The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-08-13 00:00:00

VANDALISM AT BYRON'S GRAVE,

We take the following from the Saturday'Review.
and sincerely hope the protest may not be without
avail. There are few things more odious_ than the
practice of building churches "to the honour and
glory of God" by desecrating the tombs of great
men:

Although Hucknall Torkard stands almost within
the borders of Sherwood orest, and no great dis-
tance from the " Dukeries," it is not in itself a very
lovely spot. It Owes its one attraction to the possei-
sion of 13)ron's grave. The poet was buried in the
family vault underneath the parish church, beside the
first Lord Byron and his six brothers, all stout
Royalists in the great Civil War. Mrs._.Byron, his
mother, and his only child, Ada, Lady Lovelace, rest
in the same tomb; and over them is the simple
marble tablet which Lady Lovelace caused to be
placed to her father's memory. Many people will
regret to hear that, by way of " restoration " the
church is to he pulled down in great part and rebuilt
on gt different plan, and in such a manner ai to ob-
literate all memorials of Byron, and cause even'a
slab to tell a falsehood, as it will no longer be over
the vault. The object of this vandalism is not very
plain. The church is not a beautiful one, anll a
"thorough restoration " a few years ago failed to Im-
prove it; but it is in complete-repair. To lengthen ttie
church by pulling down the chancel and rebuilding it
some 20 feet farther east; to builcl transept', ..and
• raise a clereetnry in the nave, will wholly transform
it. • There wdl,lLtbrahly, not be in old-feathre left
within or without.. Yet such is the' icbeme of the
"Restoration'S Committee. rwo alternative schemes
were before them; for the patisbioners have out-
grown the old accommodation, and some years ago
built a chapel-of-ease at the othei end of the iown..lt
was open to them either to build a third church or to
enlarge the chapel, and they were further encouraged
to as,opt one or other Of these courses by an offer. of
£lOOO from a neighbouring clergyman. This offer
they reject, preferring to destro) the one object of
interest in the place, and refusing to follow the good
example of such parishes as St. Mary-le-bone, Great
Stanwore, and Rugeley--to mention only a few—
where new churches have been built without the
unnecessary destruction of the older ones. The work
has not yet been commenced, and it is just possible
that a protest may have some effect, if not on the
minds of the " Restoration" Committee, at least on
those of the providers of the funds'. . ,

The gunboat Express arrived at Queenstown oa.
Satucti.y from the West Coast of Africa. • Three days
after she left Sierra Leone she sustained a severe shock
by striking some wreckage, which so injured the
machinery that it was nOcessary to stay at St. Vincent
for a week to repair it. On the engines being rug
started there we' a complete breotk down, sad- the'
posage to IrelaT:d had to be made under sail. ' • • -
Mr.-Bridge. the 0. mmiesioner appointed to inquire ,
into the tithe riots in North Wales, noneludni hit,
investigstiorisiq Meifod on Saturday; The represents.
t Ore of the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford;
need some violent danguage during the day, and •was
.-xpelled from the court. An apology was subsequently
made in ttis