Thomas Wolsey (147—1530).
[1273]Cardinal Woolsey:—Memorandum the Cardinal's hat on the scutcheon at Christ Church: and quaere quot pedes from the College to the Blew-boare; colour with soote the water-table, and insert in the scutcheon the Cardinal's hat.
[1274]Thomas Wolsey[CV], Cardinal, was a butcher's son, of Ipswych, in Suffolke; vide his Life, writt by....
He was a fellowe of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford, where he was tutor to a young gentleman of Limmington, near Ilchester, in com. Somerset, in whose guift the presentation of that church is, worth the better part of 200 li. per annum, which he gave to his tutor, Wolsey. He had committed hereabout some debauchery (I thinke, drunke: no doubt he was of a high rough spirit), and spake derogatorily of Sir Amias Paulet (a Justice of Peace in the neighbourhood), who putt him into the stockes[CII.], which, when he came to be Cardinall, he did not forget; he layed a fine upon Sir Amias to build the gate of the Middle Temple; the armes of Pawlet, with the quartrings, are in glasse there to this day (1680). The Cardinall's armes were, as the storie sayes, on the outside in stone, but time haz long since defaced that, only you may still discerne the place; it was carved in a very mouldring stone.
[CII.] From my cosen Lyte, of Lytes Carey, about a mile from Limmington, 30 yeares since. The tradition was very fresh: I have forgott his pupill's name.
Remaines of him shew that he was a great master of the Latin tongue; Dr. John Pell tells me, that [he[1275] finds in a preface to a Grammar of ... Haynes, schoolmaster, of Christ-church, London,] that 'twas he that made the Accedence before W. Lilly's Grammar in ... dayes.
His rise (vide the History) was his quick and prudent dispatch of a message to Paris for Henry 8.
He had a most magnificent spirit. Concerning his grandure, vide Stowe's Chronicle, &c.
He was a great builder, as appeares by White-hall, Hampton Court.—Eshur[CIII.], in Surrey, a noble house, built of the best burn't brick (perhaps) that ever I sawe; stately gate-house and hall. This stately house (a fitt pallace for a prince[1276]) was bought about 1666, by ... a vintner, of London, who is since broke, and the house is sold, and pulled downe to the ground, about 1678. I have the draught of the house among my Surrey papers.—Quaere:—he had a very stately cellar for his wines, about Fish-street, called Cardinall Wolsey's cellar.—He built the stately tower at Magdalen Colledge in Oxford, and that stately palace at Winchester (where he was bishop), called Wolsey-house; I remember it pretty well, standing 1647. Now, I thinke, it is most pulled downe.—His noble foundation of his Colledge of Christ-Church, in Oxford, where the stately hall was only perfected by him. There were designed (as yet may appeare by the building)[1277] most magnificent cloysters (the brave designe wherof Dr. John Fell hath deteriorated with his new device) to an extraordinary spacious quadrangle, to the entrance whereof was carrying up a tower (a gate-house) of extraordinary rich and noble Gothique building. Vide J. Oweni Epigrammata:
At patet in laudes area lata tuas.
Owen, Epigr.
[CIII.] Vide my Surrey notes <MS. Aubr. 4> if William Wanfleet did not build it: both their scutcheons are there.
When the present great-duke of Tuscany was at Oxford, he was more taken with that, then all the rest of the buildings he sawe there, and tooke a second viewe of it.
It should not be forgotten what a noble foundation there was for the chapell, which did runne from the Colledge, along the street as far as the Blew-boare Inne; which was about 7 foot or more high, and adorned with a very rich Gothique water-table[CW] as in the margin[1278].
It was pulled downe by Dr. John Fell (the Deane) about 1670, to use the stones about the Colledge.
Memorandum:—about the buildings of this Colledge are frequent the pillars, and axes, and Cardinall's cappes.
Concerning this great Cardinall's fall, see the histories of that time.
Returning to London from Yorke, he died at Leicester, where he lies buried (to the shame of Christ-church men) yet without any monument.
A palace or a colledge for his grave,
Yet here he lies interr'd, as if that all
Of him to be remembred were his fall.
Nothing but earth to earth, nor pompous weight
Upon him but a pebble or a quayte.
If thou art thus neglected, what shall wee
Hope after death that are but shreds of thee?'
Vide Dr. Corbet's Poems: his Iter Boreale.
See his life writt by ... and also by Thomas Fuller, B.D., in his Holy State, where is a picture of his which resembles those in glasse in Christ-church. He was a lusty man, thick neck, not much unlike Martyn Luther. I beleeve he had Taurus ascending with the Pleiades, which makes the native to be of a rough disposition.
He was Baccalaur of Arts so young, that he was called the boy-bacchalaur. From Dr. John Pell (out of the aforesayd preface).
[1279]One of Osney bells is at Winslowe in Bucks, which is the great bell there, but was the 3d at Osney; but they have not long since cutt it something lesse, one Derby decieving them LX li. of their metall. Cardinall Wolsey, being abbot of St. Alban's (to which Winslowe did belong), at the pulling downe of Osney abbey, gave this bell to Winslowe—Mr. Steevens[1280] was borne at Winslowe.
Notes.
[CV] Aubrey gives in trick the coat:—'sable, on a cross engrailed argent a lion passant gules between 4 leopards' faces or, on a chief or a rose gules between 2 Cornish choughs proper,' ensigned with Cardinal's hat and strings, gules.
[CW] Aubrey wrote 'a very rich Gothique ...,' and added a note in the margin 'quaere Sir Chr. W<ren> nomen.' Wren told him 'water-table,' which he then inserted in the text, striking out the marginal note.
In MS. Aubr. 3, fol. 4v, is the note:—'Basis, or list, or I thinke they call it the water-table, of the parish church wall at St. Edmundsbury in Suffolke. Of which fashion was the foundation of that famous began chapell or cathedrall of Cardinal Wolsey's which went towards the Blew-bore in Oxford, and pulled downe by deane Fell about 1671. Magdalen parish <-church> tower <Oxford> is also of this fashion, viz. of Henry VIII.'