Ancient funerall monuments within the vnited monarchie of Great Britaine, Ireland, and the islands adiacent with the dissolued monasteries therein contained: their founders, and what eminent persons haue beene in the same interred. As also the death and buriall of certaine of the bloud royall; the nobilitie and gentrie of these kingdomes entombed in forraine nations. A worke reuiuing the dead memory of the royall progenie, the nobilitie, gentrie, and communaltie, of these his Maiesties dominions. Intermixed and illustrated with variety of historicall obseruations, annotations, and briefe notes, extracted out of approued authors ... Whereunto is prefixed a discourse of funerall monuments ... Composed by the studie and trauels of Iohn Weeuer.

Tunbridge.

In this ruinous Church, which (like the Ca••tle) carries with it a shew of venerable antiquitie, I finde no funerall Monument of elder times re∣markable; in the north window onely are depicted the pourtraitures of the Lord Hugh Stafford, kneeling in his coate-armour, and his Bow-bearer Thomas Bradlaine by him, with this inscription.

* 1.1Orate pro animabus Domini Hugonis Stafford, et Thome Bradlaine Ar∣cuar.....

This Hugh Lord Stafford, afterwards Earle of Buckingham, was Lord of this Mannor of Tunbridge, by his grandmother Margaret, the onely daughter and heire of Sir Hugh Audley, Earle of Glocester; of whom here∣after, when I come to Stone in Staffordshire, the place of his buriall.

* 1.2Neare to the ruinous walls of the Cast••••••stood a Priory pleasantly seat∣ed, which in the shipwracke of such religious structures, was dasht all a peeces: founded by Richard de Clare, Earle of Gloucester, about the yeare 1241. for Canons of Saint Augustines order, and consecrated to S. Mary Magdalen: Which Priory was valued by the Commissioners at the suppres∣sion to be yearely worth 169. l. 10. s. 3. d.

* 1.3This Richard the founder dyed at Emmersfield, in the Mannor-house of Iohn Lord Crioil here in Kent; 14. Iulij, Ann. 1262. his bowels were buried at Canterbury, his body at Tewxbury, and his heart here in his owne Church at Tunbridge.* 1.4 Hee was Vir nobilis et omni laude dignus: To whose euerlasting praise this Epitaph was composed.

Hic pudor Hippoliti, Paridis gena, sensus Vlissis Aeneae pietas, Hectoris ira iacet.

Chaste Hippolite,* 1.5 and Paris faire, Vlisses wise and slie, Aeneas kinde, fierce Hector, here ioyntly entombed lye.

Here sometime lay entombed the bodies of Hugh de Audley,* 1.6 second sonne of Nicholas Lord Audley of H••leigh Castle, in the County of Staf∣ford, who was created Earle of Gloucester by king Edward the third; and by the marriage of Margaret, second daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earle of Glocester, surnamed the red, and sister and coheire to Gilbert the last Earle of that surname; Lord of Tunbridge. This Hugh dyed the tenth of No∣uember 1347. Ann. 21. Ed. 3. I finde little of him remarkable, saue his good fortunes,* 1.7 being a younger brother to marry so great an inheritrix, and to be exalted to such titles of honour. His wife Margaret (first married to Pierce Gaueston Earle of Cornwall) dyed before him in the yeare of our Lord, 1342. the 13. day of Aprill. They were both together sumptuously entombed by Margaret their daughter, the onely heire of her parents, wife to Raph de Stafford, Earle of Stafford.

The said Raph de Stafford and Margaret his wife,* 1.8 were here likewise en∣tombed, at the feet of their father and mother; this Raph, by the marriage of his wife Margaret, writ himselfe in his Charters and deeds, Baron of Tunbridge. And a noble Baron he was; and the first Earle of Stafford, crea∣ted by Edward the third, the fifth of March, in the twentieth and fifth yeare of his raigne. Mills in the Catalogue of Honour, sets downe this mans pedegree after this manner, drawne from William the Conquerours time,* 1.9 still abiding in the male line. Nicholas the sonne of Robert, begot Ro∣bert the second, whose daughter and heire married to Henry de Bagot, he in the right of his wife was made Baron of Stafford; and hee begat ano∣ther called Heruey, who left the name of Bagot, and tooke on him the name of Stafford: and he begot Robert the third, father to Nicholas the second, father to Edmund,* 1.10 who begot this first Earle of Stafford, all successiuely Barons and Lords of Stafford. Hee dyed the 31. of August, in the yeare 1372. Margaret his wife dyed the seuenth of September, 1349. This Earle was knight of the honourable order of the Garter at the first foundation.

Andrew Iud (the sonne of Iohn Iud of this Towne of Tonebridge) some∣time Lord Maior of London,* 1.11 erected here a faire free-Schoole, and an Almes-house nigh Saint Helens Church in London, and left to the Skin∣ners (of which company he was) lands, to the value of threescore pounds, three shillings and eight pence the yeare; for the which they bee bound to pay twenty pound to the Schoolemaster, eight pound to the Vsher yearely for euer, and foure shillings the weeke to the sixe Almes-people, and twenty fiue shillings foure pence the yeare in Coales, for euer.

This Andrew was Lord Maior of London the yeare 1550. the fourth of King Ed. the sixth. Dyed in the yeare following, and was buried at S. Helens aforesaid, within Bishopsgate ward.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Hugh Lord Staff. and Tho. Bradlaine his Bow-bearer. Camd in Kent.
• * 1.2

  Priory of Tunbridge.
• * 1.3

  Richard de Clare Earle of Gloucester.
• * 1.4

  Lib. Theoles. Mss.
• * 1.5

  Camd. Re∣maines.
• * 1.6

  Hugh de Audley Earle of Glo∣cester, and Margaret his wife.
• * 1.7

  Vincent Disco∣uery of errors.
• * 1.8

  Raph Earle of Stafford, and Margaret his wife.
• * 1.9

  Bagot Baron of Stafford.
• * 1.10

  Vincent. Dis. errours.
• * 1.11

  The foundati∣on of the free-Schoole at Tonbridge.