555 
LON 
brafs plate, near the founder’s tomb, and the other cut in 
the pavement. The view from the entrance prefents the 
brafs chapel and fuperb tomb of the founder; the work of 
Pietro Torregiano, an Italian fculptor, who had, for his la¬ 
bour and the materials, one thoufand pounds; and round 
it, where the eaft end forms a femi-circle, are the chapels 
of the dukes of Buckingham and Richmond. 
This chapel is compofed of a choir and two narrow aides 
running on' each fide and meeting at the eaft end. It is 
aftonifliing to what a pitch of perfeffion the Gothic or 
Englifh ftyle had arrived at the time when the piety of 
our othenvife not very commendable king Henry,VII. 
prompted him to build this chapel; for in no country of 
the Chriftian world is there any thing to be compared to 
it, not only for the grandeur of the defign upon fo fmall 
an area, but even for the fertility of invention in furnifh- 
ing the ornamental parts. The roof, which is fan-work, 
a fort of luxuriancy which is not found before that period, 
is aftonifhing. The drop at the centre of every fan feems 
fufpended in the air; and the tracery and imagery are 
every-where raoft beautiful. The walls are adorned with 
the molt curious clufters of /lender columns, riling in all 
the elegance of healthy vegetation, and running to feed in 
beautifully-carved crockets and finials. Within thefe com¬ 
partments we reckon a hundred and twenty Itatues of pa¬ 
triarchs, faints, martyrs, and confeffors; under which 
are angels fupporting imperial crowns, befides innumera¬ 
ble fmall ones; all of them elfeemed fo curious, that the 
bed matters are faid to have come from abroad to take 
copies of them. The roof of the fide aifies isfiattifh, and 
fupported by arches turning upon twelve (lately Gothic 
pillars, curioufly adorned with figures, fruitage, and fo¬ 
liage. The windows, befides a lpacious one at the eaft 
end, are thirteen on each fide above, and as many below; 
and were formerly of painted glafs, having in each pane 
a white rofe, the badge of the houfe of Lancafter, an H, 
the initial letter of the founder’s name, or portcullifes 
crowned, the badge of the Beaufort family; of which 
there are fome (till remaining. 
The length of this chapel, within, is ninety-nine feet, 
the breadth (ixty-fix, and the height fifty-four. The ori¬ 
ginal intent of it was as a fepulchre, in which none but 
the remains of the royal family were to be depofited ; and 
fo far has the will of the founder been obferved, that none 
have yet been interred there but thofe of high quality, 
whofe defcent may generally be traced from fome of our 
ancient kings. In the middle of the eaft end of the nave 
is fituated the magnificent tomb of Henry VII. and Eliza¬ 
beth his queen. It is inclofed in a curious fcreen of call 
brafs, beautifully defigned and well executed. This fcreen 
is nineteen feet in length, eleven in breadth, and the fame 
in height; and ornamented with Itatues, of which thofe 
only of St. George, St. James, St. Bartholomew, and St. 
Edward, are now remaining. Within it are the effigies 
of the royal pair in their robes of ftate, lying clofe to each 
other on a tomb formed of a bafaltic (tone called in the 
language of thofe days pierre de touche, the head of which 
is (imported by a red dragon, the enfign of Cadwallader, 
the la ft king of the Britons, from whom king Henry VII. 
was fond of tracing his defcent; and the foot by an an¬ 
gel. There are various devices alluding to his family 
and alliances; fuch as portcullifes, fignify ing his relation 
to the Beauforts by his mother’s fide; rofes twifted and 
crowned, in memory of the union of the two houfes of 
Lancatter and York, by his marriage; and at each end a 
crown in a bufli, alluding to the crown of Richard III. 
found in a hawthorn in Bofworth field. Within the grate 
of the tomb was an altar, of a fingle piece of touchilone, 
to which he bequeathed “our grete piece of the holie 
crolfe, which, by the high provifion of our Lord God, 
was conveied, brought, and delivered to ufrom the ifle 
of Cyo, in Greece, fet in gold and garnifhed with perles 
and precious ftones; and alfo the precioufe relique of oon 
of the legges of St. George, fet in filver, parcel gilte, which 
carne into the hands of our broder and coufyn, Lewys of 
DON. 
