428
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. XL JUNE 5, 1915.
STATUES AND MEMORIALS IN THE
BRITISH ISLES.
<See 10 S. xi. 441 ; xii. 51, 114, 181, 401 ; 11 S. i. 282 ; ii. 42, 381 ; iii. 22, 222, 421 ; iv. 181, 361 ; v. 62, 143, 481 ; vi. 4, 284, 343; vii. 64, 144, 175, 263, 343, 442; viii. 4, 82, 183, 285, 382, 444 ; ix. 65, 164, 384, 464; x. 103, 226, 303, 405; xi. 24, 145, 275.)
MARTYRS (continued). CHRISTOPHER WAID.
Dartford, Kent. In 1851 a costly memo- rial was erected to the memory of Christo- pher Waid on Dartford Brent, the site of "his martyrdom. It is spiral shaped, and rises from a square inscribed base. The inscriptions are as follows : West] 1851
Erected to the memory of
Christopher Waid, Linen-Weaver, of Dartford,
a Protestant,
who was burned for his faith on Dartford Brent
July 19* h , 1555. He repeated at the stake : " Show some token Tipon me for good that 'they which hate me may see it and be ashamed ; "because Thou, Lord, hast helped me and com- forted me."
This monument was restored by public
subscription, A-D. 1888. '[North]
Other Dartford martyrs were : Nicholas Hall, 1555. Margery Policy, 1555.
[Then follows the text of Revelation vi. 9-11.]
'[East] This Martyrs' Monument
in the spirit of the recorded anointing
of the Saviour with costly ointment
is for a memorial of love
to
Jesus and His truth. [South]
The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee.
'[Around base]
" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
JOHN ROGERS, JOHN BRADFORD, &c.
Smithfield, London. I have already briefly referred to this memorial (see 10 S. ix. 2), and now add a more extended notice. It is placed in an arched recess of the external wall of St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
was unveiled by the Earl of Shaftesbury
on 11 March, 1870. Its erection was
brought about through the exertions of a
committee formed under the auspices of the
Protestant Alliance, by whom it was re-
stored in 1899. It is constructed of polished
granite and bronze, in harmony with the
architecture of the building. In the arch
are the words " Blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord," and along the frieze " The
noble army of martyrs praise Thee." On a
panel in the centre is the following inscrip-
tion : Near to thig . gpot
John Rogers
John Bradford
Archdeacon Philpot
and other
Servants of God
suffered death by fire
in the years 1555, 1556 and 1557.
Below the memorial is an oblong stone bearing the following words :
Near this spot likewise
a church is erected
to the memory of
the said martyrs.
The design of the memorial was presented to the committee by Messrs. Habershon & Pite of Bloomsbury Square, and was exe- cuted by Messrs. Cox & Son at their Lam- beth works.
The church mentioned in the above inscription stands in St. John's Street Road, and was consecrated in June, 1871. In niches on the outside walls are seventeen statues and a nurnber of medallions of Pro- testant martyrs, and five bas-reliefs of scenes of their martyrdom. Bound the walls of the interior are recorded on scrolls the names, accusations, memorable words, and dates of death of sixty-six persons burnt at Smith- field, commencing with William Sautre (1400), and ending with Roger Holland, burnt 27 June, 1558. This church, known as the Smithfield Martyrs' Memorial Church, was built at a cost of 8,OOOZ.
THOMAS SPENCER, &c.
Beccles, Suffolk. The Baptist Chapel is known as the Martyrs' Memorial. On the front of the building, which was erected in 1860, is a tablet inscribed as follows :
" Near this spot Thomas Spencer, John Deny, and Edmund Poole were burned for the faith of Jesus, 21st May, 1556.
' When they rose from praier they all went joyfulle to the stake, and being bound thereto, and the fire burning around them, they praised God in such an audible voice that it was wonder- ful to all those which stood by and heard them ' (Poxe's ' Actes and Monuments ')."
