In the South Quire Aisle of St George’s Chapel, there are two recesses opposite one another. Below the one on the north side of the aisle is carved an inscription, with the letters delineated in black. It reads as follows:

Who leyde this booke here The Reverend Fader in god Richard Beauchamp Bisschop of this Diocyse of Sarysbury and wherfor to this entent that Preestis and ministers of goddis chirche may here haue the occupacion therof seyyng therin theyr divine servyse and for alle othir that lystyn to sey therby ther devocyon  askyth he any sp’uall mede  yee asmoche as oure lord lyst to reward hym for his good entent praying euery man w’os dute or devocion is eased by thys booke they woll sey for hym this commune Oryson Dne Ihu xpe: knelyng in the presence of this holy Crosse for the wyche the Reverend Fadir in god above seyd hathe grauntid of the treasure of the Chirche to eu’y man xl days of pardun

Who laid this book here? – The Reverend Father in God Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of this Diocese of Salisbury.
And for what? – For this purpose: that priests and ministers of God’s church may use it, saying by it their divine service, and for everyone else who wishes to use it to say their prayers.
Does he ask for any spiritual gift? – Yes, as much as Our Lord wishes to reward him for his good intention, beseeching every man whose duty or prayers are eased by this book to say for him this common prayer: Domine Jesu Christe, kneeling in the presence of this holy cross, for which the Reverend Father in God named above has granted from the treasure of the Church to every man 40 days’ pardon.

The book which would once have lain in the recess was probably a copy of the Sarum Porthos, or Breviary – a liturgical book containing prayers, hymns, psalms and readings according to the Sarum Rite (or Use of Salisbury), the variant of the Catholic liturgy most widely used in medieval England. A case containing a modern day prayer book now stands in the recess.

Richard Beauchamp was Bishop of Salisbury (written with the medieval spelling ‘Sarisbury ‘in the inscription) from 1450 to his death 1481, and it was he whom Edward IV chose to oversee the construction of the present St George’s Chapel. A boss on the roof just above depicts Bishop Beauchamp and Edward IV kneeling to the Cross Gneth or Croes Naid, a relic believed to be a piece of the True Cross which was kept here until 1552. This is the ‘Holy Cross’ referred to in the inscription.

The ‘treasure of the church’ is the merit accumulated by Christ and the good works of Catholics, by means of which indulgences may be granted to individuals to reduce the punishment they will experience in Purgatory. In this case, praying before the Cross Gneth would earn you the amount of pardon equivalent to that gained by forty days of penance.

Nathanael Hodge (Work experience student)

Since its inception in 1348, the Order of the Garter has never been awarded to people of great literary, musical or artistic achievement.  This is partly because other honours exist for such people.  Had Shakespeare been a favoured courtier or politician as well as a playwright, then maybe he would have been considered for the Garter, but his great plays alone would not have qualified him for admission to the Order.  Having said this, a good many of the Garter knights had interesting cultural hinterlands, especially those with the means and the leisure time to pursue other interests.  Some were gifted musicians and writers, others dabbled in art or poetry.  More importantly perhaps, some were generous patrons of the arts in general.

The name of Charles Sackville (1643-1706) may not ring many cultural bells today, but he was a talented poet, examples of whose works can be found in 20th century anthologies such as The Oxford Book of English Verse.  He was probably born in Essex (one of thirteen children), into a middling aristocratic background, his mother being the daughter of the Earl of Middlesex.  His father later became Earl of Dorset, and Charles was to inherit the earldoms of both counties.  Like many young men of his social status, he had a private education, and spent time abroad with his tutor, returning to England after Charles II’s restoration in 1660.

In Charles II’s first parliament, he had a seat as MP for East Grinstead in Sussex, but this was a mere sinecure as he had no real interest in politics.  Rather, he made his reputation at court through his wit and general gaiety, which readily appealed to the raffish king.  It seems he was something of a rake and a libertine too, being a close friend of Sir Charles Sedley (1639-1701) and John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680), two leading exponents of the decadent life. He enlisted briefly in the navy in 1664 without seeing action, but the same year wrote: “To all you ladies now at land”, which quickly became popular, being reprinted as a broadside ballad.  Its salty, slightly saucy flavour is very much in tune with the spirit of Restoration England.  Here are two sample verses:

   Let wind and weather do its worst,
   Be you to us but kind;
   Let Dutchmen vapour, Spaniards curse,
   No sorrow we shall find:
   ‘Tis then no matter how things go,
   Or who’s our friend, or who’s our foe –
         With a fa, la, la, la, la

  But now our fears tempestuous grow
  And cast our hopes away;
  Whilst you, regardless of our woe,
  Sit careless at a play:
  Perhaps permit some happier man
  To kiss your hand, or flirt your fan –
         With a fa, la, la, la, la

During 1667, he was briefly the lover of Nell Gwyn (1651?-1687), before she was acquired for higher amorous duties by the king.

His luck ran out in 1685, when Charles II died without an heir and was succeeded by his brother as James II.  The new king did not favour Charles, being unable to forgive the lampoons which he had written concerning his mistress Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester (1657-1717).  So for a time he was absent from the royal court.  But when James II was ousted in 1688, he found favour again under the new king, William III, who made him a privy councillor and lord chamberlain too.  In 1692, he was installed a Knight of the Garter, the ultimate recognition for a loyal courtier.

He was married three times and enjoyed extramarital dalliances as well, which produced up to four illegitimate children.  His third marriage, to his housekeeper Anne Roche in 1704, was seen at the time as evidence of mental and physical decline.  A combination of high living and generous patronage damaged the value of his estate.  He died at Bath on 29 January 1706, and was buried at Withyham in Sussex.  His wealth at the time of his death has been described as “very large, but mortgaged”.

His surviving body of verse is not large, largely because much of his work was circulated in manuscript and never printed.  But his extant lyrics, both courtly and libertine, have lasting merit and were praised in their time by his more distinguished contemporaries Dryden and Pope.  Charles Sackville was certainly a man who lived life, sometimes in dissolute ways, but he was also remembered with affection by those to whom he gave generous help.

Simon Harrison (Archives volunteer)