Edward VI., to her brother, King James V. of Scotland, to her grandchild, King James VI. (See Miss Strickland's ' Queens of Scotland.')

We understand that there is evidence extant to show that the Countess of Lennox died at Brooke House. This house was the ancient dower house of the queens of England. As it probably then was in the possession of Queen Elizabeth, it was a small favour, considering the near connection between these two ladies, that Queen Elizabeth should permit the countess to lodge there. As Kingshold it had previously belonged to King Henry VIII.

Brooke House.

'On the south side of the road to Clapton formerly stood (?) a mansion called "Brooke House," and at one time the King's House, the Manor House of the Manor termed King's Hold.' It is said to have belonged originally to the Knights Templars, and after the dissolution. of the order to have been granted to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. On the dissolution of the latter order the estate appears to have been granted to Henry, Earl of Northumberland, who possibly died here.* Henry, Earl of Northumberland, died,' says the account of the funeral in the Herald's College, 'at his Manor of Hackney, now the King's House, between 2 and 3 in the morning, on the 29 June, 1537— 29 Henry VIII. The Earl was buried in the old church close by (?)" (Can there have been another Brook House at that time, or is this a mistake?—the Black and White House, on the site of which Bohemia Place now stands, was not built until 1578.) The estate afterwards reverted to the crown, and was granted by Edward VI., in 1547, to William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke.

The house occupied by Lord Pembroke is described in the particulars for the grant of the manor as a 'fayre house, all of brick, with a fair hall and parlour, a large gallery, a proper chapel, a proper gallery to lay books in, &c.' It is also stated to be near the London Road and to

* This account is probably erroneous in some of its statements.

be enclosed on back side with a great and broad ditch. A few years later it was purchased by Sir Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon (this is the Lord Hunsdon mentioned in Scott's 'Kenilworth '*), who again conveyed it, in 1583, to Sir Rowland Hayward. It was subsequently possessed by Fulke Greville, afterwards Lord Brooke, and by Sir George Vyner (this last is probably a mistake, as we think Sir G. Vyner lived at the Black and White House). Lord Brooke was killed at the siege of Lichfield by a shot fired from the cathedral close.

Under date May 8, 1654, John Evelyn in his diary says: 'I went to Hackney to see my Lady Brooke's garden, which was one of the neatest and most celebrated in England; the house well furnished, but a despicable building.' At the end of the 17th century this manor became part of the Tyssen property. When Lord Brooke sold the manor of King's Hold he reserved the mansion, which continued in his family, and at the commencement of this century was the property of the Earl of Warwick.

'This house has experienced considerable alterations' (says the compiler of 'Beauties of England and Wales,' writing in 1816), ‘but large portions of the ancient edifice have been preserved. These consist principally of a quadrangle with internal galleries, those on the north and south sides being 174 feet in length. The arms of Lord Hunsdon are likewise remaining on the ceiling of a room connected with this gallery. It is therefore probable that the greater part of the house was rebuilt by this nobleman during the short period for which he held the manor, a term of no longer duration than from 1578 to 1583. The other divisions of this extensive building are of various but more modern dates.' The house has been long occupied as a private lunatic asylum. It is best seen from one of the new houses in the Kenninghall Road or

* On the site of the altar in the chapel of St. John the Baptist, in Westminster Abbey, Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon (is interred). He is said to have died of disappointment at the long delay in his elevation. The queen visited him on his deathbed and commanded the robes and patent of an earl to be placed before him. 'It is too late,' he said, and declined the offered dignity. The Corinthian tomb of alabaster and marble erected by his son is one of the loftiest in England (36 feet). He was the son of Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister, who married William Carey, a penniless but nobly born squire, without her father's consent. (Hare.)

from the corner of the Lea Bridge Road. The front is modern. The freehold is said still to belong to the Earl of Warwick, but we know not if this is correct. We think it was the father of the Lord Brooke killed at the siege of Lichfield, to whom the following extract refers :

'But about eight years after, neglecting to reward one Haywood, who had spent the greatest part of his life in his personal service, and being espostulated with thereupon, he received a mortal stab on his back by that very person, then private with him in his bedchamber at Brook House in London, whereof he died anno 1628-the assassinate afterwards murdering himself with his own sword. Buried at Warwick with this epitaph: "Fulk Grevile, servant to Q. Elizabeth, Counsellor to King James, and friend to Sir Philip Sidney."

