Chapter 15

THE REGULATION OF GRAVESTONES.

It has been already pointed out, and is probably well known, that the clergyman of the parish church has possessed from immemorial time the prerogative of refusing to allow in the churchyard under his control any monument, gravestone, design, or epitaph which is, in his opinion, irreverent, indecorous, or in any way unbecoming the solemnity and sanctity of the place. This authority, wherever exercised, has been subject to the higher jurisdiction of the Diocesan Bishop, and presumably to the rule of the Ecclesiastical Courts; but, as we have seen, the authority has been but indifferently employed, and the inference is that the clergy have in times past been wofully ignorant or lamentably careless as to their powers and obligations. A more healthy system now prevails, and we seldom or never find anything in the way of ornament, emblem, or inscription of an offensive or ridiculous character placed in any of our burial-grounds, the Burial Boards being as strict and watchful over the cemeteries as the rectors and vicars are in the management of the churchyards. Nor has there been, so far as we have gone, any difficulty in reconciling this stringency of supervision with the Acts of Parliament which have been passed in recognition of religious equality at the grave; and it is not too much to hope that there is in the present day such universal prevalence of good taste and propriety under the solemnity of death as to ensure concurrence among all sects and parties in securing decorum in all things relating to interments. To the incongruities which have been left to us as legacies from our ancestors we may be indulgent. They are landmarks of the generations which created them, and records of times and manners which we would fain believe that we have left behind in these days of better education and better thought. They are therefore of value to us as items of history, and, though we would not repeat many of them, we shall preserve them, not only because we reverence the graves of our forefathers, but because they are entitled to our protection as ancient monuments. However uncouth they may be in design or expression, they must be tolerated for their age. It cannot be denied that some of them try our patience, in the epitaphs even more perhaps than in the carvings, and "merely mock whom they were meant to honour." Two out of a vast number may be selected as painful evidences of a departed century's tombstone ribaldry. The first, from a village near Bath, is a deplorable mixture of piety and profanity, sentiment and vulgarity:

"To the memory of Thomas and Richard Fry, stonemasons, who were crushed to death, Aug. the 25th, 1776, by the slipdown of a wall they were in the act of building. Thomas was 19 and Richard 21 years.

"They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death were not divided.

"Blessed are they that die in the Lord, for their works follow them.

"A sacred Truth: now learn our awful fate.

"Dear Friends, we were first cousins, and what not: To toil as masons was our humble lot. As just returning from a house of call, The parson bade us set about his wall. Flush'd with good liquor, cheerfully we strove To place big stones below and big above; We made too quick work--down the fabric came; It crush'd our vitals: people call'd out shame! But we heard nothing, mute as fish we lay, And shall lie sprawling till the judgment day. From our misfortune this good moral know-- Never to work too fast nor drink too slow."

The other is at Cray ford, and is as follows:

"Here lieth the body of Peter Isnet, 30 years clerk of this parish. He lived respected as a Pious and a Mirthful Man, and died on his way to church to assist at a wedding on the 31st day of March 1811, aged 70 years. The inhabitants of Crayford have raised this stone to his cheerful memory and as a Tribute to his Long and Faithful Services.

"The age of this clerk was just three score and ten, Nearly half of which time he had sung out _Amen!_ In his youth he was married, like other young men, But his wife died one day, and he chanted _Amen!_ A second he took. She departed: what then? He married and buried a third, with _Amen!_ Thus his joys and his sorrows were _Treble_, but then, His voice was deep _Bass_ as he sung out _Amen!_ On the Horn he could blow as well as most men, So his horn was exalted in blowing _Amen!_ But he lost all his wind after Three Score and Ten, And here with Three Wives he waits till again The trumpet shall rouse him to sing out _Amen!_"

The habit of imitation which we have noticed in the masonry of the gravestone is even more pronounced in the epitaphs. One of the most familiar verses is that which usually reads:

"Affliction sore long time I bore, Physicians were in vain, Till Death did seize and God did please To ease me of my pain."

These lines, however, have undergone variations out of number, a not infrequent device being to adapt them to circumstances by such changes as--

"Affliction sore short time I bore," etc.

The same idea has an extended application at the grave of Joseph Crate, who died in 1805, aged 42 years, and is buried at Hendon Churchyard:

"Affliction sore long time I bore, Physicians were in vain: My children dear and wife, whose care Assuaged my every pain, Are left behind to mourn my fate: Then Christians let them find That pity which their case excites And prove to them most kind."

