Xh
7-,
m
•:x*$& «l^"Si
K 184i» wl- *•> P- 362. An excellent description and
w K iT S e olmro111U l t s ti^P,8**8 *>? m y g°°d friend Mr. J. G. "Waller and
msiate brother; an acoount which ia very accurate and singularly in advance
of the archaeology of nearly a half century ago. * 'UWdnw
282; ST. PATH'S CRAY CHURCH.
into ruin, and the arches opening from it into the church had been
built up or destroyed many years ago, and prior to the "restoration"
of the church, which occurred in 1856 and 1861, when the chantry,
at the suggestion of the Eector, was entirely rebuilt. In the course
of digging foundations six stone coffin-lids were dug up; of these,
one was selected and set upright against the west wall of the
chapel, and the others were re-interred. The one which we see is
certainly of early date.
A porch in front of the tower was built (so far as one may trust
a non-professional drawing made more than half a century ago*)
towards the latter part of the fifteenth century; it was removed at
the "restoration" of the church, but the mark of its gable is visible
on the tower wall.
About the same time, or rather earlier, was erected a wooden
chancel screen of good design and workmanship, as we can see from
the panels which, after subsequently forming part of the altar-rails,f
now embellish the vestry door.
Then, in the sixteenth century, a holy-water stoup was formed on
the south of the west doorway inside, of little interest in itself, as so
frequently happens; and proqably at the same time was constructed
a staircase, leading to the rood-loft across the chancel, as shewn by
the upper doorway visible at the entrance of the chancel on the
south side.
When the north aisle was destroyed is a matter of which we
have no record, but considering that the windows in the present
north wall of the nave, set in the masonry which blocks up the
arches, are of the latest period of G-oihie architecture, say towards
the end of the sixteenth century, we may fairly conjecture that
the destruction of the aisle took place at that date. A good many
voussoirs of the nave arches are worked up casually in the construction
of the re-erected south chapel.
Then came the "restoration" in 1856 and 1861, when, in addi-.
tion to the works already referred to, the west doorway -with.
f oliaged caps and dog-tooth moulding in Early English style, cut
in rather coarse grit, was erected, as also the window over it, both
being intended as a reproduction of what previously existed; the
south aisle windows were put in, and much stained glass was
presented; the south chapel was rebuilt of flint with stone dressings
still glaringly white; a west gallery and the high pews were happily
swept away. The floor levels have been altered, so that from west
to east is nearly a continuous upward slope, avoiding steps as far
as may be.
Prior to the "restoration" there existed what is described as
" a vile altar-piece" with portraits of Moses and Aaron, and the
Eoyal Arms, surmounted by a glaring crimson curtain. Moses and
Aaron, in grisaille, may still be seen in the south chantry.
* Excellent Lithographic Views of the Seven Churches on the River Cray,
by the Uev. E. Berens (afterwards Archdeacon of Berks), a member of the
Berens family of »Xevington, St. Mary Gray, were published about the year 1823.
t Sir Stephen Glynne, Clmrelies of Kent, p. 321.
p^%. #s^#«
S7 PAULS CRAY CHURCH.
Crossed. Coffm Slab, and Sections cf Mouldings.
ST. PAUL'S CRAY- CHURCH. 283
The font is modern, and calls for no remark; the former font is
described as of a plain barrel shape f it was unfortunately destroyed
in an attempt to remove it more than half a century ago.
On the west door the lock, enclosed in a huge wooden box,
shoots two bolts together, and on it is roughly cut: " JOHBT MOCK
Mad this Lock 1637."
Although there is no record of the endowment of any chantry,
we find that there was a small endowment for the maintenance of
a lamp, which seems to have been the only thing seized by the
Commissioners appointed by King Henry VIII. or by his successor
; it remained in the hands of the Crown until the reign of
Queen Ehzabeth. "Whether the lamp was to burn in honour of
the patron Saint, or at what altar or before what statue, does not
appear. All that we do learn is from the account rendered to the
Queen by " Lancelot Lovelace, gent., collector for the County^ of
Kent, of Eents of all Colleges, Chantries, Eree Chapels, Fraternities,
and Guilds whatsoever; together with all manors, lands, tenements,
and other things situate in the said County, and lying and existing
in divers parishes, villes and hamlets within the jurisdiction of the
Court of the Lady the Queen, and the Duchy of Lancaster, which
should come to her by the Act of Parliament passed on tbe 4th
November of the first year of his Majesty King Edward VI.
