Hospitallers succeeded in Hackney, were not suppressed until about 1308, it may have been the Templars who gave the name, as they followed the same rule.

Dr. Robinson says: The founder of the Order of the Hospital Brothers of St. John of Jerusalem dedicated this church to St. John the Baptist, under Raymond Dupuis, successor to Gerard, who was the first great Master of that Order, and they became a Military Order. Gerard and his associates followed the rules and assumed the habit of the Augustines, and thus the church at Hackney became dedicated to St. Augustine.'

This is somewhat obscure.

The following are the passages in Vertot's' History of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem' on which the above passage is probably founded.* The church is said to have been called St. John's after the Restoration. (It is so named in 1662, as appears by the inscription on a piece of plate.)

'On construit proche de leur couvent, deux Hospices pour recevoir les pelerins de l'un et de l'autre sexe, sain et malades: ce qui étoit le principal objet de cet établissement; et chaque Hospice eut dans la suite sa chapelle, l'une consacrée sous l'invocation de S. Jean l'Aumonier, et l'autre dédiée eu l'honneur de Sainte Magdelaine.'

'Cette sainte maison gouvernée par des Religieux de Saint Benoît, et qu'on doit regardes comme le berceau de l'ordre de Saint Jean, servit. depuis d'azyle et de retraite aux pelerins.'

'Le gouverneur de la ville fit enfermer en même temps en differentes prisons, les Chrêtiens qui lui étoient suspects, et entre autres l'administrateur de l'Hôpital de Saint Jean de Jerusalem' (A.D. 1099).

Cependant le Général du Calife d'Egypte, qui ignoroit la prise de Jerusalem, marchoit à la tête de son armée pour en faire lever le siège. Godefroi le prevint, s'avança audevant de lui, le rencontra à la sortie des deserts qui séparent la Palestine de l'Egypte, le battit et mit son armée

* Arthur Wood, in December, 1509, was instituted to St. Augustin, at Hackney. Gauselinus, a cardinal presbyter in the Church of Rome, was Rector of Hackney from 1328 to 1334, and during some of the years included held Northfleet and other benefices. He held nine altogether in England.

en fuite. En reconnoissance de cette nouvelle victoire, et pour en perpetuer la mémoire, il fonda dans l'Eglise du Saint Sépulchre un Chapitre de Chanoines latins: il eu fonda encore un autre quelque temps après dans l'Eglise du Temple, qui servoit auparavant de Mosquée aux Infidéles, et ces Chanoines dans l'un et l'autre Eglise suivoient la régle de Saint Augustin, ainsi que le rapporte le Cardinal Jacques de Vitri, l'Evêque d'Acre, auteur qu'on doit regarder à l'égard des affaires de l'Orient, comme Historien original.'

'Bientôt par les soins du pieux Gérard, on vit s'élever un temple magnifique sous l'invocation de Saint Jean-Baptiste, et dans un endroit qui selon une ancienne tradition avoit servi de retraite à Zacharie, père de ce grand saint. On construit proche de cette Eglise differens corps de logis, et de vastes batimens, les uns pour l'habitation des Hospitaliers, d'autres pour recevoir les pelerins, ou pour retirer les pauvres et les malades.'

Gerard died in 1118. Dupuy succeeded him as Grand Master. In 1128 the order of the Knights Templars was founded.

The rule of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem was (according to Grose) nearly that of St. Augustine. The Knights Templars were also consecrated to the service of God after the manner of the regular canons of St. Augustine. As it is most likely that a church existed at Hackney before the Templars were suppressed, it is evident that they have a better title to the credit of naming the church than have those who succeeded them. But if named Augustine from their following the rules deduced from the writings of St. Augustine, constituted Bishop of Hippo in A.D. 395, then it is apparent that the name has no reference to the St. Augustine, the papal missionary into England. We mention this because Dr. Robinson, in his valuable History of Hackney,' gives a memoir of St. Augustine, the missionary, in reference to St. Augustine's Church in Hackney. Of course it may have been dedicated to this latter; but if so, the reason alleged, from the knights following the rule of his namesake, has no force. Pope Innocent II. ordained in the Lateran Council, A.D. 1139, that all regular canons should submit to the rule of St. Austin in his 109th epistle.*

In the edition printed at Paris in 1689, it is the 211th epistle, column 781, wherein St. Austin 'præscribit illis vitæ regulam.'

