The church consists of a body or nave, only fifty-eight feet long, twenty-nine wide, and about thirty-six to the highest point of the roof, the braces and principals of which are carved; and of the latter, every other is supported by an angel. These angels, however, have been deprived of their heads and wings. This mutilation was probably performed by order of Mr. William Dowsing, of Stratford, in this county, who made his circuit for the purpose of effecting this puritanical reformation in the years 1643 and 1644, destroying such images and inscriptions in churches as were deemed superstitious, to the extreme regret of the antiquary and lover of the arts. On the upper edge of the font are still to be seen the remains of the fastenings by which the cover was formerly locked down for fear of sorcery.*

The chancel is thirty-three feet and a half by eighteen, and twenty-four feet high. The ceiling is covered and plaistered, and divided into compartments by mouldings of wood, adorned with antique heads and foliage. All the windows have been handsomely painted; several coats of arms of the Drurys and Cloptons still remain, as also some headless figures of saints and angels. The destruction of the faces of superstitious images was often a sacrifice that satisfied Cromwell's ecclesiastical visitors. The church and chancel are divided by a wooden screen of Gothic work. On this screen, denominated the rood loft, still hangs a relic of Roman Catholic times. This is one of the small bells which are supposed to have been rung at particular parts of divine service, as at the consecration and elevation of the host, whence they are called sacring, that is, consecrating bells, to rouse the attention of such of the congregation whose situation would not permit them well to see what was transacting at the high altar. These bells are now very rarely seen; and the author of the History

The constitution of Edmund, in 1236, enjoins-Fontes baptismales sub serra clausi teneantur propter sortilegia. How long this custom continued we cannot determine; but a lock was bought for the font in Brockdish church, Norfolk, so late as 1553.

tory of Hawsted expresses his surprize that this should have escaped all the reformations which the church has experienced. In the steeple are three bells, on the smallest of which is this inscription, in the old English character :

Eternis annis resonet campana Joannis.

Of the sepulchral monuments contained in this church, some of the most remarkable shall be briefly noticed.

Within an arched recess in the middle of the north wall of the chancel, and nearly level with the pavement, lies a cross-legged figure of stone. The late sir James Burrough, in the Appendix to Magna Britannia,* asserts, that it is for one of the family of Fitz-Eustace, who were lords of this place in the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I. and there can be no doubt that it is coeval with the chancel, which is of that age. It is a handsome monument, the arch being elegantly sculptured with foliage, and a Gothic turret rising from the head and feet, connected by a battlement at top.

Not less ancient probably than the preceding, is a flat slab of Sussex marble, seven feet long, on which no vestige of an inscription remains. Sir John Cullum conjectures it to have been for an ecclesiastic, and observes, that stones of this shape were frequently the lids of coffins sunk no lower than their own depth in

the earth.

In the middle of the church towards the east is another flat slab of Sussex marble, which, by its escutcheons in brass, appears to cover the remains of Roger Drury, esq. who died in 1500.

On a flat stone close to the steps leading to the communion table is the portrait of a lady in brass, in a head-dress of the fashion of Henry the Seventh's reign, triangular at top, with long depending lappets. At her girdle are suspended her bag or purse, and also her beads. From the escutcheons on the stone, it appears to commemorate Ursula, fourth daughter of Sir Robert Drury, who married Giles, son of Sir Giles Allington.

On the top of an altar-monument of Sussex marble, in the southeast corner of the church, is the portrait in brass of a knight in armour between his two wives, about two feet high. His hair is clipped short; his whiskers and parted beard are long; his armour is flourished with some different metal, with large protuberances at the shoulders; at his neck and wrists are similar narrow ruffs or ruffles; and his toes are very broad. The ladies are habited both alike, though one of them died forty years before her husband; and the other survived him, as is represented by her eyes being open whilst those of the other are closed.*

The following epitaph, in the black-letter character, on a brass plate, may, by comparison, serve to ascertain the date of similar figures that have lost their inscriptions:

Here lyeth clothed now in earth, Syr Wyllm Drury, knyght,
Such one as whylest he lyved here, was loved of every wyght;
Such temperance he did retayne, such prudent curtesy,
Such noble mynde, with justice joynd, such lyberality;
As fame itself shall sound for me, the glory of his name,
Much better than this metall mute, can ay pronounce the same.
The leventh of frosty Janyver, the yere of Christ, I fynd,
A thousand fyve hundred fysty seven, his vital thryd untwin'd
Who yet doth lyve, and shall do styll, in hearts of them yt knew hym,
God graunt the slyppes of such a stok, in vertues to ensue him.t