This may have taken place in Brooke House, Clapton, as Lord Brooke, owning such an important house at Clapton, was hardly likely to give the same name to another house in London, but Dr. Robinson says it occurred at Brooke House, in Holborn, and this is confirmed by another authority.

Brooke House, we understand on good authority, was the ancient Dower House of the Queens of England from about the year 1410. It possessed at the back a very fine gallery, 158 feet long.* This was afterwards cut up into some ten apartments, each provided with a chimney. The row of chimneys all built up from the ground give a singular appearance to the back of Brooke House. The new front is placed somewhat awkwardly in the south quadrangle. It is possible that the north portion of the house may contain parts more ancient than Lord Hunsdon's time. This house has had many tenants and a long history. A child of William, Lord Cobham, was no doubt born there, which establishes some connection, which we have not had time to trace, between Brooke House and Cobham Hall. The extract is as follows:

'Margareta Broke nata apud Hackeney, juxta Londinm, in die Mercurii, 2 Junii, 1563, inter horas 7 and 8, ante meridiem, ejusdem diei.'

* We believe this is the result of measurement, and more likely to be correct than the dimension previously given.

The Black and White House

Stood near the site now occupied by Bohemia Place and by the houses on the south side of the old churchyard. It is said to have been built of lath and plaster in 1578 (reign of Queen Elizabeth). Additions were probably made to it in the time of Charles II. by Sir Thos. Vyner. In the window of the drawing-room were the arms of King James, Charles I., the Elector Palatine, Duke of Holstein, the arms of England, with the motto, 'beati pacifici,' the same with the letters 'C. P.'; in a third pane the arms of the Prince Palatine of the Rhine impaling those of his consort, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I.; in another pane the arms of Sir Thos. Vyner. It stood within the Rectory Manor, otherwise called Grumbolds.

In 1619 the Elector was made King of Bohemia. The handsome obelisk or pyramidal tomb in the old churchyard is said to be the tomb of the Queen of Bohemia, but we know not how this is, as she was buried in Henry VII.'s chapel, Westminster Abbey (see notice of this obelisk, ante).

In Pepys' Diary we read: '20 April, 1667. To Hackney Church: a knight and his lady, very civil when they came, being Sir George Viner and his lady.' The attraction that drew Pepys to Hackney Church was the celebrated Hackney School for young ladies.

The King's Head Tavern in Hackney.

This old house has lately been pulled down (1878). During the Commonwealth the sign was altered to the 'Cromwell Head,' which brought the landlord into trouble at the Restoration.

Urswick's Preferments.

Urswick's refusal to accept a bishopric has received more notice, perhaps, than it deserves. The following is a list of his preferments :

1488. Dean of York.

1490. Canon of Windsor.

About 1490. Archdeacon of Wilts.

1493. Prebend of Botevant in the Church of York.

The stone screen that formerly divided Urswick Chapel from the nave of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, has been removed and placed between two piers of the choir. The arms of Henry VII. are upon the screen, with a Latin inscription, thus translated:

'Pray for the souls of King Henry VII. and Christofyr Urswick, sometime Lord Almoner to the King and Dean of this Chapel. Hail Mary! and blessed be thy holy mother Anne, from whom thy most pure virgin flesh issued without stain, Amen. God have mercy on the souls of King Harry the Seventh, and Christofyr Urswick, and all Christian souls, Amen! O God, who by thy only begotten Son didst redeem mankind, being incarnate of the Virgin womb, and having suffered death, deliver, we beseech thee, the souls of Henry VII. and Christofyr, and all those whom Christofyr offended during life, from eternal death, and bring them to eternal life! Amen. God. have mercy.'