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Notice of an Ancient Scottish Lectern of Brass, Now In NOTICE OF AN ANCIENT SCOTTISH LECTERN. 287 II. NOTIC ANCIENN A F EO T SCOTTISH LECTERE TH N BRASSI F NO W NO , PARISH CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN'S, ST ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE. BY WILLIAM GALLOWAY, ARCHITECT, COKR. MEM. S.A. SCOT. (Plate III.) Apart froconjecturey man s history it o t s ,a s this lecter speciaf o s i n l interest knowns froa beings r m it onle fa th o , ys , example, eithe woon i r d or metal, formerly pertaining to Scotland, which has escaped the disastrous issues of civil and religious commotion. It is still used for its original purpose, and, excep certain i t n pointe afterwardb o t s s noticed s quiti , e uninjured s preservatioIt . bees greaa nha o nt t extent accidentals it d an , original connection with St Stephen's matter of surmise, rather than of definite information principae Th . l fact know s thatni , abou e yeath t r 1750, while a grave was being dug within the area of the chancel, the lectern was found buried in the soil.1 It is supposed to have been so concealed for safety at the time of the Civil Wars, and to have been pre- sente t Stephen'S o dt s Churc r Richar Sopwellf Si o y e hb dLe , upon whom, with other benefactions, King Henry VIII. conferred the advowson of the vicarage.2 Richaralreadis Sir Lee dy well know connectionin n wit Earhthe l of Hertford's invasio f Scotlano n n 1544i n thid O s . occasione th , fact of his accompanying the English army into Scotland, is not brought r knowledgtou oy militar an y b ey exploit e performedh s , other than that known in modern times as " looting." In Patten's account of the subsequent expedition of 1547, his name occurs in the list of "noblemen and special officers," as " deuisour of the fortifications to be made, "a designatio n which agrees with tha f Camdeno t callo m shi wh , pros/edits euniculariorum, or commander of the pioneers. In the latter capacity he rendered important service to the invading army, in the way of road-making e dangerouth t ,a s pass calle Peathse d th alse H o . under- ' Vide Additional Note, No. I. - Ibid., Wo. II. 8 28 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , APKI , 1879L14 . mined and blew up the fortalices of Dunglass, Thornton, and lunerwick. firse Othesf th fo t narratoe eth r states tha "e walleth t s wer thico es d kan foundacion so depe, and ther to set upon so craggy a plot, that it was not an easy matter sone to underdig them." After the battle of Pinkie, and the entry of the English army into Leith, the Duke of Somerset, with the Council, and Sir Richard Lee "rode about ye toun, and to the plottes and hilloks on eyther syde nie to it, to viewe and consider whither the same by byldying might be made tenable and defensible." As the result of this consultation, apparently more " to kepe the pioneers sum- wha n exercisei t " than from any real necessity, "alon e easgth t sydf o e Lyeth a greats dich and trench" was accordingly "cast touard the Frith, the woorke whearof continued till the mornyng of deparytng." Still more minut descriptioe th s ei n e meansgiveth f y whicno b h Roxburgh Castl s turnewa e d int oa permanen t r Richarcampdute Si th n ye o , dLe falling relates chroniclere a th , y db , "to deuys e fourmth e f byldyno e g for forliGcacious, wlioom suerly the goodues of his wytt and his greate experience hath mad than ei t science right excellent." Notwithstanding these incidental notices e spoi, th sav carriee r h l efo d off, the name of Sir Richard Lee would have been remembered only as e militarth on f eo y favourite f Henro s y VIII profiteo wh . d largele th y yb dissolution of the religious houses, especially those of St Alban's and Sopwell. Beyond this narrow limi s famhi t e chiefl ypresentae restth n so - brazetioa f no nparise th fon o t ht churct AlbansS f o h , forming parf o t the "loot" of 1544, upon which he caused a magniloquent inscription to be engraved, bearing that this font previously designed for the baptism only of the children of kings, in gratitude for its rescue from the fire which consumed Edinburgh and Leith, now offered the same service to the meanest of the English. The entire point of the inscription, and that which conferred on the font itself historic interest, wordse th la n yi , " non nisi regum liberos lavare solitus;" therd n an eca be little doubt that this font was really removed from the Abbey Church of Holyrood. This surmis s stili e l further confirme e facth t y thab d t among a variety of things added to the church at Holyrood by Abbot •NOTICE OF AN ANCIENT SCOTTISH LECTERN. 