Historical sketches of St. Thomas's Hospital. Pt. II / by William Rendle.

  • William Rendle
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Historical sketches of St. Thomas's Hospital. Pt. II / by William Rendle. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    picture of an interior is prefixed to the Golden Meane of Benjamin Spencer, who was minister of St. Thomas’s in 1647 and after the manner of the time the hour-glass is fixed on a pole close to the pulpit and to the minister’s eye. But I cannot be sure that this was St. Thomas’s. From our new churches local colouring has almost faded away, quaintness is gone, and matter of fact and even a colder mechanism has come. We have no heretics sitting before the con- gregation to be preached at before the burning, no petty sinner stands in white, upon a stool in the aisle or at the entry, for penance. Compared with the old, our stained glass, our ceremonials and memorials of the dead, appear spiritless. Among us is not so often found the always open door of the Latin Church, inviting the passer-by to a few moments of prayer or serious thought, or even to rest in a holy place. As late as Sunday, 30tli July, 1732, Edward Davis, of the parish of St. Thomas in Southwark, is enjoined, immediately after Divine service and sermon, in the vestry,—thus the sting of publicity is taken out,— before the minister, wardens, and offended persons, Ann Jones of the same parish, and certain of her friends,—to repeat with a loud voice his con- fession of repentance for injurious language used by him of the said Ann Jones. The document, the original of which is in my possession, is signed by minister, wardens, and deputy, and stamped with two sixpenny stamps, and some appropriate words are added. This Edward Davis appears to be the same person referred to as doing penance in St. George’s Church for slandering a chandler’s shop- woman of the Mint.
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