ST. MARY'S CHURCH

OUR next visit is to the Church of St. Mary, the Parish Church of Lambeth. It adjoins the Palace, and is a very stately and imposing building.

Lambeth Church is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and though it is improbable that any of the present building is so old, the modern Church stands on the same site.

Brick buildings came first into use in the reign of Henry V, and probably the church was rebuilt about that time, during the pontificate of Archbishop Chicheley, of whom you have heard already in connection with the building of part of the Palace.

Of this fourteenth century Church, only the tower, and two altar tombs now placed near the altar, remain intact, but the present Church, restored in 1851, follows the original outline and foundations.

Let us enter by the south door and consider first the proportions and arrangement of the building.

We notice that it consists of a nave, north and south aisles, porch, chancel, two chapels, and a fine western tower. On the roof of this tower, beacon fires used to be lighted in the days when news was spread in that way.

The chancel is divided from the nave and the chapels from the chancel, by three lofty arches.

The large east window of beautiful stained glass is in memory of Archbishop Howley, while, the western wall is lighted by a rose window.

To the left of the south entrance is the Baptistery, which has a fourteenth century arch, and within is the font, covered with a handsome wooden cover. The marble font grave at the back is in memory of Archbishop Benson, and is for baptism by immersion.

Notice the carved railings in front of the Baptistery. They are part of Archbishop Laud's Communion rails from All Saints Church, Maidstone, and the rest of them are in front of the altar.

We will walk down the south aisle, towards the Leigh or Pelham Chapel, built in 1522, by Sir John Leigh, son of the lord of the manor of Stockwell.

The chapel has been dedicated to the memory of the late Canon Pelham, E. of Chichester, rector of this parish for some years. Within it is buried Elias Ashmole, founder of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. We shall think of him again when we are remembering some of Lambeth's famous men.

The small window on the south side is the oldest glass in the church, and is supposed to represent a benefactor who gave to the church a piece of land known as the Pedlar's Acre, upon which the new County Hall is now built. We cannot be sure of the date when this memorial was first put up, but there is an entry in the churchwarden's accounts for 1608 as follows:- "Two shillings paid to the glazier for a panel of glass for the window where the picture of the Pedlar stands ".

In 1703 a new glass Pedlar was put up at the expense of two pounds. It was removed in 1816 to its present position.

The Screen at the south end of this chapel is a War Memorial erected in 1919, and on the panels at the east end of the chapel, are carved the names of those who fell in the Great War.

The door into the clergy vestry is very old and within the room are some interesting prints and portraits.

The terra cotta reredos above the altar is the work of George Tinworth, and was given by Sir Henry Doulton in memory of his wife. Archbishop Bancroft, the founder of Lambeth Palace Library, is buried beneath the altar, and the altar tombs on the north and south sides respectively, are in memory of two secretaries of Archbishop Warham.

Immediately in front of Archbishop Laud's Communion rails is the grave of Archbishop Tenison, the founder of the school that bears his name. He was one of the Seven Bishops, whose triumph in the cause of law and justice hastened the downfall of James II.

Near him lies Archbishop Cornwallis, the Primate who was compelled to leave the Palace during the Gordon Riots.

Passing on to the north aisle we notice at the eastern end the Howard Chapel, built in the same year as the Pelham Chapel, by Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. Many of his family are interred here, among them the famous Catharine Howard. On the walls are several memorials which existed in the old church, and which were made by famous sculptors.

The organ which stands within this chapel was built in 1701, and for many years stood immediately beneath the western Rose Window.

Some very interesting facts may be gleaned from the churchwarden's books now kept at Brixton Town Hall. It appears that the Church contained in pre-Reformation times no less than five altars dedicated respectively to the Virgin Mary, St. Thomas, St. George, St. Nicholas, and St. Christopher (the last being the patron saint of ferrymen).

In the reign of Queen Mary is a charge for replacing an altar in the Norfolk Chapel on the revival of the old religion. “1557, Paid to Nicolas Brymsted for making up the syde awtor in my Lady of Norfolke's Chapel, and paving in the churche and for sande 4/2d."

There is also shown the payment of 9d. to the bellringers when the Queen's Grace (Queen Elizabeth) came to Lambeth Church.

The ancient pulpit must have been a curiosity in its way; when mention is made of a new pulpit erected at a cost of 20/- the old one is valued at eightpence only. The new pulpit, after the fashion of those days, must have been equipped with an hour glass, for it is twice mentioned in the church warden's accounts. Not many modern congregations would listen patiently to a sermon, while the sands of the hour glass trickled through.

Now let us go into the churchyard, and at the eastern end, we shall notice an imposing tomb richly carved on each of its four sides, and protected by an iron railing. This is the tomb of the Tradescants, father and son, naturalists, gardeners and great travellers. Of their home in South Lambeth and of their important contributions to scientific knowledge we shall read in a later chapter.

Let us now examine as far as we are able the carvings on the tomb; at each corner is the representation of a large tree, seeming to support the slab at one end is a hydra, on the other the arms of the family; on one side are depicted ruins of Grecian pillars, an obelisk and a pyramid, while on the other is a carving of a crocodile, shells, and Egyptian buildings.

The fund for the restoration and preservation of the tomb was raised by distinguished botanists and others who desired to pay a debt of gratitude to a famous English gardener.

Near to the tomb of the Tradescants is to be seen the burial place of Admiral Bligh, an adventurous sailor, who after sailing with Captain Cook round the world in 1772, fighting in the battle of the Dogger Bank in 1781, and under Howe at Gibraltar in the following year, had a tragic experience in the form of a mutiny at sea. He was cast adrift in a small open boat, which he successfully navigated for over 3,000 miles with neither chart nor compass.

On his return, he was called for trial, charged with losing one of the King's ships. His honour was vindicated, and he lived to serve his country at the battle of Copenhagen, Nelson's famous victory.

The extension to the churchyard, which is in High Street and is known locally as the "Old Burial Ground" contains the grave of another botanist, Robert Sowerby; an optician, Peter Dolland, and the inventor of the panorama, Robert Barker. Flower beds cover the graves of many others, and children play on the space adjoining, for the ground has been turned into a much needed recreation ground.