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the tower has a curious union of the round and pointed arch.

The Interior, as a whole, is best viewed from the principal entrance at the west side. From this point the eye takes in the whole length of the building at a glance, the view being terminated by the great east window of the chancel. At the west end is an excellent organ by Swarbrick, enlarged and improved by Bishop, Banfield, and others. Many ancient monuments in the body of the church were destroyed by the great fire in 1694. Among the monuments in the north transept worthy of notice, are those of William Johnson, M.D., and Anne his wife; of Thomas Oken, and Joan his wife-all of whom left munificent bequests for the poor of this their native town; and of Francis Holyock, the lexicographer. In the south transept is a brass plate to the memory of Thomas Beauchamp, second earl of that name, which is all that was spared by the great fire of a once splendid monument. An engraving of the original monument will be found in Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwickshire." The tomb was of the altar

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kind, richly adorned.

The Choir is entered from the termination of the nave by an ascent of three steps, through wrought-iron gates. Four floors, each a step above another, lead to the altar. The architecture is the pointed Gothic, of a remarkably pure and chaste character. The roof, which is of stone, is lofty and beautifully ribbed. In the centre of the ceiling are the arms of the founder borne by a seraph. On each side are four windows, which unfortunately have lost the stained glass with which they were formerly enriched. In the centre of the choir stands a splendid monument to the memory of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, the founder, and Lady Catherine Mortimer, his countess. This tomb, which is of the altar kind, is asserted by Gough to be one of the most elegant and beautiful of its kind in the kingdom. The tomb, which is composed of plaster in excellent imitation of veined marble, is surmounted by the effigies of the earl and his lady in a recumbent position. The earl is habited in armour, his left hand resting on his sword, but his right clasping the right hand of his wife. The countess is dressed in mantle and petticoat, with sleeves buttoned below the wrist. It is said that the lacing of her close gown, extended below the girdle, is like that on the image of Queen Philippa in Westminster Abbey. At the head of each figure sits a female, as if in the act of watching; at the feet of the earl is a bear, and at his wife's a lamb. Round the sides of the tomb are thirty-six

figures, male and female, evidently meant to represent the various relations of the deceased. Beneath these figures are armorial bearings more or less effaced. This earl distinguished himself, under the Black Prince, at Cressy and Poictiers; and subsequently spent three years in Palestine fighting against the infidels. He died at Calais.

On the north side of the choir are three apartments, one of which, of an octagonal shape, will interest the tourist as containing the tomb of Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. This apartment was originally the chapter-house of the dean and canons, but was selected by Lord Brooke for his own monument, which he caused to be erected in his lifetime. The monument is a sarcophagus, under a canopy supported by Corinthian pillars. The inscription, written by himself, is laconic, but very significant:-"Fulke Greville, Servant to Queen Elizabeth, Counsellor to King James, and Friend to Sir Philip Sidney." A notice of Fulke Greville, and specimens of his poetry, will be found in Campbell's Specimens of the British Poets."

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The Lady Chapel, called also the Beauchamp Chapel, is reached by a flight of stone steps from the east side of the south transept. It is considered by the most competent judges one of the finest specimens extant of the purest Gothic style. Over the entrance door of this chapel is a fine Gothic arch, designed and executed in 1704, by a poor mason, a native of the town, whose name ought to have been preserved. The exterior has many beautiful and appropriate decorations; the noble window on the east being particularly worthy of notice. The chapel was commenced in 1443, in conformity with the will of Richard Beauchamp; and was not completed till 1464. The total cost of its erection was £2481, a sum equal to at least £40,000 in the present day. The ceiling is of stone, richly carved, and adorned with shields bearing the arms of the old earls of Warwick single, and those of Warwick and Beauchamp (the founder) quartered. The flooring is of black and white marble arranged lozengewise. On either side are four rows of stalls, elaborately ornamented with blank shields in quatrefoils, and with carvings of lions, griffins, and bears, chained and muzzled. The great east window is enriched with painted glass; one of its subjects being a portrait of Earl Richard in armour, kneeling, with his hands raised, in front of a desk, on which lies an open book. Beneath a Gothic canopy is a fine altar-piece, in bas-relief, of the Salutation of the Blessed Virgin, designed by Lightoler, and sculptured by Collins.