Five hundred years ago Hackney was a distinct Rectory and Vicarage.*

In the 20th year of Edward I.:

'Ecclia de Hackney was valued at 50 marks.

Vicaragia de Hackney was valued at 12 marks.'

under an order of Pope Nicholas that all benefices should be valued.

John Strype, the celebrated antiquary, was lecturer at Hackney Church from 1689 to 1724. He held, it is said, the Vicarage of Leyton, and died at Hackney in 1737 in his 94th year. It is from his additions to Stowe's 'Survey of London' that most of the particulars about the monuments in the old church have been obtained.

We read that the

'Parish church consists of a nave, chancel, and two aisles. At the west end is a square stone tower of Gothic architecture.

'The church appears to have been in great measure rebuilt in the early part of the 16th century by Sir John Heron, Master of the Jewel House to Henry VIII., and Christopher Urswick,† the Rector.

On

'Between each arch of the nave are the arms of Heron carved in stone. The same arms occur on one side of the chancel window. the other side are the arms of Urswick.

'Urswick's tomb is within the Communion rails, where is a marble slab with his effigies in brass (covered,' at the time this was written, 'by a plank ').

In other accounts the arms of Heron are said to be on every pillar; this is probably what is meant by the above expression between each arch of the nave.‡

When reconstructed about 1520, some of the old windows were pro

* The Church of Hackney belonged to the Bishop of London from the earliest times. + In Burton's 'Anatomy of Melancholy,' 4th ed., p. 187, Urswick is mentioned: 'But most part they are very shamefast, and that makes them, with Peter Blesensis' Christopher Urswick, and many such, to refuse honours, offices, and preferments.' At St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Urswick's monument as Dean of Windsor, originally stood at the end of north aisle of nave, but was removed to make room for the monument to the Princess Charlotte.

them.

See what follows as to the old pillars being retained: the arms were above

bably used again, particularly on the south side of the chancel and in the south side aisle.

It is possible that the chancel was the original building. About one hundred years afterwards the church was completely altered in appearance by the addition of a new vestry on one side of the chancel, and the Rowe Chapel on the other. Galleries were probably then constructed. It was also repaired in 1720, of which date the east end shows strong signs.

In the additions to Lysons' 'Environs of London' an opinion is expressed that Heron and Urswick only rebuilt the chancel, and that the nave and tower were built in the fourteenth century. [The pillars of the nave were decorated with Heron's arms, and the arms of both Heron and Urswick were put up in the chancel on each side of the east window.] We should rather concur in this opinion as to the tower, and possibly as to the piers or pillars in the nave.

There is a singular feature about the tower as it now stands. The tower has diagonal buttresses (more common, according to Rickman, in decorated than in perpendicular towers). But as regards the corner of the tower, which had joined the church, the buttress is diagonal in the uppermost stage and so continued beneath,* but then is changed into a lateral buttress in order not to interfere with the church. We think if the tower had been built at the same time as the nave was rebuilt it would have been built with buttresses of the then generally prevailing fashion, namely, all of them parallel with the sides of the tower. According to the picture of the church taken when it was partly pulled down, the piers of the nave are of the decorated style. We think that Heron made use of these piers in 1519, as the arches appear to be somewhat awkwardly set upon them.

The conjectural history of the church might be thus written: Originally in the Early English, or decorated style,† the tower was rebuilt about the year 1350, or a few years later, and when the perpendicular

* Some stones have apparently been picked out to diminish the weight when the alteration was made.

+ About the year 1250 to 1300. We have heard the opinion expressed by one who knows much about the history of Hackney, that Heron only repaired the church and added the clere-story.