But the most startling perversion of the original text I saw in the churchyard at Saundersfoot, South Wales, where the stone-carver had evidently had his lesson by dictation, and made many original mistakes, the most notable of which was in the second line:--

"Affliction sore long time I bore, _Anitions_ were in vain," etc.

The following from Hyden, Yorkshire, is remarkable:

"William Strutton, of Padrington, buried 18th May, 1734, aged 97 years, who had by his first wife 28 children, by his second, 17: was own father to 45, grandfather to 86, great-grandfather to 23; in all 154 children."

Witty tombstones, even when they are not vulgar, are always in bad taste. Two well-known instances may suffice--

On Dr. Walker, who wrote a book on English Particles:

"Here lie Walker's Particles."

On Dr. Fuller:

"Here lies Fuller's Earth."

The same misplaced jocularity must be accountable for an enigmatical inscription at St. Andrew's, Worcester, on the tomb of a man who died in 1780, aged 65 years:

"H.L.T.B.O. R.W. I.H.O.A.J.R."

This, we are told, should be read as follows:

"Here lyeth the Body of Richard Weston In hope of a Joyful Resurrection."

Rhymed epitaphs have a history almost contemporaneous with that of the old gravestones, having their flourishing period between the middle of the seventeenth century and the early part of the nineteenth century. They were little used in England prior to the reign of James the First, and it is supposed that Mary, Queen of Scots, brought the custom from France. She is also said to have been an adept at composing epitaphs, and some attributed to her are extant.

It may be suspected also that other inventors have written a vast number of the more or less apocryphal elegies which go to make up the many books of epitaphs which have been published; but this is a point wide of our subject, and we must be careful in our Rambles that we do not go astray.

INDEX.

Abbotts, Stapleford, 47. Aberdeen, 89. Aberystwith, 31. Absalom's Pillar, 98. Acts of Parliament, 58, 59. Afghanistan, 62. Agricultural gravestones, 32, 33, 34. "Amazon," privateer ship, 81. America, 58. Anglo-Saxon Churches, 38. Artizaus' gravestones, 31. Ashford, 23. Assyrian tomb, 104. Atkinson, G. M., on "Ogams." 97.

Balbriggan, 79. Bangor, Ireland, 80, 81. Barking, 43. Barnes, 32. Barnet, 46, 76. Barra, 101, 102. Bath, 106. Beckenham, 33. Belfast, 78. Belgium, 91. Benenden, 16. Bermondsey, 29. Bethnal Green, 65. Bexley, 41, 42. Bishop of diocese, 73. Black gravestones, 76. Blackheath, 38. Blacksmith, village, 31. "Blackwood's Magazine," 75. Blairgowrie, 88. Board of Health, 59. Bodiam, 16. Book of Common Prayer, 54. Boutell's "Monuments," 36. Braemar, 86, 89. Brandeston, Suffolk, 56. Brash on "Ogams," 97, 103. Bressay stone, 100. Bretons, 62, 63. Bricklayer's gravestone, 33. British Museum, 99, 103, 104. Britons, aboriginal, 50. Bromley, 33. Broxbourne, 45. Buckhurst Hill, 45. Bunhill Fields graveyard, 26, 27. Burial in churches, 51. Burial Service, 54. Burke, Edmund, 51.

Cæesar, 50. Carmichael, Mr., 101. Carpenters' gravestones, 31, 32. Cattle in churchyards, 55. Chalk, parish of, 13, 14. Champion, S., 41. Cheltenham, 68. Cheshunt, 22, 69. Chigwell, 46. Chinese, 62. Chingford, 45. Chiselhurst, 19. Christian burial, 50. City Corporation, 58. Clarkson, D.A., 61. Cliffe, 21. Closing graveyards, 59, 60. Clubbe, Rev. Mr., 55. Cobham, 31. Colchester, court at, 55. Colvill, Capt., 81. Commonwealth, 53. Continental gravestones, 91. Cooling parish, 23. Cornwall, 100, 104. Covenanters, 84, 86. Cranbrook, 16, 48. Crayford, 17, 107. Cray Valley, 38. Culbinsgarth, Shetland, 100. Cuthbert, Archbishop, 49.

Darenth, 21. Dartford, 6, 7, 21, 24, 33. Deptford, 44. Destruction of gravestones, 75. Devonshire, 100, 103. Dickens country, 11. Diocesan Chancellor, 73. Disused graveyards, 71. Drogheda, 80. Drury Lane, 58. Dublin, 78; Museum, 99. Dunblane, 89. Dundee, 87.