In the centre of this chapel is the Tomb of Richard Beauchamp, its founder. It is considered the most splendid in the kingdom, with the single exception of that of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey. It is of the altar kind, and formed of grey marble. On the sarcophagus is a full length figure of the Earl in a recumbent position, clad in full armour of brass gilt, surmounted by a hearse of brass hoops also gilt. His head is uncovered and rests upon a helmet; his hair is short and his beard curled; and his hands are elevated as if in prayer. By his side are sword and dagger, and a garter is on his left knee. A swan is at his head, and a griffin and bear muzzled sit watching at his feet. The sides and ends of the tomb are divided into fourteen beautifully wrought niches, which are filled with figures, weepers, in copper gilt, representing relatives of the deceased. Each of these figures has its proper arms. An inscription of some length runs twice round the upper ledge of the tomb, giving an account of Richard Beauchamp's death and burial. It states, that being "visited with long sickness in the Castel of Roan" (Rouen), he "therinne decessed ful cristenly, the last day of April, the year of our lord God AMCCCCXXXIX, he being at that tyme Lieutenant gen'al and governer of the Roilame of ffraunce, and of the Duchie of Normandie by sufficient autorite of oure Sou'aigne lord the King Harry VI." It is stated by Gough, that about the middle of the seventeenth century the floor of the chapel fell in, when the stone coffin containing the earl's body being broken, the body was found to be still fresh, though it rapidly decayed on exposure to the air. The ladies of Warwick profited by the circumstance, getting rings and other ornaments made out of the earl's hair.

At the head of Earl Richard's monument is the Tomb of Ambrose Dudley, the good Earl of Warwick. It is of the altar kind, and has a full-size figure of the earl in armour, in a recumbent position. He died in 1589. He was brother of the famous Earl of Leicester, whose monument is next noticed.

The Tomb of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the favourite of Queen Elizabeth, stands at the north side of the chapel. It is a splendid monument of the altar kind. From its slab rise four Corinthian pillars, supporting an entablature, beneath which is an ornamented arch. It contains the figures of the earl and his third wife. The earl is in armour, and decorated with the Order of the Garter, and that of St. Michael. A Latin inscription gives him credit for virtues which history refuses to associate with his name. He died

September 4, 1588, from the effects, it is said, of poison he had himself prepared for others. The bill for his funeral amounted to £4000, an enormous sum for that age.

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Against the south wall, and near the altar, is a fine Monument to Robert, infunt son to the Earl of Leicester just mentioned. The tomb, which is of the altar kind, has a finely sculptured figure of a child, seven or eight years old. An epitaph bears that the tomb contains the body of "the noble Impe, Robert of Dudley, Baron of Denbigh, sonne of Robert Earl of Leicester, and nephew and heir to Ambrose, Earl of Warwick." He was born to the earl by his last countess, and died in 1584, when yet a child.

The Chantry is on the north side of the building. The tourist will be interested by its fine roof of pendant capitals, its floor of black and red glazed tiles, and its small priscina.

The Oratory, or as some call it, the Confessional, is reached by an ascent of four steps from the north side of the chantry. The roof is fan-fashioned. At the east end is a seat, and beside it an oblique opening in the wall, through which confession is supposed to have been made. The place, however, in the opinion of some antiquarians, is a very unusual one for confession, being so near the choir and high altar.

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We must not conclude this notice of Saint Mary's Church without a reference to the relics which it possessed in the Romish times. The following list contains the more remarkable of them :-" Part of the chair of the patriarch Abraham of the burning bush of Moses; of the manger in which Jesus was laid; of the pillar to which he was bound when he was Scourged; a thorn from His crown; a piece of the cross; part of the towel in which His body was wrapped by Nicodemus; some hair of the Virgin Mary; parts of her girdle and of her sepulchre; part of the face of St. Stephen; bones of Egidus, king Edward, St. Swithin, Alkemand, Rufus; bones of the Innocents; relics of St. James, St. George, St. Nicholas; and part of the penitential garment of St. Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury."

ST. NICHOLAS' CHURCH is a modern structure, having been erected in 1799. A religious edifice occupied this site before the Conquest, and was destroyed by Canute the Dane in 1016. It was rebuilt by Henry de Newburgh, the first Norman earl, whose son granted it to the canons of the collegiate church of St. Mary's, which he had lately founded. At the dissolution it was granted by Henry VIII. to the burgesses of Warwick. In 1748 the ancient tower was taken down, and replaced by the present tower and spire; and in 1779 the body was rebuilt. It contains several monuments of some antiquity but no importance.

THE EAST AND WEST GATES, ancient ornamental entrances to the town, at the opposite ends of one of the main lines of streets, will be viewed with interest. Unfortunately they have not received that care and attention to which they are entitled. They have been repaired and cased from time to time, without due pains being taken to preserve their original character. Over the West Gate is the Chapel of St. James, given to the collegiate Church of St. Mary in the reign of Henry I., by Roger de Newburgh. The East Gate is surmounted by the Chapel of St. Peter, founded in the time of Henry VI., but now used as a charity school.

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