most provident conveyance, which Sir Thomas had made of all his lands and inheritance, which he had settled upon my father, being a child of two years old or more [c. 1533] without any fraud or covin, even when as yet no statute had been made about the oath of supremacy; and therefore before Sir Thomas could commit any such fault against such a statute, much less treason, having reserved to himself only an estate for term of life; yet all this was taken away contrary to all order of law, and joined to the crown; but that land. which he had conveyed to my uncle Roper and mine aunt, for term of their lives in recompense of their marriage money, that they kept still, because that was done two days before the first conveyance." The land in question was no doubt "the house and one pightell or close of land," &c. in Chelsea which is mentioned in the grant of More's estate to Pawlet, as having been given by More to William Roper for his life, and of which mention will be found on the next page, and in the chapter on "Danvers House." CHAPTER VI BEAUFORT HOUSE Soon after More's death the custody of his house was entrusted to William Pawlet, afterwards created Marquis of Winchester; and on the accession of Edward VI. Pawlet obtained a grant of the whole of the Chelsea estate in fee, comprising the following premises (Pat. I Ed. VI. pt. 3): The mansion house and grounds. "The farm house," with 89 acres of land in the occupation of Thomas Bean, junior. Twenty acres and three roods of land in the occupation of Thomas Bean, senior. The reversion of the house and one pightell or close of land called Butclose, with the barn, garden, &c., which William Roper, Esq., held for the term of his life without any rent, by the gift of Sir Thomas More. Four acres of land in the occupation of Robert Buckley. A house in the occupation of Edmund Middleton and Edward Barker. A house in the occupation of Thomas Seymour and William Arundel. Six other houses-probably small cottages-separately enumerated. These premises, together with the old Parsonage and glebe land which Pawlet acquired in 1566, and with the exception of "Evans' Farm" and a few small houses which will be noticed in late chapters, formed practically the whole of the parish to the west of Church Lane, and were held by Pawlet and his successors, the Dacres, until the end of the sixteenth century, undivided. During the early part of the next century, however, they were gradually split up amongst various owners, and beside the Great House there sprang up out of the smaller ones, as we shall see, the five or six mansions which have contributed most largely to the history of the Parish Church. These I shall notice in turn, beginning with the Great House, better known by its later appellation of Beaufort House. So far as is known there were no interments in Chelsea Church from this house during Pawlet's occupation. He died there in 1572, and was succeeded by his son John, who married for his second wife Winifred, daughter of Sir John Burgess, and widow of Sir Robert Sackville.* I was at a loss to account for the Chelsea estate passing, as it did, to Winifred's daughter, Anna Sackville, who was married to Gregory, Lord Dacre, until I chanced to find amongst the State Papers a document endorsed: "The just griefs of the [3rd] Lord Marquis of Winchester against Winyfrede the Lady Marchioness of Winchester his late father's wyfe" (Domestic, Elizabeth, vol. cx.), in which it was alleged, amongst a number of instances of undue influence on the part of Winifred and her people, that in 1575 the house at Chelsea, which cost £14,000, and the land to it worth £14,000, was sold to the Lord Dacre and his wife for £3000, "whereof payed in truthe but £2000." I have since discovered that this conveyance was made by an indenture of bargain and sale dated 28 February 1575; the house had been leased to Henry Ughtred Esq. in the previous year for a term of 40 years if Lady Winchester should so long live, and this lease was assigned to Lord Dacre and his wife on the 14 November 1583 (Claus. 41 Eliz. pt. 23; Cecil to Lincoln). Lord and Lady Dacre died within a few months of each other, their burials being recorded in the Parish Registers as follows: 1594. Gregorie Fynes Lord Dacres of the Sowth died the xxvth day of Septemb beinge Weddendaie Whose funeralls & buriall were kepte the 5th of Novembere here at Chelsey." She bequeathed £6 13s. 4d. "to the pore and lame people within the p'ishe of Chelsey." 1595. The La. Anne wife to the right honorable Lord Dacres afore named was buried the xyth of Maij Whose funeralls were solemnized at Chelsey the xixth of June followinge." The Dacre monument stands against the south wall of the body of the Church, near the western arch of the More Chapel. On an altar tomb richly moulded and inlaid with panels of black and red marble, lie the recumbent effigies, carved in alabaster, of Lord and Lady Dacre; he in a complete suit of richly damascened armour; she in the habit of the time, with ruff, mantle, and bonnet: they both have a dog at their feet. Upon the central panel on the face or front of the altar tomb is cut this inscription: NOBILIS ANNA IACES PRVDENS SACKVILLIA PROLES VIVA TVI DEFLES FVNERA MOESTA VIRI. NIL MORTALE PLACET, COELVM TVA PECTORA SPIRANT O QVOTIES MANIBVS PASSIS AD CVLMINA COELI MENS PIA, COELESTIS PATRIAE PERVENIT AD ARCEM, Beside it, near the heads of the effigies, lies the tiny recumbent figure of their daughter in a child's gown and ruff. The altar tomb is partially set in a recess, the arch of which on the inside is coffered and carved with roses. The wall at the back of this recess is covered with carved and painted arabesques, surrounding a table of black touchstone which bears this inscription : IN OBITVM NOBILISSIMORVM CONIVGVM GREGORII D. QVOS ARDENS COPVLAVIT AMOR IUVENILIBVS ANNIS |