France, the time that lie wan and recovered the citie of 
Millein, and given and lent to us by our cotifyne the car¬ 
dinal of Amboife.” This altar was deftroyed by the fa¬ 
natics during the civil wars. 
At the head of this tomb lie the remains of Edward 
VI. grandfon to Henry VII. who died in the fixteenth 
year of his age, and the leventh of his reign. A fine mo¬ 
nument was erected to his memory by queen Mary, his 
lifter and fucceffor; but it was afterwards demolilhed as 
a> relique of popifh fuperdition. 
On one fide of Henry’s tomb, in a fmall chapel, is a 
monument of eaft brafs, in which are the effigies of Louis 
Stuart, duke of Richmond, and Frances his wife. They 
are reprefented as lying on a marble table under a canopy 
of brafs curioufly wrought, and fnpported by thefigures 
of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Prudence. On the top is 
a figure of Fame taking her flight, and retting only on her 
toe. This illuftrious nobleman died the 161h of February, 
1623 ; and his lady the 3th of October, 1639.—Here is 
likewife a pyramid of black and white marble fupporting 
a fmall urn, in which is contained the heart of Efme Stuart, 
foil to the duke of Richmond and Lenox, who died in 
France the 14th of Auguft, 1661. 
On the north fide of this tomb is a monument decorated 
with feveral emblematical figures in gilt brafs ; the prin¬ 
cipal of which are Neptune in a penfive poffure with his 
trident reverfed, and Mars with his head cruttied. Thefe 
figures fuppori the tomb on which lies the effigy of George 
Villiers, duke of Buckingham, the great favourite of king 
James and king Charles I. Hisduchefs, Catharine, daugh¬ 
ter of the earl of Rutland, who caufed this monument to 
be eresfted to his memory, lies in effigy by his fide on the 
fame tomb. There is a Latin infeription, w hich repre- 
fents his high titles and honours, and alludes to the un¬ 
happy caufe of his death. See the article England, 
vol. vi. p. 668.—Of a later date, and fuperior in defign and 
workmanfhip, is a noble monument erefled to the me¬ 
mory of John Sheffield, duke of Buckingham; in which 
his grace’s ftatue, in a Roman habit, is laid in a half-raifed 
polture on an altar of fine marble; and his duchefs, Ca¬ 
tharine, natural daughter of the duke of York, afterwards 
James II. is Handing at his feet weeping. On each fide 
are military trophies 5 and over all an admirable figure of 
Time, holding feveral medallions reprefenting the heads 
of their children. This monument is greatly admired. 
It has been obferved that the duke himlelf appears the 
principal figure in the group; and, though he lies in a re¬ 
cumbent pollute, and his lady is placed in the moil beau¬ 
tiful attitude at his feet, yet her figure is fo characlerifed,. 
as to be only a guide to his, and both reflect back a beauty 
on each other. The decorations are extremely pichirefque 
and elegant; the trophies at his head, the figure of Time 
above, with the medallions of his children, fill up all the 
fpaces with fuch propriety, that little could be added, and 
nothing appears fuperfluons. The infeription fets forth 
the duke of Buckingham's pods, and his qualifications as 
a poet and a fine writer; and over his ftatue is inferibed 
fome Latin fentences to the following purport: “I lived 
doubtf ul, not difiblute ; I die unrefolved, not unreiigned. 
Ignorance and error are incident to human nature. I 
truft in an Almighty and Allgood God. Thou King 
of Kings, have mercy upon me.” And underneath^ 
“ For my King often, for my Country always.” 
At the end of the north aide, again ft the eaft wall, is a 
monument in the form of a beautiful altar, raifed by king 
Charles II. to the memory of Edward V. and his brother. 
The infeription, which is in Latin, is thus mandated ;• 
“Here lie the reliques of Edward V. king of England, 
and Richard duke of York ; who, being confined in the 
Tower, and.there ftifled with pillows, were privately and 
meanly buried by order of their perfidious uncle Richard 
the ufurper: their bones, long enquired after and wiffied 
for, after lying 201 years in the rubbilh of the (lairs, 
(thofe lately leading to the chapel of the White Tower,), 
were, onthe 7th of July, 1674, by undoubted proofs difeo- 
