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    Interesting story about poetic gravedigging.

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    1790 a Narrative of the Disinterment of Milton's Coffin ...

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    Interesting story about poetic gravedigging.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    24 views32 pages

    1790 A Narrative of The Disinterment of Milton's Coffin ...

    Uploaded by

    DannieCaesar
    Interesting story about poetic gravedigging.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 32
    SS SE oe A NARRATIVE, Se Ee Be. eS ENS, & NARRATIVE OF THE DISINTERMENT- OF MILTON’s COFFIN, IN THE Parisn-Cuurcu of St. GILES, Cripprecate, On WEDNESDAY. qth of AUGUST, 1799; AND OF TUE TREATMENT OF THE CORPSE, DURING THAT AND THE FOLLOWING DAY. re ae afylo uiyfecent, sonte mortuis parcurt quin ides deve puse sepu quedam mortis, Jam wht, jam nee totes ae difirabant. Texte, Apoioge, Cop. gre Ee CR IERIE MEI TIEN MEE SIC NE EAE ESE COTE TE LONDON: Printed for T. and J. Ecirron, I hitebal MDCCxc, iF AT re near center ee Miwon Semen Sem! PPL PPE Prabha PEE DE Pte Pree Pr OS PE Ae DY NARRATIVE, &. Qe Gt HAVING tead in the Public Adver- tifer, on Saturday, the 7th of Auguft, 1790, that Milion’s coffin had been dug up, in the parith church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, and was there to be feen, J went immediately to the church, and found the latter part of the information untrue; but, from converfations on that day, ( 6 } day, on Monday the oth, and on Tuef day, the roth of Auguft, with Mr. Thomas Strong, Solicitor and F, A. S. Red-crofs-ftreet, Vefry-Clerk; Mr. John Cole, Barbican, Silver{mith, Churchwar- den; Mr. John Laming, Barbican, Pawn- broker, and Mr. Fountain, Beech-lane, Publican, Overfeers; Mr. Taylor, of Stan- ton, Derbyfhire, Surgeon; a friend of Mr. Laming, and a vilitor in his houfe; Mr. William Afcough, Coffin-maker, . Fore-ftreet, Parifh-clerk; Benjamin Hoimes and Thomas Hawhefworth, jour- neymen to Mr. Afcough; Mrs. Hoppey, Fore-ftrect, Sexton; Mr. Ellis, No. 9) | Lamb’s-chapel, comedian of the royalty- theatre ; aud John Pose (fon of Row- land Poole) watch-fpring-maker, Ja- cob’s- (7) cob’s-paflage, Barbican; the following facts are eftablithed. It being in the contemplation of fome perfons to beftow a contiderable fun of money, in erecting a monument, in the parith church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, to the memory of Milton, and the parti- cular {pot of his interment, in that church, having for many years paft, been .- afcertained only by tradition, feveral of ‘the principal parifhioners have, at their meetings, frequently exprefled a with, that his coffin fhould be dug-for, that in- conteftable evidence of its exaét fituation might be eftablithed, before the faid monument fhould be ereéted. ‘The entry, among the burials, in the re« > gifters ( 8) gifter-book, 12th of November, 1674, is ‘* Yobn Milton, Gentleman, con- fumpcon, chancel.” The church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, was built in 10303 was burnt down (except the fteeple) and rebuilt in 1545 3 was repaired in 1682; andagainin 1710. In the repair of 1682, an alteration took place in the difpofition of the infide of the church; the pulpit was removed from the fecond pillar, again{t which it ftood, north of the chan- cel, to the fouth fide of the prefent chan- cel, which was then formed, and pews were built over the old chancel. The tradition has always been, that Milton was buried in the chancel, under the clerk’s defk ; but, the circumftance of the alte- gation in the church not having of late years C 9) years been attended to, the clerk, fexton; and other officers of the parifh have. mif- guided enquirers, by fhewing the {pot under the clerk?s defk, in the prefent chancel, as the place of Milton's inter- ment. - I have twice, at different periods, been fhewn that fpot, as the place where Milton Jay. Even Mr. Baflervilie, who died a few years ago, and who had re- quefted in his will to be buried by Milton, was depofited in the above-mentioned {pot of the prefent chancel, in pious in- tention of ‘compliance with his requeft. ‘The church is now, Auguft, 1790, under a general repair, by contra@, for 13500. and ‘Mr. Strong, Mr. Cole, and other pa- rifhioners, having very prudently judged that the fearch would be made with , B much ( 10 ) rouch lefs inconvenience to the patith at this time, when the church is under re- pair, than at any period after the faid re- pair fhould be completed, Mr. Co/e, in the Jaft days of July, ordered the work- men to dig in fearch of the coffin. Mr. Afcough, his father, and grand-father, have been parifh-clerks of Si. Giles for upwards of go years paft. His grand- father, who