It was
here that some of the fragments of the pedestal were found. Into his new
wall Lord Grimthorpe has built some old fragments of carved work found
in different places of the church.
The south side of this chapel is formed of the monument over the grave
of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, surnamed "good" by an admiring people,
though some modern historians hold that he had little real claim to this
title. He was the son of Henry IV., and therefore brother of Henry V.,
and was uncle of Henry VI. and guardian to the young King in the early
part of his reign. He who likes may read in any history of the part he
played in the affairs of the country: how he incurred the hatred of the
unscrupulous and vindictive Queen of Henry VI., Margaret of Anjou,
"she-wolf of France"; how he was murdered by Suffolk, with, it is said,
the connivance of the Queen and Cardinal Beaufort. It was at one time
supposed that he was buried in London, but there is little doubt that he
found a resting-place in a grave prepared for him in St. Alban's Abbey,
on March 4, 1447. This would be during the time that John Stokes was
Abbot, between the two abbacies of John of Wheathampstead. The body was
discovered in its leaden coffin during the reign of Queen Anne, when
another grave was being dug.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105