2""» S. VII. J.VN. 29. '5t).] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



81 



LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 29. 1859. 



ftaUg, 



COBHAM CHUBCH. 



The name of Cobham Churcli in Kent is doubt- 

 less well known to your readers, or at least to 

 those who follow the study of monumental brasses, 

 of which memorials this church can boast so nu- 

 merous and splendid a collection ; and as these 

 brasses, from their importance, imprint upon this 

 little village church the character of a national 

 rather than that of a local celebrity, it becomes a 

 matter of public interest to notice any injuries 

 they may have sustained, so as to prevent, if pos- 

 sible, a repetition of such a misfortune. 



These brasses, all to the memory of the former 

 lords of Cobham and their kindred, are ranged in 

 two rows in the chancel, their heads westward ; 

 they are twelve in number, some more perfect 

 than others ; but there is the matrix of a thirteenth 

 at the north end of the row nearest the altar ; the 

 outline is perfectly clear : it has been the figure of 

 a knight under a canopy, the whole surrounded by 

 an inscription, but not a single vestige of the brass 

 remains. Now, can any of your Kentish antiqua- 

 ries inform me of the probable date of its disap- 

 pearance, and also whether any drawing or rubbing 

 of this lost brass is in existence ? It would be a 

 most important thing, as a general rule, to note 

 down the state of brasses at a given period, and 

 to register their imperfections. This, though it 

 would not remedy the misdeeds of the past, might 

 be a check upon future depredation or injury. 



Your readers will recollect the large altar-tomb 

 in the centre of the chancel, which is surrounded 

 by iron railings. Will it be credited that one of 

 the standards of this railing is fixed immediately 

 upon the border surrounding one of the large 

 brasses, and actually defaces one of the words of 

 the inscription ? This should never have been per- 

 mitted. 



But I will now notice a piece of Vandalism in 

 this church, which none but a churchwarden of the 

 last century would have thought of perpetrating. 

 There is in the nave of the church a brass consist- 

 ing of a small figure with inscription underneath and 

 scrolls at the corners ; but the pews on one side of 

 the aisle are constructed so that the plinth on which 

 they rest runs exactly down the centre of. the 

 brass, thus obscuring one half of the entire sub- 

 ject ; and this is the more annoying because the 

 figure, or rather that part which is visible, is per- 

 fect and in good condition. The name of the de- 

 ceased is " Grladwyn," and from the inscription 

 I conjecture that he was one of the masters of the 

 college attached to the church. This is a sample 

 of the contemptuous way in which the ecclesiasti- 

 cal authorities of Cobham, and not of Cobham 



alone, but of many another village church, treat 

 the monuments of which they should rather be 

 proud, and jealous lest any injury befal them. I 

 may also note that the roof of the chancel is in so 

 bad a condition that the rain drips through in 

 many places on the large series' of brasses ; in- 

 deed, I found it impossible during a heavy shower 

 some two months ago to take rubbings of certain 

 of them, on account of the dripping and splashing 

 around. The matrix of the missing brass formed 

 quite a puddle. Can a repetition of this have had 

 anything to do with its disappearance ? Neglect, 

 and what is oftentimes far worse, fancied beauti- 

 fying, have worked an incredible amount of evil in 

 our time-honoured country churches ; but one of 

 the greatest injuries that they have suffered arises 

 from a blind adherence to the odious pew system. 

 I use this word advisedly : pews are odious to the 

 antiquary, because they often hide half the monu- 

 ments in the church, and their appearance can 

 never be made to match with or conform to the 

 surrounding architecture, and they are doubly 

 odious in a religious point of view : but on this 

 point it is not expedient here to enter into an 

 argument ; suffice it to say, that so long as pews 

 are allowed to disfigure our old country churches, 

 any attempts to make these venerable edifices re- 

 sume their former grandeur will be naught. Look, 

 at the present state of Cobham church. Many 

 of the windows are bricked up ; the whole build- 

 ing is deluged internally with whitewash ; a hide- 

 ous pew is found in one corner of the chancel, 

 while one side of the chancel- screen is partially 

 cut away in order to command a view of the pul- 

 pit. The other side of the screen has its open-work 

 filled in with glass, so as to keep the draught from 

 the occupants of a large carpeted parlour, which 

 has table, fireplace, tongs, poker and shovel, coal- 

 scuttle, hat-pegs, and everything to make its 

 owners feel " quite at home ; " a modern organ- 

 gallery spoiling a fine arch at the west end. In 

 one corner a vestry fitted up much as a gentleman 

 would fit up his coach-house, while the corre- 

 sponding corner is partitioned off, and forms the 

 receptacle of all manner of abominations, ashes, 

 dirt, sticks, old iron ; in fact, I cannot recount 

 what I saw in that corner ; it was a perfect muck- 

 heap, such as may be seen every day by the road- 

 side. 



In the chancel, on the south side, are some old 

 stalls, which I was informed used to be occupied 

 by the members of the college adjoining the 

 church. They have suffered loss and damage, but 

 judicious restoration would arrest farther injury, 

 and, as a relic of former days, they are worth the 

 small expense which would be incurred. Why 

 should not this church be renovated in all eccle- 

 siastical correctness ? It possesses every element 

 for so doing. Why should not the chancel be re- 

 stored to its legitimate use ? It is the place where 