Early churchyards, 49. East Ham, 24. East Wickham, 10, 24. Edgware, 46. Edinburgh Museum, 99. Edward VI., 52. Elgin, 89. Elizabeth, Queen, 52. Elphin, 102. Epitaphs, 4, 81, 106. Epping Forest, 43, 45. Erith, 12. Essex, 43, 46. Evolution of gravestones, 9. Expense of preserving graveyards, 73.

Fardell stone, 103. Farnborough, 18. Fawkham, 22. Figure 4 reversed, 87. Finchley, 18. Foot's Cray, 41. Fox, Col., 103. France, 91, 109; graveyards in, 57. Freemasons, 29. Frindsbury, 13, 32. Fuller, Dr., epitaph, 108.

Gardener's gravestone, 34. Gaskell's "Prymer," 54. Germany, 91, 92, 95, 96. Goudhurst, 16. Goudie, G, 101. Gravediggers, 64. Graves, Dr., 100. Gravesend, 21, 34. Gravestones, abroad, 91; agricultural, 32; artizans', 31; bricklayer's, 33; black, 76; carpenters', 31, 32; evolution of, 9; destruction of, 75; gardener's, 34; grotesque, 10-16; hunting, 36; incised, 11; Kentish, peculiar, 22; neglected, 64, 71; ornamented, 3, 70, 71; preservation of, 62, 71; primitive, 12; professional, 31; rough, 78, 86; schoolmaster's, 33; sinking, 64; unhewn, 78, 86; very old, 97. Graveyards, closing of, 59; disused, 71; early, 49; preserving, 57; preservation expenses, 73. Greenford, 34. Gregory, Pope, 103. Grotesque gravestones, 10-16. Gusthorp, ancient coffin at, 50.

Ham, East, 24. Ham, West, 6, 34, 44. Harrow-on-the-Hill, 34. Hartley, Kent, 19. Hatfield, 17. Hawkhurst, 16. Hebrides, 101. Heidelberg, 93, 95. Hendon, 23, 24, 66, 95, 108. Henry VIII., 52. Higham, 11, 13. High Halstow, 12, 13. Hoo, 11, 12. Hornsey, 18, 19, 66. Horton Kirby, 20, 21. House of Commons, 58. Howff, Dundee, 87. Hunting gravestones, 36. Hyden, Yorkshire, 108.

Incised stones, 11. Inverness, 85, 89. Iona, 101. Ireland, 78, 90, 99, 100, 102, 104. Irish monuments, 102. Isle of Man, 102. Isnet, Peter, 107. Ivybridge, Devonshire, 103.

Jacob and Rachel, 97. James I., 109. Jaw, the lower, 17,18. Jewish burial-ground, 49.

Keith, Scotland, 89. Kent, tramps in, 35. Kentish gravestones, peculiar, 22. Keston, 64. Kilbar, Barra, 101. Killaghie, 82. Killarney, 78, 82. Kingsdown, 22. Kingston-on-Thames, 76, 77. Kirke White, 75.

Lambourn, 47. Laufen, Zurich, 91, 92. Lee, Kent, 22, 38. Letheringham, Suffolk, 55. Lewes, Sussex, 4, 5. Lewisham, 17, 26. Limerick, Bishop of, 100. London, 28, 29, 58, 59, 66, 99. London County Council, 60. Longfield, 28, 29. Louis XVI., 57. Lucerne, 94. Lunnasting, Shetland, 100. Lydd, 29.

Magh Solga, 102. Malahide, 79. Maroun, Isle of Man, 102. Mary, Queen of Scots, 109. Medway Marshes, 23. Meopham, 16. Metropolitan Board of Works, 60. Moorish graveyards, 62. Muckross Abbey, 82.

Neglected gravestones, 64, 71. Neuhausen, 92, 93. Newhaven, 1, 2, 3, 4, 21. New Zealand, 62. Nightcap on skull, 18. Norse memorial, 102. North Cray, 41. Northolt, Middlesex, 71.

Ogam inscriptions, 97, 100, 103. Old Romney, 17. Ornaments on gravestones, 3, 70, 71. Orpington, 38, 39.

Padrington, 108. Paganism, 50, 67, 98, 102. Paris, burial reform, 57. Pennant, 85, 87. Penry, J., a Welshman, 53. Père la Chaise, 57. Petrie, Dr., 102. Phoenicians, 101. Pickwick Papers, 31. Plumstead, 5, 65. Portrush, 78. Port Victoria, 12. Prayer Book, 54. Preservation of gravestones, 62, 71. Primitive gravestones, 12. Professional gravestones, 31. Public Gardens Association, 60. Puritans, 53, 54.

