The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-28 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY EXHUMATION.

JOHN H AIkIPDEN.

Narrative of the disinterment of the body of John Hamp-
den, Esq., (commonly called the " Patriot") in Hamp-
den church, Bucks, on the 21st of July, 1828, to
ascertain the cause of his death ; some historians sup-
posing that he was wounded in the shoulder by a shot
from the enemy at the battle of Chalgrare-field (June,
1643) ; ethers supposing that he was killed by the
bursting of his own pistol, with which his son-in-law,
Sir Robert Pye, had presented him. Present on the
occasien.—The Right Hon. Lord Nugent, Counsellor
Denman, the Rev. Mr. Brookes, Mr. Heron, Mr. Grace,
(steward to the Earl of Buckinghamshire), George
Coventry, six other young gentlemen, with whose names
I was not acquainted, twelve grave-diggers and as-
sistants, with the clerk of the parish.
The manner in which Mr. Hampden met his death had
long been a disputed point in history.

Lord Clarendon, Rushworth, Ludlow, Noble, and
others, severally state that at the battle of Chalgrave-field
he was mortally wounded in the shoulder by a musket-ball,
that he lingered fur several days, and expired in great
agony.

Lord Clarendon says, that Hampden " being sli(A into
the shoulder with a brace of bullets, which broke the bone,
within three weeks after died with extraordinary pain, to
as great a consternation of all that party as if their whole
army had been defeated or cut off."
Sir Philip Warwick states that " Mr. Hampden received
a hurt in his shoulder, whereof he died in three or four
days after; for his blood in his temper was acrimonius, as
the scurfe commonly on his face showed." In another
place he observes, " One of the prisoners taken in the
action said, that he was confident Mr. Hampden was hurt ;
for he saw him, contrary to his usual custom, ride ofi• the
field, before the action was finished, his head hanging down
and his hands leaning upon his horse's neck."
What reliance can we place upon historians, when we
see such contradictory statements ? Lord Clarendon says,
he lingered near three weeks*—Sir P. Warwick, that he
died in three or four days ; the former, that two bullets
broke the shoulder-bone—the latter that he was only hurt
in the shoulder. But the following is the most contra.
dictory statement of all, equally worthy of credit, perhaps
more so, as it was related by Sir Robert Pye, who married
Hampden's eldest daughter :
" Two of the Harleys, and one of the Foleys, being at
supper with Sir Robert Pye, at Farringdon-house, Herb,
in their way to Herefordshire, Sir Robert Pye related the
account of Hampden's death as follows :

" That at the action of Chalgrave-field, his pistol burst,
and shattered his hand in a terrible manner. He, how-
ever, rode off, and got to his quarters; but finding the
wound mortal, he sent for Sir Robert Pye, then a Colonel
in the Parliament army, and who had married his eldest
daughter, and told him, that he looked on him as in some
degree accessory to his death, as the pistols were a present
from him. Sir Robert assured him, that he bought them
in Paris, of an eminent maker, and had proved them him-
self. It appeared, on examining the other pistol, that it
was loaded to the murzle with several supernumerary
charges, owing to the carelessness of a servant, who was
ordered to see the pistols were loaded every morning, which
he did without drawing the former charge."—From Lord
Oxford's Papers.

In order to ascertain the real facts, application was made
by Lord Nugent to the Earl of Buckinghamshire, (to
whom the family estates have descended), that the coffin
might be opened, and the body examined.
The. Earl, after due consideration, granted the request,
which, was confirmed by the rector, who politely tendered
his assistance to further the inquiry.
It is remarkable, that so distinguished and opulent a
family as that of Hampden should never have possessed a
pxivate vault, for the interment of the respective branches
of the family ;—such, however, is not the case ; they have,
from a very early period, been buried in the chancel of the
church, about four feet deep.
On the morning of the list of July, we all assembled
in the church, and commenced the operation of opening
the ground.
After examining the Initials and dates on several leaden
coffins, we came to the one in question, the plate of which
was so corroded,that it crumbled and broke into small pieces
on touching it. It was therefore impossible to ascertain
the name of the individual that it contained.

