A RESTORATION ATTHE ABBEY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2418, 25 March 1915, Page 9

A RESTORATION ATTHE ABBEY

GRILLE REPLACED AFTER NINETY YEARS. There has just been restored to its proper place in Westminster Abbey till wrought iron grille, of 16th century workmanship, which originally surrounded the tomb of Lady Margaret Beaufort (afterwards Countess of Richmond), mother of Henry VII, and grandmother of Henry VIII, after it had been missing for nearly 100 years. The tomb of the Countess—which stands at the east. end of the north aisle of Henry Vll's ch'apel—is one of the most beautiful in the Abbey. It is the work of tho famous Florentine artist Pietro Torrigiano, and his English assistants, and the effigy is generally considered to bo a remarkable achievement of monumental sculpture, and of the hands, lean and wrinkled, but beautiful in shape and pose, it lias been said that no such pair of hands was ever elsewhere sculptured. The grille, 9ft. long and 4ft. wide, is in a. remarkable state of preservation. At each angle and in the centre of the long sides is a rectangular pillar with applied Gothic moulding, the upper part twisted and surmounted by a finial on which devolves a flag, originally painted. The sides aro composed of vertical bars of lozenge section, supporting a horizontal blind, with edges of cable moulding formerly ornamented with email appliques. From the upper edge rises fleurs-de-lys alternated with pike-heads.

The story of the loss and reinstatement of the grille is interesting. It was discarded, with other works of art, by Wyatfin his restoration of the Abbey, completed in 1822, and was sold for about £100. It remained in the family of the purchasee till quite recently, when it was bought by Messrs. Harding, of St. James's Square. From thern it was purchased by the National Art. Collections Fund (the head of the firm contributing generously to the purchase price) for restoration to its original position. The identification is beyond question, the traditional attribution being strikingly confirmed. The Countess, who was o great patron of learning, founded, among other institutions, St. John's College, Cambridge, nn<l' the records of that college contain the specification, dated 1512, for the design and construction of the grille. This specification agrees in every particular with the grille, which is further identified by the illustration of the tomb and the grille in Ackermann's "History of the Abbey Church of St. Peter's Westminster," published in 1812. The Dean anil Chapter, satisfied by the report of Professor Le-haby, official surveyor to the Abbey, as to its identity, welcomed the offer of the National Art Collections Fund, and the grille is now open to public inspection, in practically the same condition as when it was first erected in the 16th century.