Queen Elizabeth, 52. Queen of Scots, Mary, 109. Queenstown, 78, 82.

Rachel and Jacob, 97. Rector's prerogative, 73, 105. Reform of graveyards, 57, 66. Rhine Falls, 91. Richmond, 29, 30, 45. Ridley, 10. Ripley, 30, 45. Rochester, 13, 32. Roden, River, 47. Roman Catholic gravestones in Scotland, 86. Romans, 49, 101. Romney Marsh, 29. Romney, Old, 17. Roovesmore, Ireland, 103. Rough gravestones, 78, 86. Round Tower, 78. Royal Artillery, 27. Rubbings of gravestones, 13. Runic inscriptions, 83, 101, 102, 103. Rush, Ireland, 79.

St. Mary Cray, 40. St. Oswald, York, 27. St. Patrick, 102. St. Paul's Cray, 41. Saundersfoot, Wales, 108. Scandinavia, 102. Schaffhausen, 95. Schoolmaster's gravestone, 33. Scotland, 84, 100,104; antiquities, 99; sculptured stones of, 97. Scots Greys, 27. Sculptured stones of Scotland, 97. Sects of sixteenth century, 53. Sexton, the village, 36, 64, 75. Shahnaneser II. of Assyria, 104. Shetland, 100. Shoreham, 17. Shorne, 13, 14, 47, 48. Sinking gravestones, 64. Sir Benjamin Brodie, 59. Sir Benjamin Hall's Act, 58. Skulls, grotesque, 11. Slate slabs, 76, 80. Snargate, 24. Southfleet, 25, 48. Stanstead, 16. Stapleford Abbotts, 47. Stapleford Tawney, 22, 47, 48. Stephens, Dr. G., 83, 102. Stirling, Scotland, 87, 88. Stokes, Miss M., 102. Stone's (Mrs.) "God's Acre," 62. Stuart, Professor J., 97, 98, 99. Sunda Isles, 62. Sutton at Hone, 33. Swanscombe, 23. Switzerland, 91, 92. Swords, Ireland, 78.

Table tombs, 86, 89. Tawney, Stapleford, 22, 47, 48. Teddington, 18. Thames, Upper, 29. Theydon Bois, 46. Tipper ale, 3. Tombs, age of, 51. Totteridge, 46. Tramps in Kent, 35. Tramps, typical, 35, 43. Turks' graveyards, 62. Twickenham, 29, 71.

Usaille, Bishop, 104.

Very old gravestones, 97. Victory over Death, 1, 20, 21. Villages and cities, 28.

Wales, 75, 76, 104, 108. Walker, Dr., epitaph, 108. Walker, Dr. G.A., 58. Walthamstow, 45. Wanstead, 25, 44, 45. Warwickshire, 75. Weald of Kent, 16. Weever, antiquary, 35, 52, 53. West Ham, 6, 34, 44. West Wickham, 19, 29. White, Kirke, 75. Wickham, East, 10, 24. Wickham, West, 19, 29. Widcombe, Bath, 3. Wilmington, 24, 25 (2). Woolwich, 24, 27, 43, 44. Worcester, 109.

York, 27.

Zurich, Canton, 91.

* * * * *

NOW READY,

In Eighteen One Shilling Parts, or bound in Two handsome Volumes

at 25s.

THE RECORDS OF THE WOOLWICH DISTRICT.

BY W.T. VINCENT,

_President of the Woolwich Antiquarian Society_.

Comprising Woolwich, Plumstead, Charlton, Shooters' Hill, Westcombe Park, Eltham, Abbey Wood, Belvedere, Erith, and Bexley.

WITH FIVE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Work is Dedicated, by permission, to H.R.H. PRINCE ARTHUR, DUKE OF CONNAUGHT, and has been graciously accepted by HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN and H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. It has also been universally extolled in the Press, from which the following are a few extracts:--

"THE RECORDS OF WOOLWICH.--Mr. Freeman long ago suggested that it would be a useful division of labour if separate towns and districts were described by those in the several localities who had special knowledge on the subject, and he himself led the way in carrying out the design. Of local guide-books so called there is no end, but what is wanted in each case is an exhaustive history of the district, its natural formation, its antiquities, and the many objects of interest that are sure to abound, and that only want to be brought to light in order to form material for the future historian of the English nation. This labour Mr. W.T. Vincent proposes to perform for Woolwich in a work which he entitles 'The Records of the Woolwich District.' Mr. Vincent has been engaged in the task for twelve years. This is the work of a writer who has studied his subject in all the places where information can be obtained. The Preface alone will gain the reader's attention, even if the locality itself had no interest for him. It appears that Mr. Vincent had scented out the existence of a sealed packet of papers having reference to Woolwich, and, after a long hunt, ran the packet to earth in the British Museum. It was not until the authorities of the War Office had deliberated for a month on the subject that Mr. Vincent was allowed to see and open the packet, which was more than a hundred years old, and contained maps, plans, and views, several of which he produces."--_The Times_.

