William de Colchester, Abbot of WestminsterPearce, Ernest Harold
History
William de Colchester, Abbot of Westminster
Pearce, Ernest Harold
William, of Colchester, Abbot of Westminster, approximately 1338-1420
When the body of the late Lord Kelvin was laid to rest, by a right
which there was none to dispute, in the Abbey Church of Westminster, it
was placed, by the same kind of right, close to the grave of Sir Isaac
Newton. In the same corner there are the graves, or the memorials, of
Darwin and Herschel, of Joule and Gabriel Stokes and John Couch Adams,
to be joined shortly by tablets in memory of Alfred Russel Wallace,
of Sir Joseph Hooker, and of another Joseph, who died Lord Lister. It
was not likely that Kelvin would long lack some memorial more impressive
than the slab which covers his remains, and it was a happy and appropriate
impulse which caused the representatives of engineering science on both
sides of the Atlantic to undertake the task of providing one. But what
form could it best take? The walls of the church have been overcrowded,
to the grievous destruction of some precious features. The floor-space, as
the centuries following the Reformation were apt to forget, is intended
to serve the purposes of public worship. But the large windows of the
Nave offer to those who would honour and foster the memory of the great
dead a means of fulfilling their desire, and of adorning the fabric at
the same time. In this case the chance was welcomed, and Kelvin has his
Abbey memorial in stained glass. The window is one of a series projected
in 1907 by Dr. Armitage Robinson, now Dean of Wells, and loyally accepted
by his successor in the Deanery of Westminster--a series in which there
are placed side by side a King of England who contributed either to the
greatness of the foundation or to the majesty of the building, and the
Abbot through whom the King worked his pious will. The King in this case
is Harry of Monmouth, and we are thinking with somewhat mingled feelings
that October 25, 1915, brings us to the 500th anniversary of the battle
of Agincourt. But it is Henry V.'s Abbot who concerns us now; for in such
a scheme of windows the Abbots are more difficult to justify to the
ordinary visitor than the monarchs, not because of unworthiness,
but because there has been but little effort made to appraise their
worth as heads of our ancient house, or as conspicuous figures in their
generation.[1]
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account