292
NOTES AND QUERIES. pi a. v. A, is, una
concerning the supposed finding of the body of
Francis, Lord Lovel (K. Richard III d8 great
favorit), in a vault under the Lord Lovel's house
at Minster Lovel in Com. Oxon."
This letter says that on'6 May, 1728, " the present Duke of Rutland related in my hearing that about twenty years then before (viz., in 1708, upon occasion of new laying a chimney at Minster Lovel) there was discovered a large vault or room underground, in which was the entire skeleton of a man, as having been sitting at a table, which was before him, with a book, paper, pen, &c., and in another part of the room lay a cap ; all much mouldred and decayed. Which the family and others judged to be this Lord Lovel, whose exit hath hitherto been so uncertain."
Peck has a row of asterisks after the last word, "uncertain"; so that one wonders whether the original letter contains further details than he printed. He at once replies to William Cowper (13 Aug., 1737), and caps his story by another gruesome one which happened at Collyweston, in Northampton- shire (Peck, p. 88). Many of Peck's MSS. are in the B.M., and the complete original letter of William Cowper may be there.
1742. J. Anderson's ' Genealogical His- tory of the House of Yvery ' was published at this date, and in vol. i. pp. 289-90 it is stated :
" There is a strong rurnour that he [Lovell] preserved his life by returning to some secret place, where he was starved ^o death, by the treachery or neglect of those in whom he confided, which report in our own times seems to be con- firmed in a very particular manner. For the House of Minster Luvel being not long since pulled down, in a vault was found the person of a man in very rich cloathing, seated in a chair, with a table and a mass book before him, the body of whom was yet entire when the workmen entered, but upon admission of the air, soon fell to dust," &c.
1775. Minster Lovell visited by Grose, who, in his ' Antiquities,' vol. iv., gives a view of it.
1792. Sir S. E. Brydges publishes his ' Topographical Miscellanies,' in which is a full account of Minster Lovell and the skeleton. A foot-note attached to this chapter says : ' ' The substance of this account of Minster Lovell was communicated by C. D." (This may have been Ducarel.)
1852. Dr. J. A. Giles publishes his ' History of Witney, with Notices of Minster Lovell, &c.' (London, John Russell Smith). This book contains by far the best account of the village and house and their connexion with the Lovells. The information is largely drawn verbatim from two articles in The Gentleman's Magazine (January and Febru- ary, 1825). Dr. Giles throws no doubt upon
the story of the skeleton. He mentions
the existence (when he was writing his book,
about 1850) of
" a large thick door studded with strong bolts of iron, and hung on hinges of singular shape and size, unquestionably transferred from the old mansion, which at once secures and adorns the entrance of the adjoining manor farmhouse, now occupied by Mr. John Gillett."
Peter Heylin appears to have lived in the village, and there is a monument to him in the church.
1893. The ' D.N.B.' (article by W. A. J. Archbold) says of Lord Lovell :
" He was reported to have been killed at Stoke, but was seen trying to swim the Trent on horse- back, and seems to have escaped to his house at Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire, where he lived for some time in a vault, and probably died of starva- tion."
1893. G. E. C., in his ' Complete Peerage/ states :
" It is not very clear what was the end of this
unfortunate nobleman There is a tradition
that he escaped after the battle of Stoke, and, hiding in a secret place, was therein starved to death by treachery or negligence. In 1708 a skeleton (very probably his) was discovered in a vault at Minster Lovell, being that of a man sitting at a table with book, pen, and paper before him."
Besides the authorities named above there are a few minor ones, including The Monthly Magazine, April, 1812, which on p. 230 has the story of the skeleton, based, as all existing stories are, upon William Cowper' s letter. MB. JAMES GAIBDNEB and MB. E. P. SHIBLEY contributed to early volumes of ' N. & Q.' some references. See also Dug- dale (Bandinel's edition).
In addition to the illustrations, already spoken of, by Buck and Grose, Dr. Giles gives several crude drawings of the house at Minster Lovell ; and in the library of the Society of Antiquaries (Burlington House) is a book which I have not met with else- where -Prichard's ' Views and Elevations of Minster Lovell Church ' (Oxford, 1850). See also Skelton's ' Oxfordshire,' 1823, where there are two fine illustrations, one of the house and the other of the church.
A. L. HTJMPHBEYS.
187, Piccadilly, W.
MB. G. L. APPEBSON will find the story of the discovery in 1708 of the supposed remains of Francis Lovell at Minster Lovell given, in 2 S. i. 230, 401, 443, and 5 S. x. 28, 72. The story obtains confirmation from Bacon's statement that Lovell lived long in a cave or vault.
C. L. KINGSFOBD.