"We must resist the temptation to extract, and conclude this notice by expressing our approval of the numerous _facsimile_ reproductions of old prints illustrative of the text, each on a leaf of plate paper, while vignettes, maps, and plans are liberally dispersed through the letterpress, which is executed by Messrs. Virtue and Co., the well-known printers of the _Art Journal_. As to the text, the industry, care, research, and observation expended shew that it has been a labour of love. No prospect of profit could urge the production of such a work. It is, therefore, doubly reliable as a contribution to the antiquarian, topographical, anecdotal, pictorial, and descriptive history of an interesting locality, executed by a writer who is 'to the manner born.' We fully hope that Mr. Thomas Vincent, whose name is not unknown in the literary world, will reap his reward of fame and respect from his townsmen, and of fair profit, which his public spirit deserves."--_The Morning Advertiser_.

"'The Records of the Woolwich District' deal with all the parishes which surround Shooters' Hill, necessarily dwelling most fully upon the northern slope. Of Shooters' Hill itself, and of all the other suburbs, some novel and attractive tidings may be expected."--_The Kentish Independent._

"There can be no doubt that such a work, adequately and conscientiously executed, is much needed, and may be of great value. It has been undertaken by Mr. Vincent, well known as a journalist in the locality, and as the author of that useful directory 'Warlike Woolwich.' ... The printing has been entrusted to Messrs. Virtue and Co., the proprietors of the _Art Journal_, a sufficient guarantee for its quality. We are notified that there are over five hundred illustrations to be introduced, including a series of maps and drawings, included in the 'sealed packet,' and a hundred and fifty portraits of public persons, past and present. ... We hope the publication will command the success it deserves. The object of the author is evidently not mere money-making; he has undertaken the work from an earnest and enthusiastic desire to supply a worthy history of the locality with which he has been for his life connected, and we congratulate him upon the excellent promise of his First Number."--_The Kentish Mercury_.

"The elegance of the illustrations at once attracts attention. The pictures, not only in their abundance and their interest, but in their exquisite presentment, are really excellent. Take the first of them, the charming view of 'Pleasant Little Woolwich,' a steel plate engraved in 1798, and now reproduced by photographic process. The scene which it presents at a time when the author tells us this brick-covered, hard-working, dingy old town was a pretty village, and actually a fashionable watering-place, to which people came from London to recruit health, as they now go to Malvern and Scarborough, is delightful and refreshing beyond measure. The whole of these illustrations are indeed full of agreeable contemplation and fruitful in speculation.... He may honestly be congratulated on the product of his labours, which, he tells us, have been his recreation for many years. We can well believe it, and assure him, if he has any regrets at the impossibility of a pecuniary return, that the satisfaction which his book will give will be a full reward. Such books seldom pay; they are not expected to do so, and any one may tell that there is no profit in the venture. But it will supply a need, and the writer's name will be handed down to posterity as having provided a very agreeable book."--_The Woolwich Gazette_.

"The neighbourhood, rich as it is in historical material, has hitherto met with scanty recognition from historians, and we welcome Mr. Vincent's efforts to supply the need, and the generous spirit of his labours. He has spared no pains to make the records complete. Patient research and much literary skill are combined in the letterpress and woodcuts, engravings, drawings, and photographs, with maps and plans, which have been lavishly introduced by way of illustration.... We content ourselves now with pointing out its great value and entertaining power. The style is easy, and the writer is happily successful in his endeavour to avoid any appearance of merely dry-as-dust research."--_The Eltham, Sidcup, and District Times_.

"It is a work which should prove of vast interest in our district, and we ought to say very far beyond it, for there must be many who, though not now residing in the area comprised in the 'Records,' would be glad to possess the book on its existence becoming known."--_The Erith Times_.

"Mr. W.T. Vincent's 'Records of the Woolwich District' is undoubtedly the first volume which pretends to give a full and concise history of the whole district."--_The Bexley Heath and Erith Observer_.

* * * * *

Order of Mr. W.T. VINCENT, 189 Burrage Road, Woolwich; of Messrs. MITCHELL and HUGHES, 140 Wardour Street, London, W.; or of any Bookseller.

NOW READY,