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lent its too doubtful aid to many an act of genuine piety , we come to the story of the juvenile saint , Eumbald , whose two-days' life did not prevent him being canonized , and perhaps with better reason than has sanctified the lives of those whose crafty career has stored tip such doubtful credentials of holiness . The two springs at
Brackley * ( of which little town we shall hereafter say more ) perpetuate , with the fertility of nature , the memory of this baby saint even with a fresher vigour than , does the remembrance of his oft-repaired but now utterly destroyed shrine—though his name still lives in a little , steep-descending lane of thatched houses , to the left . as we ascend to
the new church . The love for this young safnt ^ who died ere sin could taint his fair soul , may be traced in the bequests of the pious who followed him . Thus , in an extract from the registers of Luffenham , we find that , in the year 1431 , John Barton orders that his brother shall " provide a lamp , to burn day and night before St . Eumbald , as the same is now appointed . And that he shall keep an
anniversary for him and his father and mother annually in St . Peter ' s Church in Buckingham , on the day of the translation of St . Benedict ; on which anniversary he shall find two wax candles to burn at the head and feet of his sepulchre , of three pounds weight each candle : and that after his exequies are over , what remains of the candles shall be burnt out at St . James ' s altar . "t Again , we are told that "in the church-yard were two crosses ; and there is yet remaining a sexton ' s house adjoining to St . Eumbald's chapeLf built probablv for
the residence of a person who should give attendance , and watch the shrine . " An old print , " humbly dedicated to the worshipful the bailif and burgesses of the borough and county town , " by one George Bicham , lies before us as we write this brief memoir . It represents in tolerably good perspective the view of Buckingham , as seen from the hill leading towards Maids' Morton . The distant view of the church
tallies admirably with the description given by the careful historian of the town , § and we may well , when we consider his account of the ancient structure , regret the vicissitudes of time which have placed a far less picturesque building on one of the most effective and conspicuous sites in England .
The original church , which stood on the site of the present graveyard , and therefore considerably below the site of the church now standing on Castle-hill , was built in the form of a cross , the two aisles likewise containing chapels dedicated to St . Humbald and St . Catherine . The tower was anciently crowned by a lofty spire , making , in all , an altitude of 163 feet , being , " according to the
several Gothic rules , agreeable to the length of the fabric . This spire , " continues Willis , " which was the glory and ornament of the town and country ( as that of llanslap is at present ) , being blown * See the History and Antiq . of Northamptonshire , p . 143 . + ¦ Browne Willis , p . 55 . t Probably occupying the site of the corner house in the lane just mentioned . § Browne Willis , p . 62 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
lent its too doubtful aid to many an act of genuine piety , we come to the story of the juvenile saint , Eumbald , whose two-days' life did not prevent him being canonized , and perhaps with better reason than has sanctified the lives of those whose crafty career has stored tip such doubtful credentials of holiness . The two springs at
Brackley * ( of which little town we shall hereafter say more ) perpetuate , with the fertility of nature , the memory of this baby saint even with a fresher vigour than , does the remembrance of his oft-repaired but now utterly destroyed shrine—though his name still lives in a little , steep-descending lane of thatched houses , to the left . as we ascend to
the new church . The love for this young safnt ^ who died ere sin could taint his fair soul , may be traced in the bequests of the pious who followed him . Thus , in an extract from the registers of Luffenham , we find that , in the year 1431 , John Barton orders that his brother shall " provide a lamp , to burn day and night before St . Eumbald , as the same is now appointed . And that he shall keep an
anniversary for him and his father and mother annually in St . Peter ' s Church in Buckingham , on the day of the translation of St . Benedict ; on which anniversary he shall find two wax candles to burn at the head and feet of his sepulchre , of three pounds weight each candle : and that after his exequies are over , what remains of the candles shall be burnt out at St . James ' s altar . "t Again , we are told that "in the church-yard were two crosses ; and there is yet remaining a sexton ' s house adjoining to St . Eumbald's chapeLf built probablv for
the residence of a person who should give attendance , and watch the shrine . " An old print , " humbly dedicated to the worshipful the bailif and burgesses of the borough and county town , " by one George Bicham , lies before us as we write this brief memoir . It represents in tolerably good perspective the view of Buckingham , as seen from the hill leading towards Maids' Morton . The distant view of the church
tallies admirably with the description given by the careful historian of the town , § and we may well , when we consider his account of the ancient structure , regret the vicissitudes of time which have placed a far less picturesque building on one of the most effective and conspicuous sites in England .
The original church , which stood on the site of the present graveyard , and therefore considerably below the site of the church now standing on Castle-hill , was built in the form of a cross , the two aisles likewise containing chapels dedicated to St . Humbald and St . Catherine . The tower was anciently crowned by a lofty spire , making , in all , an altitude of 163 feet , being , " according to the
several Gothic rules , agreeable to the length of the fabric . This spire , " continues Willis , " which was the glory and ornament of the town and country ( as that of llanslap is at present ) , being blown * See the History and Antiq . of Northamptonshire , p . 143 . + ¦ Browne Willis , p . 55 . t Probably occupying the site of the corner house in the lane just mentioned . § Browne Willis , p . 62 .