66 THE MODEL MERCHANT 



as an act of Royal favor, we should undoubtedly have discovered traces, 

 either in the Inquisitiones 2')ost mortem, or va. Pdchard Whittington's 

 ■R-ill, of his having possessed such property; but there is no trace what- 

 ever of his having been a landed proprietor at all, except of a very small 

 property near London. On the contrary, we find that Solcrs Hope con- 

 tinued in the possession of his elder brother Robert and passed from 

 him to his son Guy. In the Harleian MSS., 6596., Sir Richard 

 AVhittington is said to have built the Church at Solers Hope ; if so, it 

 would be the third instance of the dedication of a place of worship to 

 Almighty God by that pious and munificent man ; but a visit to that 

 place inclines me to think that this also is an error, and that Richard, 

 in this instance, as well as in the former, has been mistaken for Robert. 

 The Church of Solers Hope is a comparatively plain and humble struc- 

 ture, by no means to be compared with the other noble deeds of Richard 

 "NVhittington. Remains of ancient stained glass are still to be seen in the 

 windows ; and the arms of AVhittington, quartering those of Staunton, 

 may be discovered in the south window of the chancel, but in such a 

 mutiLated condition that, unless some one should take a speedy interest 

 in their restoration, they will soon be reckoucd among the things of tho 

 past. These were probably tho arms of the founder of the Church, 

 and, if so, they point to Robert or Guy Whittingtou, and not to Sir 

 Richard who would clearly have had no right to quarter the arms of 

 Staunton. There are still some scanty remains of the old Manor House 

 of the AVhittingtons at this place, the most prominent feature of which 

 is a chimney stack, supporting a double ornamental twisted mediaeval 

 brick chimney, of the character of those which adorn the Castle at 

 Thornbury. It is very evident, however, that both the estate and 

 mansion were very inferior in attractions to those of Pauntley, which 

 was undoubtedly the chief residence of the family. At the back of the 

 mansion are traces of a lofty mound which had once been surrounded 

 by a moat ; this was probably the site of the original castle or keep of 

 the Do Solers family. 



Among the numerous benefactions of this worthy man, it would be 

 natural to suppose that he did not entirely overlook the requirements 

 of his own County; and it is satisfactory to find the armorial bearings 

 of Whittingtou and Fitzwan-cn emblazoned in our Cathedral among 

 those of other founders and benefactors of that noble edifice. These 



