ROYAL CHAPEL OF HISTORY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 115, 17 May 1930, Page 20

ROYAL CHAPEL OF HISTORY

LINKS-vyvitH^QUEENS. OF,ENGLAND

There stands, little known, and, indeed, almost unsiispec.ted, in Regent's Park, a lovely treasure-house breathing English history. It is the Chapel of the Royal College of St. Katharine, one of the most interesting features of which is the fifteenth-century Chantry Tomb of the Duke of Exeter. But this tomb is only one of many treasured possessions which the church contains—some of them with associations which make them priceless (writes a special correspondent to the "Sunday Times," London). Its story goes back nearly 800 years. Queen Matilda, wife of King Stephen, lost-.by., death two-children, Baldwin and Maud, and in their memory decided to build a hospital which, in those days, of course, was an institution not so much for the care of the sick as a refuge for the poor and aged. She obtained from the Priory of, -Holy Trinity, Aldgate, a piece of lan 3 upon which to erect it, and■■/ in 1148 it was dedicated to St. Katharine, probably because Crusaders had brought to England the fame of Katharine of Alexandria, martyred in A.D. 307; Ever since the Queens of England, Regent or Regnant, have been its patrons, and in varying degrees have taken keen interest in its work. The hospital remained in which is now the East End of London, not far from the To.wer, down to the year 1825, and its master, brothers, and sisters there 7 did much good work on behalf of-the needy and the;; suffering. ;in_ that year, however,'by Act of Parliament, the hospital was destroyed and the land sold to a company which built what is now known as St. Katherine.'s Dock. It was, in consequence, that the existing buildings, with the beautiful church :in the centre, were put up.in- Regent's Park to,designs by a famous architect, of the, time, Ambrose Poynter. There the chapel remains, little,' changed and. quite unspoiled. \ : )■ : ,:.••■■'. I Adelaide, as patron, established excellent schools for boys and girls, which existed down to 1915, when they were abolished, and the social activities of the Foundation are once more, in accordance with tradi,tion, carried on in the East End. There is nothing about the. quiet dignity of the exterior of the chapel to indicate the beauty of the interior. Once inside, however, the Duke of Exeter's Chantry Tomb immediately attracts. Its presence is explained by an inscription on a large brass plate, which reads: ! 1 ;This monument was erected in the

Collegiate (Church of St. Katharine, near the Tower, to tho memory of John Holland, Duko of Exeter,-Earl of Huntingdon, and Ivery and Lord of Sparr, and Admiral of England, Ireland/and Aquitaino, Knight of" the Most Noble Order of the Garter and Constable of the Tower. He died sth August, 1447. Also to the memory of his two wives—namely, Anne, daughter of Edmund, Earl of Stafford, by whom he had issue Henry Holland, the last Duke of Exeter, who married Ann', sister of King Edward IV., and- died without issue; Ann, daughter of John-Monta-cute, Earl of Salisbury, by _whom he had" issue Anne, .mother of Ralph Nevil, third Earl of Westmorland. <,-.' ' Their remains, having been carefully removed from their original place of interment, are deposited in v) this Chapel, as are those of the others-per-sons, whose monuments and gfevestones were transferred to itvfrom: the Collegiate Church of St. Kathkrine.: Around the walls of the chapffiare shields on which are painted the'^rms of all Queens Consort and Queens: Regnant of England since the ddys of Matiida down to, her present Majesty.; Queen Alexandra took particular.-in-terest in the fortunes of the ancient Foundation, and almost underneath the Jacobean pulpit, running alongside the wall,\is,a pew in' which shejoften sat as a Worshipper. Queen Maryj too, has continued this association- as patron. %,.-'■■ '!■'}' In the old days it possessed "'some wonderful'Jplate and jewels, a list of which' has been preserved to- this day. Unfortunately, practically all this plate , appears to have been removed by Sir Thomas Seymour,- : the first Lay-master of the hospital, "who married Katherine . Parr, widow of Henry VIII. But in the Regent's Park building, taken thither from the :i old ediflce,\ is beautiful; brass and silver, acquired: v atj : abater period, some -fine pictures;i -<me by Rubens over* : the altar.("ThV Adoration of the Magi") —a Murillo^a^d some exquisite pieces of RenaissaneeK carving.' ;;i;i The Miserere''stalla and canopies are other objects of/special interest,; and the organ, also brought from the original building.by the Tower, was built by the famous Greene, who was responsible for the organ of St. George's Chapel, Windsor. /> The" fine building immediately, opposite the church,;ncw the outpatients' department of tto.-West End Hospital for Nervous Diseases, was erected' at the ;time ;of .St. Katharine's removal by Sir HerbertrTaylor/. the then Master, as the Master^ House, and so it remained for many years. ;