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money which has been spent in erecting a church in no style at all upon one of the most favourable sites an architect could desire . Still , it is a large , handsome , and useful church , and did local resources permit , would give every opportunity for a fine choral service .
We may now speak of the more interesting ruin ( for such it is ) of St . John's Chapel , the east end or chancel of which abuts upon West Street , close to the shambles ( once a wool-hall , in the days of Buckingham ' s woollen prosperity ) . Interesting it is , as being the most ancient building still remaining in Buckingham , as having been most perverted from its original use , and as still preserving enough of its ancient features to add one link to our long chain of antiquarian regrets .
We again appeal to our trustworthy guide , who observes that " John finding , who was made prebendary of Buckingham 1471 , and died 1481 , rebuilt Bucks Chapel , and also repaired or rebuilt St . John Baptist ' s chapel in the town , as appears by his arms there . This is
also called St . Thomas Aeon , and St . ThomasBecket ' s chapel ; and is now the Free-school . He gave a folio Latin Bible , in vellum , now in my possession , to this church ; in which are his arms painted , and this inscription written in it : —
" * Hunc Librum dedit Magister Johannes Hudyng , Ar chid . Lincoln ; Gathenand in principali disco infra Gancellum JScclesice sue ( sic ) JPrebendal de Buckingham , ad usum Oapellanorum et aliorum in eodem studere volentium quamdiu duraverit . ' "
The door of this venerable chapel is a beautiful specimen of early Saxon architecture ; and the walls , despite many a layer of obtrusive whitewash , tell a melancholy tale of ages when prayer was heard within them , and when churches were not converted into wood-cellars . For , sad it is to say so , but such is the fate of the lower portion of
St . John ' s Chapel . The altar has disappeared , a blacking-bottle occupies the ancient piscina , and faggots and logs , with a half-staved tub and an old rusty spade , now people the church that , when the old parochial church fell to the ground in 1776 , afforded the means of worship to those whose zeal waited not for the new structure .
A modern flooring divides the chapel midway , the upper part being used as the school-room . Pursuing Willis ' s account , we find that " Dame Isabel Denton ( as she is called in the return , made into the Exchequer , of Colleges and Chantries at their dissolution , anno 1547 ) gave by her will , about the year 1540 , four marks yearly to a priest to teach children in this town , in augmentation of his living for twenty years ; of which eight years were then said to have expired , anno 2 T & dward VI .
" Which prince , in order to found the said school as I have been informed , gave a stipend of £ 10 . 8 s . Of d . per annum , payable out of St . Thomas Aeon ' s College , in London , which lay near this place . * Willia , p . 57 . It is with regret that we learn that this identical Bible was offered for sale not long since , and it is probably still in the hands of a bookseller at Bristol . Ton . i . 4 c
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
money which has been spent in erecting a church in no style at all upon one of the most favourable sites an architect could desire . Still , it is a large , handsome , and useful church , and did local resources permit , would give every opportunity for a fine choral service .
We may now speak of the more interesting ruin ( for such it is ) of St . John's Chapel , the east end or chancel of which abuts upon West Street , close to the shambles ( once a wool-hall , in the days of Buckingham ' s woollen prosperity ) . Interesting it is , as being the most ancient building still remaining in Buckingham , as having been most perverted from its original use , and as still preserving enough of its ancient features to add one link to our long chain of antiquarian regrets .
We again appeal to our trustworthy guide , who observes that " John finding , who was made prebendary of Buckingham 1471 , and died 1481 , rebuilt Bucks Chapel , and also repaired or rebuilt St . John Baptist ' s chapel in the town , as appears by his arms there . This is
also called St . Thomas Aeon , and St . ThomasBecket ' s chapel ; and is now the Free-school . He gave a folio Latin Bible , in vellum , now in my possession , to this church ; in which are his arms painted , and this inscription written in it : —
" * Hunc Librum dedit Magister Johannes Hudyng , Ar chid . Lincoln ; Gathenand in principali disco infra Gancellum JScclesice sue ( sic ) JPrebendal de Buckingham , ad usum Oapellanorum et aliorum in eodem studere volentium quamdiu duraverit . ' "
The door of this venerable chapel is a beautiful specimen of early Saxon architecture ; and the walls , despite many a layer of obtrusive whitewash , tell a melancholy tale of ages when prayer was heard within them , and when churches were not converted into wood-cellars . For , sad it is to say so , but such is the fate of the lower portion of
St . John ' s Chapel . The altar has disappeared , a blacking-bottle occupies the ancient piscina , and faggots and logs , with a half-staved tub and an old rusty spade , now people the church that , when the old parochial church fell to the ground in 1776 , afforded the means of worship to those whose zeal waited not for the new structure .
A modern flooring divides the chapel midway , the upper part being used as the school-room . Pursuing Willis ' s account , we find that " Dame Isabel Denton ( as she is called in the return , made into the Exchequer , of Colleges and Chantries at their dissolution , anno 1547 ) gave by her will , about the year 1540 , four marks yearly to a priest to teach children in this town , in augmentation of his living for twenty years ; of which eight years were then said to have expired , anno 2 T & dward VI .
" Which prince , in order to found the said school as I have been informed , gave a stipend of £ 10 . 8 s . Of d . per annum , payable out of St . Thomas Aeon ' s College , in London , which lay near this place . * Willia , p . 57 . It is with regret that we learn that this identical Bible was offered for sale not long since , and it is probably still in the hands of a bookseller at Bristol . Ton . i . 4 c