died in February, 1759-60; aged 84, ufed frequently to fay, that Milton had been buried under the clerk’s defk in the chancel. John Pook, aged 72, has often heard his father talk of Mition's perfon, from thofe who had feen him; ard alfo, that he ‘lay under the common-council-men’s pew. The com- mon-council-men’s pew is built over that very (a) very part of the old chancel, where the former clerk’s-defk ftood. Thefe tradi- tions in the parifh, reported to Mr. Strong and Mr. Cole, readily directed them to dig from the prefent chancel, northwards, towards the pillar, againft which the former pulpit and defk had ftood. On Tuefday afternoon, Auguft 3d, notice was brought to Mefirs. Strong and Cole, that the coffin was difcovered. They went immediately to the church ; and, by help of a candle, proceeded un- der the common-council-men’s pew, to the place where the coffin lay. It was in a chalky foil, and dire@ly over a wooden coffin, fuppofed to be that of Milton’s father; tradition hav- ing always reported, that Milton was Ba buried ( 2 ) buried next to his father. The regiftry of the father of Mitton, among the buri- als, in the parifh-book, is ** fob Melton, ** Gentleman, 15th of March, 1646-7.” In digging through the whole {pace, from the prefent chancel, where the ground was opened, to the fituation of the former clerk’s-defk, there was not found any other coffin, which could raife the {malleft doubt of this being Milton’s. The two oldeft, found in the ground, had infcriptions, which Mr. Strong co- pied; they were of as late dates as 1727 and 1739, When he and Mr. Cole had examined the coffin, they ordered water and a bruth to be brought, that they might wath it, in fearch of an infcrip- tion, or initials, or date; but, upon its being C 3 =) being carefully cleanfed, none was found, ‘The following particulars were given ta me in writing, by Mr. Strong, and they contain the admeafurement of the coffin, as taken by him, with a rule “ A « . € a ¢ . 6 a « a 66 tf ce ee a 6 e leaden coffin, found under the com- mon-council-men’s pew, on the north fide of the chancel, nearly under the place, where the old pulpit and clerk’s-detk ftood. The coffin ap- peared to be old, much corroded, and without any in{cription, or plate upon it. Tt was in length five feet ten in- ches, and in width, at the broadeft part, over the fhoulders, one foot four os inches.” Conjecture naturally pointed out, both to Mr. Strong and Mr. Cok, that, by moving the leaden coffin, there would Cm ) would be a great chance of finding fome infcription on the wooden one under- neath ; but, with a juft and leudable piety, they di(dained to difturb the facred athes, after a requiem of 116 years 5 and having, as far as might be, fatisfied their curiofity, and afcertained the faa, which was the fubje& of it, Mr. Cole ordered the ground to be clofed. This was on the afternoon of Tuefday, Auguft the 3d; and, when I waited on. Mr. Strong, on Saturday morning, the 9th, he informed me, that the coffin had be.n found on the Tuefday, had been examined, wafhed, and meafured by him and Mr. Cole; but that the ground had been immediately clofed, when they left the church :—not doubting that Mr. Cole’s C5 ) Cole’s order had been punctually obeyed. But the dire&t contrary appears to have been the faa. : On Tuefday evening, the 3d, Mr. Cole, Mefirs. Laming and Taylor, Holmes, &c. had a merry-meeting, as Mr. Cole ex- preffes himfelf, at Fountain’s houfe: the converfation there turned upon Miiton’s coffin having been difcovered; and, in the courfe of the evening, feveral of thofe prefent expreffing a defire to fee it, Mr. Cole affented, that if the ground was not already clofed, the clofing of it fhould be deferred, until they fhould have fatif- fied their curiofity. Between 8 and 9 e’clock, on Wednefday morning, the 4th, the two overfeers, (Laming and Fountain) and ( 16 ) and Mr. Taylor, went to the houfe of Afcough, the clerk, which leads into the church-yard, and afked for Holmes; they then went with Holmes into the church, and pulled the coffin, which lay deep in the ground, from its original ftation, to - the edge of the excavation, into day-light. Mr. Laming told me, that, to affift in thus removing it, he put his hand into a corroded hole, which he faw in the lead, at the coffin foot. When they had thus removed it, the overfeers alked Holmes if he could open it, that they might fee the body. Holmes immediately fetched a mallet and a chifel, and cut open the top of the coffin, flantwife from the head, as low as the breaft; fo that, the top being doubled backward, they could fee the corpfe ; ( 17 ) corpfe: he cut it open alfo at the foot. Upon firft view of the body, it appeared perfect, and completely enveloped in the fhroud, which was of many folds; the ribs ftanding-up regularly. When