OLD CURSE ON BATTLE ABBEY

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 26 August 1933, Page 14

OLD CURSE ON BATTLE ABBEY

TN the historic region around , tings, England, the superstitious minded villagers are to-day asking, “Has the famous curse delivered almost four hundred years ago against Battle Abbey been lifted at last?” 'The curse has long been the theme of one of the great English legends and those Britishers who believe in spirits and invocations of evil have long pointed with fear and trembling to the series of disasters that have marked ■the career of Battle Abbey and of those connected with it, says the “iSan Francisco Chronicle.” The curse is said to have been laid on the abbey by a monk in 1543 after Henry VIII drove the churchmen out of. the great building and presented it to his “master of horse,” Sir Anthony Browne. . The disasters culminated two years ago. in the burning of the famous old 'building, but since that time it has been rebuilt. A few weeks ago, in dedicating the 'restored structure, Dr G. K. A. Bell, Bishop'of Chichester, delivered the following blessing, which the superstitious among his listeners interpreted as lifting the curse for ever. “Wo beseech Thee, O Lord, to pour down Thy manifold blessings on these venerable buildings, now restored after partial destruction. Aod if, peradventure, any wilful, baneful, or malicious influence was exerted or invoked in the past against the safety, peace, and well-being, of Battle Abbey, may that evil be forthwith and forever lifted for the glory of Thy name.” The Bishop spoke this prayer at the request of Miss Shiela Brownrigg, a scholar well acquainted with the mysterious history of the old abbey. Whether Miss Brownrigg made her strange request due to her own belief in the ancient story or to dissipate the fears of the people of the countryside is unknown. But the entire history of the curse and the curious way it seemed to have been carried down through the centuries will interest even those who scoff at haunting spirits, ghosts, demonology and the like. After taking possession of the abbey and evicting the monks to whom it rightfully belonged, 'Sir Anthony Browne thought it only fitting that he give a great feast to celebrate the event. His henchmen and followers, fair ladies and fellow-nobles were invited to his grand fete. But just as they were about to partake of the spread in the great hall of the old edifice, an infuriated monk, one of those who had been ejected, burst in upon the company. Standing- there in his robes of the church, with right hand upraised, in a vitriolic fury, he pronounced these fateful words: . “You shall be cursed in sleeping and waking, in eating and drinking, in your incomings and outgoings, and i your posterity shall be doomed to ex- i tinction by fire and water.” The merrymakers laughed, servitors : *>f 'Sir Anthony ejected the furious ■] monk, and the feasting continued. But : there was something hollow about the j ......

4> Destruction Invoked by Angry Monk

merrymakers’ jests and grins, for prophecies of evil ■were much more feared in those days than they are now. But as the years went by and there came no particular evidence that the terrible curse was being carried out most of those who had heard the monk’s words forgot them. For two hundred years and more the descendants of Sir Anthony Browne continued to live lives, unmolested by supernatural forces, and to die natural deaths. It was in 1793, declare those who believe in the legend, that the curse began to be carried out. In that year the home of Viscount Montague on the abbey property was burned down and ! a month later the viscount himself, who • had not hoard of this tragedy, was | drowned in the EhirnT B-iver. “The old curse is being fulfilled. De- * struction by fire and water is being accomplished just as the monk predicted so long ago,” the folks of the countryside told each other in quavering voices. 'Some years later two sons of Mrs Stephen Poyntz, who had inherited the property, were drowned. Subsequently the historic lands fell into the posses- ' sion of Sir Thomas Webster and strange misfortunes befell his line also. In 1017, Lady Webster and her twelve-year-old „ daughter, Evelyn, were drowned in a lake near Battle Abbey. The son and heir to the property, Godfrey Vassal Augustus Webster, was killed in action two months later on the battlefields of France. The fire in 1931 destroyed the Abbot’s Hall of the Abbey. This section of the old estate dated from the eleventh century and. of recent years had ben used as a girls’ school. Fortunately, on the day of the conflagration, the students were marshalled and marched out in safety, but the flames destroyed many relics of the Battle of Hastings in which William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of England. Among these was a banner of William’s valued at £IO,OOO, and a high altar built over the spot where the last Saxon king was buried. In all England there is no more historic spot than Hastings, near which the old abbey lias so long stood. William, before going into battle with Harold, vowed, it is said, that if he won he would build an abbey on the spot. ATot many years after his notable and decisive victory the structure was completed and consecrated. In the recent dedicatory exercise in which the old “fire and water” curse was lifted, the Earl and Countess of Athlone and many other British notables participated. During the restoration work many hidden examples of ancient architecture were discovered. In the Abbot’s chapel a piscina (baptismal font) in perfect mndition was found, as well as one of he original windows of the subvault >f the Abbot’s great chamber. A small second chapel was also uncovered with ts original east windows intact. It lad an arched recess for the altar and i window between the chapel and the jreat chamber.