unfortunate
Princes to be laid among the relics of their predecessors, in the year
1678, and the thirtieth of his reign." It is remarkable, that Edward was
born November 4, 1471, in the sanctuary belonging to this Church, whither
his mother took refuge during the contest between the houses of York and
Lancaster; at eleven years of age, upon the death of his father, 1483, he
was proclaimed King; and on the 23rd of June, in the same year, was
murdered in the manner already related. Richard, his brother, was born May
28, 1474, and married, while a child, to Ann Mowbray, heiress of Norfolk.
In front of Queen Elizabeth's tomb are the bodies of GEORGE MONCK, Duke of
Albemarle, 1670. EDWARD, Earl of Sandwich, 1672.
V.--Chapel of St. Paul.
[Illustration]
_Begin on your left._
1. Sir Henry Belasyse, 1717.
2. Colonel Macleod.
3. Sir John Puckering, 1596.
4. Sir James Fullerton.
5. Lord Chancellor Bromley, 1587.
6. Sir Dudley Carleton, 1631.
7. Countess of Sussex, 1589.
8. Lord and Lady Cottington, 1631.
9. James Watt, 1819.
10. Sir Giles Daubeny, 1507.
11. Lewis Robsart, Standard Bearer to Henry V., 1431.
Lord Delaval and Lord Tyrconnel's Banners hang over the place of their
interment.
On your left hand is a monument to the memory of Sir HENRY BELASYSE, Knt.,
Lieutenant-General, some time Governor of Galway in Ireland, and
afterwards of Berwick-on-Tweed, in the reign of William III. He died
December 16, 1717, aged sixty-nine. Bridget, wife of his only son, W.
Belasyse, Esq., died July 28, 1735, aged twenty.--_Scheemakers, sculptor._
Next this, one--"To the memory of Lieutenant-Colonel CHARLES MACLEOD, who
fell at the siege of Badajos, aged twenty-six years. This monument is
erected by his brother officers. In Lieutenant-Colonel Macleod, of the
forty-third Regiment, who was killed in the breach, his Majesty has
sustained the loss of an officer who was an ornament to his profession,
and was capable of rendering the most important services to his country."
Vide Marquis Wellington's Dispatch, 8th April, 1812.--_Nollekens,
sculptor._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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