The coffin had originally been enclosed in wood, covered
with velvet, a small portion only of which was apparent,
near the bottom at the left side, which was not the case
with those of a later date, where the initials were very dis-
tinct, and the lead more perfect and fresher in appearance.
The register stated, that Hampden Wall interred on the
25th day of June, 1643, an old document, still i❑ exist-
ence, gives a curious and full account of the grand proces-
sion on the occasion ; we were, therefore, pretty confident
that this must be the one in question, having carefully exa-
mined all the others in succession.

It was lying under the western window, near the tablet
erected by him, when living, to the memory of his beloved
wife, whose virtues lie extols in the most affectionate lan-
guage. Without positive proof, it was reasonable to sup-
pose that he would be interred near his adored partner, and
this being found at her feet, it was unanimously agreed
that the lid should be cut open to ascertain the fact, which
proved afterwards that we were not mistaken.

- The parish plumber descended, and commenced cutting
across the coffin, then longitudinally, until the whole was
sufficiently loosened to roll back, in order to lift off the
wooden lid beneath, which was found in such good pre-
servation, that it came off nearly entire. Beneath this
was another lid of the same material, which was raised
without materially giving way.

The coffin had originally been filled up with saw-dust,
which was found undisturbed, except the centre, where the
abdomen had fallen in. The saw-dust was then removed,
and the process of examination commenced. Silence
reigned. Not a whisper or breath was heard. Each stood
on the tiptoe of expectation, awaiting the result as to what
appearance the face would present when divested of its
covering.

Lord Nugent descended into the grave, and first re-
moved the outer cloth, which was firmly wrapped round
the body—then the second, and a third—such care having
been extended to preserve the body from the worm of cor-
ruption.
Here a very singular scene presented itself. No regular
features were apparent, although the face retained a death-
like whiteness, and showed the various windings of the
blood vessels beneath the skin. The upper row of teeth
were perfect, and those that remained in the under jaw,
on being taken out and examined, were quite sound.
A little beard remained on the lower part of the chin,
and the whiskers were strong, and somewhat lighter than
his hair, which was a full auburn brown. The upper
part of the bridge of the nose still remained elevated, the
remainder had given way to the pressure of the cloths,
which had been firmly bound round the head. The eyes
were but slightly sunk in, and were covered with the same
white film which characterised the general apptNsiance of
the face.

Finding that a difference of opinion existed as to the
indentation in the left shoulder, where it was supposed he
had been wounded, it was unanimously agreed upon to
raise up the coffin altogether, and place it in the centre of
the church, where a more accurate examination might
take place.
The coffin was extremely heavy, but by e!cvating one
end with .a
crow-bar, two strong ropes were adjusted un-
der either end, and thus drawn up by 12 men in the most
careful manner possible.
Being placed on a trestle, the first operation was to
examine the arms, which nearly retained their original size,
and presented a very muscular appearance.
On lifting up the right arm, we found that it was die-
' possessed of its hand. We might therefore naturally con-
jecture that it had been amputated, as the hone presented
a perfectly flat appearance, as if sawn off by some sharp
instrument. On searching under tin. cloths, to our no
small astonishment, we found the hrnd or rather a number
of small bones enclosed in a separate cloth.
For about six inches up the arm the flesh had wasted
away, being evidently smaller than the lower part of the
left arm, to which the band was very firmly united, and
which presented no symptoms of decay further than the
two bones of the fore finger loose. Even the nails re-
mained entire, of which we saw no appearance in the cloth
containing the remains of the right hand.
At this process of the investigation, we were perfectly
satisfied that, independently of the result of any further
examination, such a striking coincidence as the loss of the
right hand would justify our belief in Sir Robert Pye's
statement to the Barleys, that his presentation pistol was
the innocent cause of a wound which afterwards proved
mortal. It was, however, possible, that at the same mo-
ment, in the heat of the action at Chalgrave, when Colonel
Hampden discharged his pistol at his adversary, that his
adversary's ball might wound him in the shoulder ; for be
was soon after observed, as stated by Sir Philip Warwick,
The battle of Chalgrave-field was fought on the
18th of June, 1643. Hampden died on the 24th, and
was buried on the 25th, as stated in the parish register.
Sir W. Dugdale mentions several instances where persons
of rank were interred the day after their decease.