(1547), and the statute of Colleges and writings in accordance;
and according to the tenor of the Commission of the said late King
dated the 14th Pebruary in his second year "• (1548). The account
runs from the Peast of .St. Michael the Archangel in the 15th year
of the reign of Queen Elizabeth (1573), for one whole year.
After this preamble one expects to hear of some important property,
but it only consists of a rent-charge of xiid on a parcel of land
called " Le Lampe Yarde," ^estimated at one-sixth of an acre.t
The church possesses but one monument of much antiquity,
which is the stone coffln-lid already adverted to as having been
found in digging out the site for the re-erection of the south chapel.
In form it narrows from 1 foot 10f inches (bevelled to 1 foot
8 | inches at the head), to 1 foot 3 inches (bevelled to 1 foot 1 inch)
at the lowest part remaining ; for the lowest part is now either lost
or under the pavement; the present remains being 4 feet long. Its
moulded edges shew that it was intended to rise above the level of
the pavement. On the upper surface is a cross with foliage in low
relief. The excellent work of Dr. Outts on Monumental Slabs and
Crosses—the only work on the subject—has no design which at all
corresponds with this.
Half a century ago there were in the nave a plain coffin-shaped
stone and a slab despoiled of its inlaid brass.$
Inventories of the Church goods here were taken by the Eoyal
Commissioners appointed in the reign of King Edward VI. .on two
* Glynne, Churches of Kent, p. 321.
t Minister's Accounts; Duchy of Lancaster, No. 1496, bundle 75.
X Gentleman's Magazine, 184.1, i., p. 365.
284 ST. PAUL'S CRAY CHURCH.
occasions, the first of which was in his third year, that is between
the 28th January 1549 and the 27th January 1550, and the second
occasion was on the 23rd November 1552, being in his sixth year.
The first of these Inventories, as, indeed, is very generally the case
with all such Inventories prior to the sixth year, cannot now be found,
though their existence is frequently mentioned in the second set.
In the interval between the two dates there had been stolen a
chalice and paten of silver, parcel gilt, weighing 9 ounces; what
vessels were used in the celebration of the Holy Sacrament after
the disappearance we cannot tell, for there is no further mention of
a chalice or paten in the later Inventory.
The second Inventory, which states that Thomas Tarbokk was
parson, and Eichard Lane and Eichard Spencer were churchwardens,
recites that it was reported to the Commissioners that in addition
to the loss of the chalice and paten, there had been sold three brass
candlesticks, twenty pewter bowls, and one pewter holy water
stock, and the proceeds applied to the reparations of the church.
The pewter bowls had held, lights on the occasion of ecclesiastical
festivities; four still remained, and their use is described in the
Inventory.
I t was also reported that in the same interval a vestment of blue
satin* had been stolen; it is curious to note in a series of such
Inventories the extraordinary number of things stated to have
been stolen. The list of church goods here, in 1552, is larger than
one would have anticipated as subsisting at the date; they comprised
the following articles,f viz.:— c
A vestment (chasuble) oi crimson velvet, with cross of green
silk and gold wire, with branches (i.e., scroll-work) of white, yellow,
and green; with amice, stole, and fanel to the same, complete.
A vestment of white silk, with cross of sanguine (crimson) silk,
with branches of red and green silk; with amice, albe, stole, and
fanel.
A vestment of black satin, with cross of changeable (shot) silk,
with birds and flowers upon the cross; with amice, albe, stole, and
fanel.
Three vestments of thread chequered work, with crosses of the
same work.
A cope of crimson velvet with garters.
An old cope of thread chequered work, no doubt corresponding
with the. vestment so described.
Two corporaxes of linen cloth, good and bad.
A brass erysmatory.
Eour lead cruets.
Eour linen altar cloths, two towels of diaper, and one of
linen.
Two, linen surplices.
* The term vestment was frequently used as comprising the suit of Eucharistio
vestments for priest, deacon, and subdeaoon of corresponding pattern.
f Given at length iu Archceologia Cantiana, Vol, X., p. 288; in au artiole
on Churoh Goods, edited by Canon Scott Robertson,
ST. PAUL'S CRAY OHURCH. "285
A brass cross and a copper cross.
