A Brief Account of the Antiquities, Family Pictures and Other Notable Articles

A B RI EF ACCOUNT OF THE A N TI U ITI E S ’ FAM I LY PICT U RES Q , AND OTH ER NOTAB LE A RTICL ES % BBEY E T FLA LEY A , C0 . G LO U C S E R . R F AM ILY U SE A ND P VAT I NF AT COM PI LED FO R I E OR M I ON ONLY . W . 1 1 2 . A . C B . , 9 BRISTOL E . H MMON S . W C , 2, ST STEPHEN STREET . t h se w In the preparation of e notes , the riter is much indebted to his nephew, B . Es . and . M . now Sir Francis H C , John D Pode , q , H artin Gibbs , Esq The death of the late Lord Aldenharn has deprived the family of his unrivalled know- ledge o i all the subjects discussed in this paper . These Notes must be read in Flaxle Cartular 1 88 M emoirs o the connection with the y y, published in 7 , and the f B ve F amil Lon m ans . oe y y ( g , both by the present writer jf lagleg Elbbeg pictures. HE E o f fo r T S pictures consist two distinct groups, which may the present purpose be roughly classified as follows L P s ( ) ortraits and mi cellaneous pictures painted for, or acquired by, the o f Bo ev e erlo d e owners Flaxley Abbey, during the y p , b fore or soon , . 1 6 . after the purchase of the Abbey property, circ 54 I L P fo r ( ) ortraits and other pictures painted , or acquired by, the owners o f 1 the Abbey during the Crawley period, subsequent to 7 26 . As regards the first and more important group of pictures, the following — facts and dates are important to bear in mind . The family o f Andrew Bo ev ey 1 62 elder— o ssessed who died in 5 , during the same year as Abraham Clarke the p large property in Chelsea and the purchase o f Flaxley Abbey was effected by ; ’ Bo ev e s William and James , two of Andrew y sons , during the Commonwealth r 1 6 . period , ci c . 54 Joanna , their sister, widow of Abraham Clarke the elder, l f became , by fami y arrangement , sole owner and mistress of Flaxley Abbey a ter t W m Bo ev e e 1 66 1 . he death of her brother, illia y the eld r, in She was the first o f x E resident occupier and possessor in her own right the Fla ley Abbey state , s I t be d after its sale by the Kingston . seems to highly probable that the ol est Bo ev ey portraits and other pictures bearing dates before the purchase of Flaxley Abbey , were painted by the fashionable artists of the day , temp . James I . and 7 8 I . f e Charles , and were trans erred to Flaxley Abb y when Joanna Clarke took up f o f o f her residence there a ter she became mistress the Abbey in the time Charles II . W The Abbey and all its possessions were granted to Sir illiam Kingston , Constable o f i lls f W o R o f . Br av e f o f the Castle St and Chie arden the oyal Forest Dean , by H V o f 1 6 . King enry III , at the time the Dissolution in 53 The Abbey Church was then destroyed, and the buildings of the Monastery were adapted for the purposes o f a private residence . The Kingston period lasted from the Dissolution o f the 1 6 o f . Monastery in 53 to the time the Commonwealth circ 1 654 . This period is chie% y notable fo r the extensive destruction and transformation o f the Flaxley . Monastery which then took place The principal buildings , including the Abbey Church and Cemetery of St . Mary of Dean , were then utterly destroyed, leaving ' ll r tio n the f sm a o . only a p of original Cistercian abric undisturbed This portion , i ’ Offi which is now used as the K tchen and Servants ces of the Abbey, exhibits a ‘ o f i good specimen typical Cistercian arch tecture, and is of great public interest . i The ruined buildings were, as usual n such cases, treated as a common stone quarry , and the materials were either buried in the ground, or were utilised in P the construction of the existing premises . ortions of the original Abbey fabric f have been ound in all directions near the present buildings, and many carved - f t stones , pillar bases , and other interesting ragmen s of the ancient Monastery, o f are still preserved . The dimensions and probable character the original Abbey Church can best be estimated by comparison with other Cistercian Abbeys o f the i same class , and those who have seen the remarkable ruins of Strata Flor da in W o f is ales , where the outline the Cistercian Church still visible , can form a good idea of the size and general character of the Flaxley Abbey Church as it existed m ean -lo o kin at the time o f t he Dissolution . The Kingstons erected a small and g ’ f N F or est o Dean . 1 8 o Chapel, as shown in icholl s f , p 9, near the site the present f P o f . o Flaxley arish Church, but the ancient shrine and Cemetery St Mary Dean, 9 o n with all its old ass ciations from the time of Stephe , perished at the Dissolution, and the foundations , which are buried in the soil of the present garden premises , alone remain to attest the completeness of the destruction that then took place . a B o ev e s e It is a striking fact th t the Dutch y , who wer ruined and driven o f i n o f E z fo r o ut of Holland by the Duke Alva, the time Queen li abeth, their f adherence to the reformed aith , should have prospered greatly in their adopted z B country, and, becoming naturali ed ritish subjects, should have succeeded, as “ - e al land own rs and loc magnates, the Kingstons , who destroyed the Flaxley Abbey B Church and drove out the Monks . oth Monks and Kingstons have long passed Bo eve s away and are forgotten , but the y are still remembered, through the . Bo ev e f o f generosity of Mrs Catherine y , as the ounders and supporters the first laxle Parislr F y Church, which, though legally only a privat e donative, and outside di B h G H f the juris ction of the is ops of loucester and ere o rd, supplied, in some c e measure , the place of the ancient Abbey Chur h, and was substitut d for the f n 1 26 . o Kingsto Chapel after 7 For a good illustration this Church, photographed - f R . rom an old water colour painting, the writer is indebted to his nephew, Thomas - r Bo . Bo ev e f C awley ev ey Mrs . y has the urther claim to remembrance as one o f the original pioneers and founders o f the great scheme of Sunday Schools in G f R t R i loucestershire, long be ore ober aikes converted into a method cal system . B what she, Col Maynard Colchester, and others , under the inspiration of ishop - - Westb ur o n Sev ern . Ken , had practised, both at Flaxley, y , and other places B e . o v e o Mrs y was also , in conjunction with thers, one of the original founders of — the Three Choir Festiv als an admirable cha ritable scheme which is still in i . o ex stence These facts are worth remembrance , as an interesting illustrati n of G c lou estershire history, and an answer to those who assert that the resumption of Monastic property was a crime which has always entailed a curse on subsequent ) . No has di e o f possessors ghost ever sturbed the p ace FlaxleyAbbey, though the I O n En lish fr umerous grants made to Flaxley Abbey by many g Sovereigns , om the o f R I H . m V . time ichard , were resu ed by King enry III and whatever we may t o f r di hink his arbit ary procee ngs at the time , it may be admitted that some reparation has since been made fo r the public loss which was entailed by the o f grievous events the Dissolutio n . f P The present beauti ul arish Church of Flaxley, designed by Mr . Gilbert m unificent W G E s o f T nt esfield Scott , was the gift of illiam ibbs , q , y , Somerset , ' whose family have inherited the love o f Flaxley which is shared by all who have been co nnected with that most interesting place . The following is a list o f the principal Flaxley portraits and miscellaneous pictures which can be identified with tolerable certainty as belonging to the first di Bo ev e . o f o f or y group The mensions each picture , as given in the oldest list - f . Crawle Bo ev e Flaxley pictures prepared in or be ore the time of the first Sir T y y , f f are recorded . These measurements a ford valuable help in identi ying the pictures oeve M emoir s 1 8 8 di referred to .

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