316
NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. xn. OCT. 23. i&
Z)r. Thomas Fuller, author of ' The Worthies
of England,' replies to " J. H." :
' Whereas he chargeth him to have had no children, it is confessed, seeing that he, died a bachelor. That he had no known kindred is false ; some of them afterwards, but in vain, endeavour- ing to overthrow his will" Fuller's * Church His- tory of Britain,' edition 1837, vol. iii. pp. 257, 258.
R. Ackermann, in his ' History of the -Colleges,' &c., says : " Judgment was given in favour of the will " (' The Charterhouse,' p. 13). Mr. H. B. Wheatley, usually a most reliable writer, asserts in ' London Past and Present' (1891, vol. i. p. 364) that "the decision in favour of the will was given in June, 1613."
Now, as a matter of fact, the founder's will was never disputed. The Charterhouse was founded by a deed of gift, not by a will.
.As to Fuller's statement that Thomas Sutton died a bachelor, it is only necessary to point out that in 1582 he married Eliza- beth, the wealthy widow of John Dudley of Stoke Newington, and daughter of John Gardiner of Chalfont St. Giles. By a deed
-dated 20 June, 1594, he conveyed twenty of his numerous landed estates in trust to found
-a hospital at Hallingbury Bouchers ; and, in order to enable him legally to endow it, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1610. But
fin the following year he purchased for 13,000/. the property then called Howard House, but now known as the Charterhouse ;
-and on 22 June letters patent were granted
-authorizing him to erect and endow a hospital there instead of at Hallingbury. On 31 October he executed a deed of en-
'dowment to that effect. The Act of Parlia- ment and the king's letters patent confirmed the deed granting the lands to trustees for a hospital ; which grant, as the law then stood, would otherwise have been void as a
conveyance of land in mortmain. .,
Thomas Sutton died 12 Dec., 1611, leaving
- some relations, including Richard Sutton, one
of his executors, and Simon Baxter, his sister's son. He left also a natural son named Roger. No attempt whatever was made to " overthrow his will V ; but soon after the funeral his nephew Simon took proceedings to set aside the deed of gift. A clear account of the complicated litigation which ensued is given by Bearcroft in his
~ 4 Historical Account of Thomas Sutton and the Charterhouse ' (ed. 1737, chap. vi. p. 133). Baxter first petitioned King James, who commanded his Privy Council to try the case
-summarily ; but they considered it better that it should be decided by the regular
-courts of law. The nephew then entered
an action in the King's Bench against the
governors of the hospital. They on their
part preferred a bill in Chancery against him,
which came before the Lord Chancellor and
seven judges. It was then thought fit that,
in respect of the great importance of this
case, it and the other action in King's Bench
should both go before a special Grand Jury
consisting of all the English judges, twelve
in number, before whom it was solemnly
argued in the Exchequer Chamber. Their
verdict was : " Billa vera That the Founda-
tion, Incorporation, and Endowment of the
Hospital were Sufficient, Good, and Effectual
in Law." Judgment to that effect was
accordingly pronounced by the Lord Chan-
cellor on 1 June. The pleadings are set
forth at great length in tlie ' Reports ' of Sir
Edward Coke (edition 1727, part 10, fol. 1-35
not part 9, as erroneously cited in the
' Dictionary of National Biography '). That
learned jurist also comments upon the case
in the first section of his address " To the
Reader" at the commencement of part 10
of the ' Reports.'
Some of the writers who aver that Sutton' s will was contested may have been misled by imperfect appreciation of the words " be- queath " and " bequest," which in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries appear to have been applied to various gifts by deed, not necessarily testamentary, but taking effect during the life of the donor. Sir J. Murray's ' New English Dictionary ' gives this as the primary meaning of " bequeath." W. J. A. NEWBEBBY.
SWALLOW STBEET CHAPEL. It may be
worth recording that this chapel is now
(September) in process of demolition, and
that it is intended to erect a building for
trade purposes on its site. For many years it
was used by the Theistic Church founded by
the Rev. Charles Voysey. In 1770, and for
some time later, it was used as a chapel
of the Established Kirk of Scotland, having
Ereviously 1690 and onwards been used y the Irench congregation in lieu of the French Ambassador's chapel in Monmouth House, Soho Square. See Wheatley and Cunningham's * London Past and Present,' s.v. Swallow Street.
I visited the chapel on 15 September. On the north-east wall was painted in large letters, " The Theistic faith is belief in only one God the Father Almighty as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be." Under this is, "O thou that hearest prayer unto thee shall all souls come." A man