Eour bowls of pewter and lead to set tapers on m the rood-lort.
A Bible of the largest volume, and the Paraphrasis of Erasmus.
BELLS.
The Inventory winds up with four bells in the steeple, and a
Saints' bell, as remaining in 1552. Of course the Saints' (sanctus)
bell has disappeared with its use, but of the others one is still
happily subsisting; it is one of the thirty-six now remaining in the
county which can claim an antiquity prior to the year 1400, and
therefore holds a place in the leading rank of church bells of the
county. The more definite date of this, and the others of a group
of six, formed a problem to which the late Mr. Stahlschmidt*
(one of our highest authorities on the subject) devoted great
consideration; and no man was, from his study of the bells themselves,
and from his singular research respecting them and their
founders, more competent to solve it. So far as we can gather
his opinion upon this group of bells, so modestly and cautiously
expressed, to which with his eare for exact accuracy he avoided
affixing any precise date, and contented himself with placing the
facts before the archseological world, after making it as clear as the
light of his great research enabled him to ; f and so far as we gather
from the bell itself, the date appears to be prior to and certainly
near the year 1400. The legend belongs to what he rightly terms
the transitional period between the use of tbe Lombardic and
black-letter type ; the capitals are of the former character and the
remainder of the latter. The stop is a peculiar form of cross inscribed
on a diamond;J and for other ornamentation there is a shield
bearing a chevron between three laver-pots, which appears four
times over, above the legend on the shoulder of the bell; a stamp
which occurs also three times on a bell at St. Paul's, Canterbury.
Mr. Stahlschmidt inclines to the opinion that if the bells in this
group -were not the work of William Dawe (a great founder, 1385-
1418), they can only be ascribed to William Wodeward, and as
he survived Wilham Dawe it is quite possible that some of the
stamps belonging to the former may have passed into the possession
of the latter; or that there may have been a partnership between
them, which would account for a simultaneous use of the stamps'.
The painstaking research of our author discovered documents dated
1393, 1395, and 1418, in which William Dawe, Eounder, is mentioned.
It will be evident to all accustomed to inscriptions of this
* With great regret all interested in the subjeot will refer to him as late •
he died last summer of consumption not long after his return from Madeira-'
Most careful, painstaking, and accurate as a oampanologist and student of
archaeology, and the history and lives of founders; eminent in various ways •
always courteous and pleasant. All who knew him personally, or from his works'
must regret his loss. '
t See The Church Sells of Kent, by J. 0, L. Stahlschmidt, pp. 27-29.
% Ibid., fig. 7, p. 23,
286 ST. PAUL'S GRAY CHURCH.
date that Lombardic capitals with black-letter text, are just what
one would expect at the date attributed to these bells. The legend
which is round the shoulder of the bell, runs thus:—
4- dtaljmimg (£rtett Cars iBijjnare Pro &aW ©rare.
The initial cross is identical with that on a bell at Kemsing in this
county, and in the work referred to it is fig. 7, p. 23. On the top
of the bell, just above the legend, are four shields all alike, and each
bearing the charge of a chevron between three laver-pots; it is also
figured as No. 12, appearing at p. 28.*
Another bell bears the following inscription:—
BEYANVS ELDEEDGE ^ ME EECIT, 1624.
Bryan Eldredge or Eldridge was one of a family who together
and successively carried on the business of bell-founders during a
century and a half. Bryan cast a very large number of bells in
Surrey and the home counties; he died in 1640,f
The remaining bell bore the legend,—
PRAISE THE LOED A 1597. A.W.
but was recast by Warner in 1859. The initials are those of
Anthony Wakefield, an itinerant Sussex founder: in this county
he cast bells for Cranbrook and Hawkhurst, as appears by the
parish accounts. J
With regard to the ancient church plate, we have already seen
that the only chalice and paten which the church did possess had
been stolen in the short interval between the visits of the two
Commissions. The earliest now there is a chalice bearing this
inscription : " The Communion Cup of St. Paul's Cray, to be Kept
by the Minister for the time being. 1718. The gift of Wm Scrafton,
Citizen and Salter of London." The Hall-marks are almost worn
out; presumably the donor was the father of William Scrafton,
A.M., then Eector,§ The rest of the plate is quite modern.
