Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-11-28
Those that by chance or choyce
Of this last sight
Know lie 10 death reSignes
As da!e TO night
But as the sums IetOrne
REEVES the day
SO Chlst shall us

80 Cllllst SIaiI us
Though lurhue 10 aust & clay.
Above the inscription, carved in the stone,
are the arms OF the Washingtons, with an addi
tiona quarterlng Of another family.
The other is OF Elizabeth Washington
daughter Of Lawrence Washington, and sister
OF The emierant. This is Slab OF the same
sandstone and measures three feet and five
inches long, and two feet and six inches broad.
The inscription is on a small brass plate set
into the stone, and is as follows -
Here lies inferred we bodies Of Elijah. Washington
Wlddowe who changed this Lie Tor immortality We
18Th OF March 1922. As ye BODY OF Robert
Washington gent. her late husband second some
OF Robert Washington of SOgrale in ye County OF
North. Esqr. who depted this Life ye 10th OF March
1852 After they lived lovingly together many yeales
i'll this Parish.
On Il separate brass plate, beneath the in
scription, aIe the arms Of the Westinghouse
without any addition. These as you are well
aware, have the combination OF stars and
stripes, and are sometimes supposed TO have
suggested our national flag In heralIic Ian
guage, there are bars OF gules and argent with
three mallets or stars.
In the interesting chapter on the Origin and
Geneal0gy Of the Washington Family, which
yOu give III the Appendix to your Life of
Washington, 1t appears that Lawrence, the
father OF the emgrant died 18th Dee, and
was buried at Brngton 10Th Dec, 1916. But
gave no indication ofthe locality OF this church.
Had it appeared that it was the parish church
of the Spencer family in Northamptonshire
the locality, which | believe has not been here
totore known i'll our country, would have been
precisely fixed
In point of fact, the slab which covers Law
renee Washington is in the chancel of the
chu ch, by the side OF the monuments of the
Spencer family. These are all in admirable
ft,II
other Sepulchral work, and exhibit an interest
ing and connected series Of sepuclIral memo
rails from the reign of Henry Will 10 the
present time. Among them is a monument
by the early English sculptor, Nicholas Stone
another by Noekns from design by Cipria
Ill., and another by FlaXman, with eXquisite'y
beautiful personiticatIOns of Faith and Charity.
Beneath repose the successive Representatives
OF this illuslriOus family which has added to
its arstOCratic claims by services to the state
and also by the unique aud world famous libra
ry collected by one OF its members. In this
ConIpanonship will be found the last English
ancestor OF our Washington.
The other Slab, covering Elizabeth, the Sis
ter OF the emlgrant, is in one Oh the aisles OF
the nave, whore il is scrsped by the eet of all
VINO pass.
The parish of Brington is between seven
and eight miles from the town of Nurthamp.
written in Domesday Book "Biilinone" and
also "Brlntone." 1t contains about 22l0 acres,
Of which about 1890 acres belong to Earl
Spencer about 326 acres to the rector in right
OF the eli urch, and about 1870 acres to other
persons The soil is in general dak colored
loan with a small trace OF clay towards the
north. Nearly four titlhs OF the whole is pas
ture and feeding land.
In the village still stands the house, said to
have been occupied by tue Washingtons when
the emigrant brother left them. You will see
vgnette of it on the title page OF the recent
English work, entitled The IVaShpgtonS. Over
the door is carved the wurds-"I he Lord Civ
eth the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the
name of the Lord, whiie the parish register
gives pathetic commentary by showing that,
i'll the very year when this house was built, q
Child had been born and another had died in
this family.
The church, originally dedicated to the Wiz.
gin, stands al The northeast Angle of the vii
lagt, and consists OF an embattled tower with
five bells, Il nave, north and south aisles Il
chancel a chapel, and modern porch. The
tower is f1ank,d hy buttrcsSes Of two stages
The present fabric goes back in its origin TO
the beginning of the 14th century nearly two
hundred years before the discovery of Amer
ca The chancel and chapel, where repOSe the
Spencers and Lawrence Washington, were
rebuilt by Sir John Spencer, the purchaser OF
the estate, at the beginning o.. the 10th centu.
ry. They atforl one OF the latest specimens
OF the Tudor style OF architecture. The
church is beautifully situated on the summit
wi the highest ground Of Brngton, and is sur.
rounded by stone wall hanked on the inside
by trees. Dibdin says that more complete
picture of Il country church.ya yard is rarely
seen. A well trimmed walk encircles the in
terror, while the fine Gothic windows at the
end Of the chancel fill the scene with pictur,
esque beauty
The register of the parish, which is still
preserved, commences III 1860. From this it
appears that VIM. Proctor was the rector from
1911 to 1877, covering the period OF the last
OF the Washinglons there. The following
further entries occur relating to this fam
iy:-
1916. mir. Lawrence Washington was buried
XVIII day of Dccember.n
1920 Mr.; Philip Curtis & Mis- Amy Washington
married August s."
1922; Mr.. Robert Washington was buried March
We llth.h
- Mrs Elizabeth Washington. widow. wa,
buried March ye 20th.n
OF one of the ministers in this church, W,
have an interesting glimpse in Eveyn's Me
mors (vol l., p. 6l2), where the following en-
try will he found under date OF July, 1853 =
''Dr. Jefffyes, the minister of Althorp, VIII,
was my lords chaplain when ambassador /,
France, preached the shortest discourse / eve
heard but what was defective in the ampli
tujc OF his sermon, he had supplied in tn,
largeness and convenience of the parsonag,
house"
At short distance less than a mile
A hnrp, the seat of the Spencers, surroundct
park of five hundred acres one of who's,
g,lcs 81 en- near the church. There are oal
trees, 1wuoing on the church pard, whicl
were growing at the time of the purchase o