The Town: Its Memorable Characters and EventsHunt, Leigh
History
The Town: Its Memorable Characters and Events
Hunt, Leigh
London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- History
In the chapel was buried old Gawen Douglas, the Chaucer of Scotland;
and Anne Killegrew, celebrated by Dryden's ode for her poetry and
painting. She was the daughter of one of the masters, Dr. Henry
Killegrew, brother of the famous jester, and himself a man of talent.
Mrs. Anne Killegrew,
A grace for beauty, and a muse for wit,
had probably the honour, some day, of dining with her washerwoman's
daughter, in the guise of Duchess of Albemarle; for John Clarges, the
blacksmith, who lived in the Savoy, had a wife who was a washerwoman,
and the washerwoman had a daughter, who took linen to Monk, when he
was in the Tower, and married him. It is not commonly known that the
validity of this marriage was contested. Upon the trial of an action
at law between the representatives of Monk and Clarges, some curious
particulars, says an article in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, came out
respecting the family of the duchess.
"It appeared that she was the daughter of John Clarges, a
farrier, in the Savoy, and farrier to Colonel Monk, in 1632.
She was married in the church of St. Lawrence Pountney, to
Thomas Ratford, son of Thomas Ratford, late a farrier, servant
to Prince Charles, and resident in the Mews. She had a daughter
who was born in 1634, and died in 1638. Her husband and she
'lived at the Three Spanish Gypsies, in the New Exchange, and
sold wash-balls, powder, gloves, and such things, and she
taught girls plain work. About 1647, she, being a sempstress to
Colonel Monk, used to carry him linen.' In 1648 her father and
mother died. In 1649, she and her husband 'fell out and
parted.' But no certificate from any parish register appears,
reciting his burial. In 1652, she was married in the church of
St. George, Southwark, to 'General George Monk;' and in the
following year was delivered of a son, Christopher, (afterwards
the second and last Duke of Albemarle), who was suckled by
Honour Mills, who sold apples, herbs, oysters, &c. One of the
plaintiff's witnesses swore, 'that a little before the
sickness, Thomas Ratford demanded and received of him the sum
of twenty shillings; that his wife saw Ratford again after the
sickness, and a second time after the Duke and Duchess of
Albemarle were dead.' A woman swore, 'she saw him on the day
his wife (then called Duchess of Albemarle) was put into her
coffin, which was after the death of the duke her second
husband, who died the 3rd of January, 1669-70.' And a third
witness swore, that he saw Ratford about July, 1660.' In
opposition to this evidence, it was alleged, that 'all along,
during the lives of Duke George and Duke Christopher, this
matter was never questioned,' that the latter was universally
received as only son of the former, and that 'this matter had
been thrice before tried at the bar of the King's Bench, and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account