Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1853-06-29
discovery Of Embaimea Bodies.

A writer in the London .Noies and Que
ries furnishes the following interesting ac
count: "e;.
A few weeks ago, in clearing out the r,i
Inns Of an old chapel at Nuneham Regis, II
WarWickshire. which had been pulled down
all but the belfry tower, 40 years since, WI
thought il necessary TO trench the Who'll,
soace, that we might more certainly mari
: out the boundaries of the building, as we
wished to restore it, in some measure, tc
its former state. 1t had been used as
stack-yard and depository for rubbish, by
the tenants ofthe farm on which it was,
ever since its deIapidation. We began to
trench at the west end, and came on great
MANY bones and skeletons from which The
coffins had crumbled away, till, finding the
earth had been moved, We went deeper,
and discovered leaden coffin, quite per
feet, without date or inscription of any kind.
There had been an outer wooden coffin,
which was decayed, but quantities of the
black rotted wood were all round it: We
cut the lead and folded back the top, so as
not to destroy it; beneath was wooden
coffin IN good preservation, and also with
out any inscription. :,
As soon as the leaden top was rolled
back most overpowering aromatic smell
diffused itself all over the place. We then
unfastened the inner coffin, and found the
body of a man embalmed with great care,
and heaps of rosemary and aromatic leaves
piled over him. On examining the body
more closely we found it had been behead-
ed the head was separately wrapped up IN
| linen, and the linen shirt that covered the
body was drawn quite over the neck where
the head had been cut off; the head was
laid straight with the body, and where the
Joining of the neck and head should have
been, il was tied round with broad black
riband. His hands we're crossed on his
breast, the wrists were tied with black rib
and, and the thumbs were tied together
with black riband. He had peaked beard,
and quantity of long brown hair, curled
and clotted with blood, round his neck the
only mark on anything about him was on
the linen on his chest, just above where
his hands were crossed; on, it were the let
ters "T B" worked iri black silk.
On trenching towards the chancel we
came on four leaden coAins laid side by
side, with inscriptions on each one con-
tanned the body of Francis, Earl of Chiches4
ter and Lord Dunsmure, 1853 the next the
body of Audrey, Countess of Chichester,
1852; another the body Of Lady Audrey
Leigh, their daughter, 1910 and the fourth
the body of Sir John Anderson, son of Lady
Chichester by her first husband. We open.
ed the coffin of Lady Audrey Leigh, and
found her perfectly embalmed and IN en-
tire preservation, her flesh quite plump, as
if she were alive her face very beautiful,
her hands exceedingly small and not vast.
ed she was dressed in fine linen trimmed
all over with all point lace, and two ROWS OF
lace flat across her forehead. She looked
exactly as if she were lying asleep, and
seemed not more than 16 or II years old
her beauty was very great; even her eye.
lashes and eyebrows were quite perfect, and
her eyes were closed; no part of her face
or figure was at all fallen in. We also o.
pened Lady Chichester's coffin, but with
her the embalming had apparently failed;
she was skeleton, though the coffin was
full of aromatic leaves. Her hair, how
ever, was as fresh as if she lived; It was
long, thick, and as soft and glossy as that Of
child, and of perfect auburn color.
In trenching on one side of where the
altar had been, we found another leaden
coffin with an inscription. 1t contained the
body of Dame Marie Browne, daughter
of one of the Leighs, and of the Lady
Marie, daughter to Lord Chancellor Brack-
lev. This body was also quite perfect,
and embalmed principally with very
small coffee -colored seed, with which the
coffin was nearly filled, and it also had so
powerful perfume that it filled the whole
place. The linen, riband, Sc, were quite
strong and good in all these instances, and
remained SO after exposure to the air; we
kent piece out of each coffin, and had i
washed without its being at all destroyed.
Young Lady Audrey had earrings in her
earsoblack enamelIed serpents. The per-
fume of the herbs and gums used in en-
balming them was so sickening that we
were all ill after inhailing it, and most of the
men employed in digging up the cofins
were i'll also. My object in sending this
account is, if possible, to discover who the
beheaded man is. The chapel is on the
estate of Lord John Scott, who inherited it
from his paternal grandmother, the Ouch,
ess of Buccleuch, daughter of the Duke OF
Montague into whose family Nuneham
Regis and other possessions in Warwick
shire came by the marriage Of his grand
father with the daughter of Lord Dunsmule,
Earl of hichester.-Noies and Queries.
as- Beautifully gorgeous was the sun