Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 6.djvu/464

 384 NOTES AND QUERIES, tr s. vi. NOV. 17, IMOL some of the guests who, centuries ago, sat at the cablea in frout of us—the Karl of (Shrews- bury, of a family whose name is so old as to be iuj.uo.sL impossible to trace; the Earl of Worcester; the Earl of Cumberland, of a younger family, no doubt; the Bishop ot London; and not improbably Queen Elizabeth herself. Associations of this description, combined with the appearance of the hall, are calculated to carry our minds back to the days of sliding panels. The room, which is large, is panelled with rich dark - coloured oak round its entire sides, as fresh in appear- ance as oil the day when it left the hands of the workmen. The mantle-piece is delight- fully carved and made up of miniature or small panels, with a centre one of the arch- bishop s coat of arms; above it, on one side, the rose of Lancaster, on the other the rose of York. The architectural designs of the remaining panels are somewhat obscure, and the arches or gateways put one in mind of Anglo-Norman architecture as seen in some ancient churches in Cornwall and a few other counties. The oak tables are original pieces of furniture and very much worn, and have in one parD been patched with a common piece ot soft wood, and painted—or, to be more correct, one has beeu added to in this barbarous manner. There are two oak chests in this room: a small and unimportant one and a large " Armada" one, bound with iron, as is usual with these reminders of the days of Spain's abortive attempt to seize our coast. It has three spring locks and a provision for a bar to pass through iron openings the whole length of the box and to De pauiocked. This cheat is the one reterred to by the arch- bishop in cap. 15 of his Statutes, one key of which was to be in charge of the " Wardeine," one in the keeping of the " Schooleinaster," and the third in tue custody of the "auucieutest" brother. The chest at present contains records of the hospital, the earliest consisting of the names, dates, tfcc., of wardens, brothers, and sisters, the nrst entry being "Thomas Elisou, of the parysh of Croyuon, blynde, and of the age of Ixxi. yeares, entred with his wife the seconde of October, anno doin. 1599.'' The records are complete, except those from 1774 to 1800, windi were found wanting when Dr. ilose was discovered to be a defaulter in respect of the funds of the hospital, in 1812 a complaint was made to Archbishop button oil this matter, the result being itose was found to be dehcient to the amount of 2021. 9s. lOd. This, however, did not satisfy the then Warden and brethren, who seem at this period to have maintained and kept their rights and liberties unimpaired and inviolate (now only represented in spirit and truth by the present Warden). An action was raised, and the result was a verdict for the plaintiffs for 762J. 15s. Id. Needless to say, Dr. Rose resigned. When a comparison was desired between the previous chaplain's administra- tion and liose's the books were not to be found. The earlier accounts and entries are beautifully written, and are a study in the gradual transformation—not over creditable to latter days—which years have brought about in the art of penmanship. In the box referred to is preserved an* Elizabethan mazer beech wood bowl, with a deep rim of beaten silver, and a rose noble set in the centre. Another basin, or mazer, is of solid beaten silver, with the arms of the giver, Dean Nevill of Canterbury, and of Whitgift inside. This basin weighs 29 oz. A touch of a large area of the panelling leaves the impression that it covered secret recesses, but the Warden does not favour this. When, however, one comes to note the very great care which it is evident Whitgift took to secure his safety while in bed, it is not improbable that he may have had some secret place where he stored his more precious belongings, and no place is more likely than his peaceful retreat among the " poor brethren " with whom he delighted to dwell. In the audience room is hung the old sign of the "Swan " public-house, which stood at the north end of the hospital, and was the property of the same. This hostelry was one of the oldest in the country, and its title-deeds went back, I believe, to the time of Edward IV. The alienating of this build- ing and ground by those who possibly had, or were allowed to have, the power, with questionable rights to do so, cannot be looked upon as a stroke of sharp business, but rather as a short-sighted transaction, if nothing else. But it is to be feared some- thing even more pertinent could be well and justifiably added. ALFRED CHAS. JONAS, F.S.A.E. (To bt continued.) DOWNING STBEET: OEIGIN OP THE NAME. N — The remarks made by Mr. Choate in ' his speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet on the 9th inst. as to the origin of the name given to " the smallest and yet the greatest street in the world, because it lay at the hub of the gigantic wheel which encircled the globe under the name of ' The British Empire' ••-Downing Street," call to mind the many