PARISH REGISTERS.
The Parish Eegisters commence in 1579, and the first volume
comprises nearly two centuries. The first part up to the year 1600
is, as we so often find to be the case, evidently a transcript from,
the original notes, and incomplete; thus in the first and several
other years there are but three or four entries of births, marriages,
and deaths, which were made in one continuous record as the events
* The inscriptions and detail are taken from Stahlsohmidt's work on The
Ohurch Sells of Kent, p. 24/7 : The first bell, espeoially, is not easy of acoess,
and is so hemmed in by the bell-frames in a oramped space, that I have
trusted to that author's well-known accuracy, without full verification,
t Surrey Bells and London Bell-Founders, by Mr. Stahlsohmidt; the will of
Bryan is given at p. 118, aud a pedigree of the family at p. 121.
t Stahlschmidt, Church Sells of Kent, p. 60 and 248,
§ The Eegister Book contains a note of his induction to the living by Mr.
Wilson, Beotor of Chislehurst, on 7 December 1*703, and the entry of Ms burial
7 Pebruary 1740-1.
ST. PAUL'S CRAY CHURCH. 287
occurred; and in the entry of one marriage the particular date and
the name of the woman are not stated. At the earlier periods the
entries of baptisms give the names of Godparents.
Erom the commencment in 1579 down to the year 1600, the
handwriting is very good, but the ink faded; from 1611 to the
beginning of 1635, fine and minute; from the end of 1638 to the
beginning of 1642, it is good; from 1678 to the end is beautiful;
all the rest is more or less bad. Between the years 1642 and£1662
the usual difficulties occurred in consequence of the Parliamentary
Act for the appointment of Civil Registrars ; and there are notes
that nothing was registered (i.e., in the Church Register Book),
from 1642 to 1654, and in 1660 " no register." Civil marriages are
not referred to, but in 1662 are several entries of children, not as
baptized but as born. The Great Plague does not seem to have
extended to this parish. Burial in woollen, upon affidavit of the
fact, is recorded from 1678.
The entries themselves relate to none but simple villagers, except
that we find the baptism on 29 June 1611 of Anna, daughter of
Lawrence Snelling, then parson here; and the baptisms of sundry
children of John Ashley, spoken of as Minister or Rector, who
became the Rector in 1662 and was buried 24 July 1703, aged 63,
having been "Minister onwards of 41 years." Thomas Nott, parish
clerk, was buried 1 January 1668, and John Chucks 26 June 1715.
Of other noteworthy, residents we find but one person so important
as a knight; he was Sir Leonard Eerby; his daughter was buried in
1632, and he himself on 29 April 1679. Many members of the
Eerby or Eereby family are recorded in the register from as early
as 1594. A wedding by licence was a rare thing—even the titles
Gent, or Mr, seldom occur. Statius Snelcker, marchant of the
Stilliard of London, was buried 25 Nov. 1610; Mr. Thomas Eryth in
1688, and Mr. Thomas Gregory, Citizen of London, and Mr. Henery
Erith in 1697, were buried in the chancel.
Some of the surnames are unusual, such as these during the
earlier period: Stoneshed, Gellibrand, Chittendon or Ohyttington,
Baythoyte, Eerby or Eereby, Libbis, Elce and Baisden; early in the
eighteenth century are Eurlonger and Keeble; Everist in 1732 is a
name which the Rector informs me is still surviving. The name of
the family of Chapman occurs during a long period from at least
1676, from whom probably the Rev. E. W. Chapman, the present
owner of St. Paul's Cray Hill, is a descendant. The estate was
bought from Sir Leonard Eerby by one of the family, Eichard
Chapman, who in 1726 left to the parish £2 per annum towards a
permanent endowment for the education of poor children.
The Christian names in this register are of the ordinary type •
Joane is not uncommon; but Tamsyn occurs in 1587, and one
Gideon Rigault was buried in 1712.
_ I cannot conclude this account of the Church and Registers
without acknowledging the kind eoprtesy of tbe Rev G L
Langdon, the Rector, who has afforded me every facility for' the
examination of the Plate and Registers.