289 Bellende "a s brasynwa n fount," whic identicae doubth o hs n wa tl article so purloined centura d an , y later melted down into money durin Civie gth l Wars, to the great grief of Thomas Fuller, to whom we are principally indebted for our knowledge of the circumstance. It is the presentation of this brazen font to the Abbey Church of St Albans, combined wit connectios hhi n wit vicarage hth parisd t S an e f ho Stephens, which has suggested the idea that the lectern also was brought from Scotlan r RicharSi y db t Stephen' dS Lee^presenteo d t an , m shi y db Church inscriptioe Th .f course o , nis , conclusiv s origina it d o t an , s ea little inquiry will show tha e factth t s e inscriptiostateth e n i dth n o n font, and the name engraved on the lectern, corroborate the belief that they must have bee t onlnno y both carried same awath tjit ey ya b etim d ean same hand t alsbu ,o forme decclesiasticae parth f o t l appurtenances of'the Abbey Churc f Holyroodho . generae Th l desig f thio n s lectern seem havo t s e bee nfavourita e eon for objects of this class cast in brass in the period to which it must be attributed eagln A e. with expanded wings restglobea n so , supporten di its turn by a shaft, partly circular, partly hexagonal, and decorated with several group mouldingsf so s presenit n I .t stat lectere eth fee3 0 s n1 i t inches in height from the floor to the top of the globe, and 5 feet 7 extremeaglee e incheth Th f .n o tota i se p diametelto heighe th o t t ta r basfooe 1 th s eti 9£ inches, above this ther s 1i e1 inche heighn i s f o t circular mouldings, the inchen5 hexagonaa f so l portion, above which rises the shaft decorated with three groups of circular mouldings,—one group roun basee dth , another formin a gcentra e thirl th band dd forman , a s necking between the shaft and the globe above. This globe is oblate, being 11 inches in horizontal diameter and about 8 inches deep. All the claws of the eagle, which may possibly have been of silver, are gone, but from the extremity of the toes to the crest it is 1 foot 10£ inches in vertical height, and 1 foot 9 inches horizontally from the tip of the bill to the extremit average taile Th th .f yeo breadth ove outstretchee th r d wings si foo1 t 11£ inches ove d projectine an ,th r g spu fee2 r inches2 t winge th , s themselves being 18J inche e eagllengthn th i s feee f eo tTh hav . e been VOL. XIII. T 0 29 PROCEEDING SSOCIETYE jpFTH , APRI , 1879L14 . very clumsily soldere e globth o edt wit ht i mus leadd t an ,hav e been detached at some time or other. At the lower part of the wings on each side there are circular knobs 1J inch diameter, and in the centre of the tail a small orifice f of an inch in diameter. < Across the entire breadth of the tail there is the mark of an attachment for a metal slip or ledge stretch- ing between the knobs, which still show its fractured extremities. As now used support is given to the book by means of a wooden desk hooked on to the wings. The upper part of the lectern, including the eagle, globe, and neck mouldings beneath it, rotates quite freely upon the shaft. e lecter Th s been.. nha . originally supported upon three feet, whice ar h now gone, their only external evidence being fractures in the lower rim of the base, two of these fractures being 5 inches, and the third 8i inches 7 O ' £ in breadth.. On turning up the lectern, however, the knobs forming the hinde seen feerstilbe parthe are t.to l of t The covereyare d with deeply graven flowing lines thao s , t they possibly 'may have been lions' feet, although the complete figure of a lion resting on a small pedestal is" by no means unfrequent. The usual number of feet is also three, but occa- sionally ' there are four. Where exposed the thickness of the metal is about \ of an inch. inscriptioe Th n uppee occurth n rs o wave-mouldin centrae th f go l band, and is quite sharp and distinct, the lectern having been happily untouched hande scourerbe yth th f so plai.a n Thero n l shiel al firss e i f o liotda n rampant, then the inscription itself—(SjOtfltUS + ©ttfiCjjtOUtt+ iEptscopus + SJunKcltr^nst's.
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