Beneath

• On this impropriety Sir John Cullum makes the following observations illustrative of the fashions of those days. "The hair had now (1557) been dressed for some time in a much less forced and unnatural fashion, parted in the middle, and gracing each temple. The cap, now become of a moderate size, had assumed a not inelegant curve in front, and was embellished with a fillet; the mantle or upper garment has round hanging sleeves reaching to the ground; the ruffs at the neck and wrists are the same as the man's; as are also the broad toes and protuberances at the shoulders. The beads had quitted the girdle, and given place to the Bible, which hung by a ribbon almost as low as the feet."

+ The family of the Drury's, which long flourished at this place, produced many persons distinguished in their time, but the most celebrated, was Sie William Beneath the two ladies, are figures of seventeen children, with their names.

In the chancel, is a fine marble bust of Sir William Drury, in armour. He was elected one of the knights of the shire in 1585, and in 1589, was killed in a duel in France. His corpse was brought to England, and interred here.

In the south-east corner of the chancel, is a mural monument to the memory of the lady, of whom Dr. Donne says,

Her pure and eloquent blood

Spoke in her cheeks, and so distinctly wrought,
That one might almost say her body thought.

It consists of a basement about 3 feet high, on which, under an ornamental arch, lies the figure of a young female, as large as life, with her head reclining on her left hand. Her mantle is drawn close about her neck, and edged with a small ruff; her hair

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William Drury, the grandson of him for whom the above epitaph was composed; of whom Fuller observes, that as his name, in the Saxon language, signifies a pearl, so he might fitly be compared to one for preciousness, being hardy, innocent, and valiant. His youth he passed in the French wars, his maturer years in Scotland, and his old age in Ireland. In the ininority of king James I. when the French had gained possession of Edinburgh castle, he was knight marshall of Berwick, and being sent by queen Elizabeth to reduce the castle, he ably fulfilled that commission, and in a few days, restored it to the rightful owner. In 1575, he was appointed lord president of the province of Munster in Ireland, and proceeding thither with a competent force, executed impartial justice in spite of all opposition. When he entered upon his office, the earl of Desmond disputed his right to interfere in regard to the county of Kerry, pretending, that it was a palatinate belonging to himself, and exempt from English jurisdiction. Not terrified by the menaces of the earl, Sir William entered Kerry to enforce the authority of his sovereign, and returned in safety, with no more than 150 men, through 700 of Desmond's adherents, who sought to surprize him. In 1578 he was sworn lord justice of Ireland, and was proceeding to reduce Desmond, when he was seized with a mortal distemper, which put an end to his life the same year at Waterford.

hair is dressed in many small and short curls, without cap or other covering. Above is an emblematical female personage, surrounded with a glory, and scattering flowers on the figure below: on each side of the basement sits a greyhound, the cognizance of the family. This is a very pleasing monument of painted alabaster, and well executed. The long Latin inscription, on a black marble tablet, is supposed to be from the pen of Dr. Donne.

The lady to whose memory this monument was erected, was Elizabeth, the younger, and only surviving daughter, of Sir Robert Drury. She died in 1610, at the early age of 15. Tradition reports, that her death was the consequence of a box on the ear, given her by her father. This absurd story, is supposed to have originated from her being represented, both on her monument, and in a picture of her, still extant, reclining her head on one hand. Another tradition relating to her is, that she was destined for the wife of prince Henry, eldest son of James I. She was certainly a great heiress, and their ages were not unsuitable, but it may reasonably be doubted, whether there is more truth in this story than in the other. So much is certain, that Dr. Donne determined to celebrate the anniversary of her death, in an elegy, as long as he lived; but we have nothing beyond the second anniversary. The truth seems to be, that his panegyric was so profusely lavished in two essays, as to be quite exhausted. Some of the lines have been noticed in the forty-first number of the Spectator, where they are erroneously said to relate to Donne's mistress, instead of the departed daughter of his friend.

Opposite to the monument of this young lady, is a noble mural monument in honour of her father, Sir Robert Drury. It consists of a basement, on which is a sarcophagus of black marble, beneath a double arch, supported by Corinthian pillars. Over the arch, in a marble frame, is a most spirited bust in armour, as large as life, representing Sir Robert; who before he was out of mourning for his father, attended the earl of Essex to the unsuccessful siege of Rohan, in 1591, where he was knighted at the early age of 16. The Latin epitaph, recording his merits, is ascribed

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