they difturbed the fhroud, the ribs fell. Mr. Fountain told. nie, that he pulled hard at the teeth, which refifted, until fome one hit them a knock with a ftone, when they eafily came out. There were but five in the upper-jaw, which were all perfe&tly found and white, and all taken by Mr. Fountain: he gave one of them to Mr. Laming: Mr. Laming alfo took one from the lower-jaw ; and Mr. Taylor took two from it. Mr. Laming told me, that he had at one time a mind to bring away the whole under-jaw with the Cc teeth ( 8) teeth in it; he had it in his hand, but toffed it back again. Alfo, that he lifted up the head, and faw a great quantity of hair, which lay ftrait and even, behind the head, and in the ftate of hair, which had been combed and tied-together be- fure interment: but it was wet; the coffin having confid. rable corroded holes, — both at the head and foot, and a great part of the water, with which it had been wafhed, on the ‘Fuefday afternoon, having run into it, The Overfeers and Mr. Zaylor went away foon afterwards; and Meflrs. Laming and Tayler went home to get fcif fors to cut-off fome of the hair: they returned about ten; when Mr. Laming poked his flick againft the head, and brought € 19 ) brought fome of the hair over the fore= head; but, as they faw the {ciffors were not neceflary, Mr. Taylor took up the hair, as it laid on the forehead, and car~ ried it home. The water, which had got into the coffin, on the Tuefday afternoon, had made a fludge at the bot- tom of it, emitting a naufeous fmell, and which occafioned Mr. Laming to ufe his fick to procure the hair, and not to lift up the head a fecond time, Mr. y Laming alfo took out one of the leg , bones, but threw it in again. Holmes went out of the church, whilft Mefits. Laming, Taylor, and Fountain were there the firft time, and he returned when the two former were come the fecond time. When Meffrs. Laming and Taylor had C2 finally ¢ 20 Jj finally quitted the church, the coffin was removed, from the edge of the ex- cavation, back to its original flation ; but was no otherwife clofed, than by the lid, where it bad been cut and reverfed, being bent down again. Mr. Afcoughs the clerk, was from home the greater part of that day; and Mrs. Hoppey, the fexton, was from home the whole day. “ Elizabeth Grant, the grave-digger, and who is fervant to Mrs. Hoppey, therefore now took poffefiion of the coffin; and, as its fitudtion, under the commou- council-men’s pew, would not admit of its being feen without the help ofa can- dle, fhe kept a tinder-box in the excava+ ton, and, when any perfons came, {truck a light, and conduéted them under the pew 3 C2 ) pew; where, by reverfing the part of the lid which had been cut, fhe ex- hibited the body, at firft for 6d. and af- terwards for 3d. and 2d. each perfon. ‘The workmen in the church kept the doors locked to all thofe who would not pay the price of a pot of beer for entrance, and many, to avoid that pay- ment, got in at a window at the weft end of the church, near to Mr. Afcough’s counting-houfe, I went on Saturday, the 7th, to Mr. Laming’s houfe, to requeft a lock of the hair; but, not meeting with Mr. Taylor at home, went again on Monday the gth, when Mr. Taylor gave me part of what hair he had referved for himfelf. Hawkefworth ( 2) Hewkefworth having informed me, on the Saturday, that Mr. Eiés, the player, had taken fome hair, and that he had feen him take a rib-bone, and carry it away in paper under his coat, I went from Mr. Laming’s, of Monday, to Mr. Eilis, who told me, that he had paid 6d. to Elizabeth Grant for feeing the body ; and that he had lifted up the head, and taken, from among the fludge under it, a fmall quantity of hair, with which was a piece of the fhroud, and, ad- hering to the hair, a bit of the fkin of the fkull, of about the fize of a fhilling. He put them all into my hands, with the rib-bone, which appeared to be one of the upper ribs. The piece of the fhroud was of coarfe linen. The hair, which ( 23 ) which he had taken, was fhort: a fmati part of it he had wafhed, and the res mainder was in the clotted flate, in which he had taken it. He told me, that he had tried to reach down as low as the hands of the corpfe, but had not been able to effect it. The wafhed hair correfponded exaétly with that in my poffeffion, and which I had juft received from Mr. Taylor. Ellis is a very inge- nious worker-in-hair, and he faid, that thinking it would be of great advantage to him to poffefs a quantity of Milon’s hair, he had returned to the church on ‘Thurfday, and had made his endeavors to get accefs a fecond time to the body; but had been refufed admittance. Hawkefworth took a tooth, and broke off a bit ( 24 ) a bit of the coffin; of which I was in- formed by Mr.

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