1639 COUNTRY LIFE-JUNE 2. 1950 MEMENTOS OF THE SEVEN BISHOPS SIGNIFICANCE OF A PEWTER CHARGER TRACED By A. V. SUTHERLAND-GRAEME than one painting. They were later pewter relieve them from these disabilities, and, as it in more OME years ago I was shown a large in Westminster Hall on a charge of that the was certain that Parliament would not repeal tried charger (Fig. 2). I was informed and publishing a seditious libel, and, the inci­ the Act, he issued a Declaration of Indulgence, writing S engraving on. it commemorated 2, 1688, after a three-day hearing, they made an Order in Council requiring it to on July dent commonly known as the Trial of the Seven and seven bishops concerned in all the churches of England in May were acquitted. The Bishops in the reign of King James II (1688). be read Turner, Bishop of . The matter was thus one of were Archbishop Sancroft, time of my inspection there were several and June, 1688 of Bath and At the importance, no less than Ely, \Vhite of Peterborough, Ken "memento" chargers in circulation, pur­ great constitutional of Bristol, such could override the law. The \Vells, Lake of Chichester, Trelawney to commemorate notable events in this whether the King porting of the clergy, headed by their and Lloyd of St. Asaph. outstanding period, such as the Restoration, the vast majority Turning to Fig. 2 it refused to obey the order. Sancroft, So much for history. marriage of Charles n, the Plague a nd the Fire bishops, well of the charger con­ of Canterbury, called his provincials will be noted that the of London, and there was little doubt that some Archbishop engraving of Sancroft, at Lambeth, where they decided that tains a large bust of these were spurious, either as a whole or as together of bay leaves, both inside declaration was illegal, and seven of encircled by a wreath to the engraving; it therefore behoved one to the King's inscription Saner,,/t a protest to that effect, which was and outside which runs the be extremely cautious in one's approach to this them signed , the .inner containing, to the King. Their action was stig­ Arehiepise Cantuar 1688 new subject. presented name Gvil. On the him as a standard of rebellion, and in addition, his christian There were, indeed, several reasons for matised by is engraved a sun in signatories were committed to the rim, immediately above, thinking that this example, an exceedingly the seven spaced around the remainder, an incident which has been portrayed glory, and, equally clever piece of work, might not be genuine. Of Tower, are portrait busts of seven (not these reasons one, which I six) bishops, the addition being admit weighed heavily, was that of Henry Compton, that the engraving appeared Bishop of London, who did not to be historically inaccurate; figure in the trial. and, in order that the point At first sight this point may be the better appreciated, appeared to furnish strong it would be well to state briefly support to the other reasons the salient features of the which existed for considering case against the bishops, as the charger to be spurious. it was of an importance far Here was a case in which, in an outweighing the actual issne attempt to throw the glamour involved. of a historical and ecclesiastical At the time of J ames n's association over a piece, the accession (1685) the Roman maker, or at any rate the en­ Catholics of England were graver, had fallen down. How­ suffering under grievous dis­ ever, the war prevented any abilities as the result, inter pursuit of the matter at that alia, of the Test Act, which time. I had been anxious to prevented them from holding there might have OF BISHOP ascertain if any civil or military office. I.-COVER OF SNUFF BOX WITH EFFIGIES been any foundation for what, IN 1688. J ames, himself a Roman COMPTON AND SIX OF THE BISHOPS TRIED on the face of it, appeared to t o SANCROFT Catholic, was determined (Right) MEDALLION WITH EFFIGY OF ARCHBISHOP be such an obvious error; but the opportunity lapsed for more than ten years, to be revived in 1949, when :Mrs. Dickson, of Bournemouth, an honorary curator of the Fitz\viliiam Museum, showed me a little sil ver snuff, or comfit , box (Fig. I) in her collection. Of the genuineness of this trinket there is no doubt. Its maker's mark, I{. R., is recorded as that o[ a late 17th­ century sih-ersl1lith, who apparently specialised in these small articles. This mar k appears upon the drum. The cover was formed from a medalli on like many that seem to have been made at, or soon after, the time of the incident. They measure IH ins. in diameter, a nd as will be seen, bear the effigy of Bishop Compton of London in the centre, surrounded by the six bishops a lreacl\' mentioned. Occupying the whole of the reverse is the effig y o [ Sancroft, surrounded by the same inscription (with Gvil) as appears upon the charger; this effigy is seen in Fig. 1 upon one of the medallions now in my possession. The inclu sion of Compton, therefore, was obviously of design. and an incursion into history supplied the reason. He had al readv been suspended some two years earlier for his refusal to ta ke action against a London vicar for preaching against the lloJ11cUl Chu rc h, and he would, no doubt, ha\'e been generally regarded as a fellow sufferer, with his seven brethren, from the tyranny of J ames. The inaccuracy, therefore, to which I alluded lay in describing the pewter charger a s commemorating the Trial of the Seven Bishops when in [act it bore witness to something grea ter-the steadfastness of the Church under its leaders in the face of illegal attempts a t coercion. Incidentally, this theme is en larged upon in the case of another medallion of larger size. This depicts, correctly, the seven prelates upon one side, while upon the reverse is an a ll egorical subject, a g reat church stanciing upon rocks. Two fi gures attired as monks are sho\\'n wielding p ickaxes with which they are attempting to destroy the founciations; the symbolism of this is obvious. It only remains to add that others who have inspected the pewter charger, and whose opinions carry great weight, a re satisfi ed that whatever may have been the date of its manufacture, the engraving upon it, which was obviously copied from one of the medallions, is certainly OF with the Trial of the Seven 2.-PEWTER CHARGER DATED 1688 WITH EFFIGIES not contemporary by many years AND SEVEN BISHOPS. INCLUDING Bishops. ARCHBISHOP SANCROFT for , OF LONDON. THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS PIECE I am indebted to my friend Mr. A. G. Grimwade COMPTON the silversmith's touch. IS DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE his assistance in establishing