William Burton (1622), The description of Leicester Shire: Containing Matters of Antiquitye, Historye, Armorye, and Genealogy: pp. 51-52

Bradgate in the Hundred of West Goscote, standing upon the border of Charnewood Forrest: This Manor did belong to the Earles of Leicester, and (by partition) came to Ferrers; from Ferrers (by descent) it came to Grey, from whom it descended to Thomas Grey Marquesse of Dorset, who in the time of King Henry the eight, built here a very faire, large, and beautifull house, inhabited after by his sonne Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolke; it is now the seate of Henry Lord Grey of Groby, descended from the said Thomas Marquesse of Dorset; of whom I cannot here omit one memorable passage : That whereas not many yeares since, the collegiate Church of Astley in the County of Warwicke, founded in the time of King Edward the third, by Thomas Lord Astley, whose heire generall was married to the ancestor of the Marquesse) a most rare and beautifull peece of worke, fell downe ; and a chancell was newly to be erected by the Parochians, the vault wherein the body of this Marquesse was layed, was opened, and therein a great, large, and long Coffin of wood found, which at the curious desire of some, and earnest motion of others, was then burst open, my selfe being there present, 1608. whose body having lyen there by the space of 78. yeares (for he dyed the 10. of October 1530. the 22. of H.8.) was at the cutting open of the Cerecloth viewed perfect, and found nothing corrupted, the flesh of the body nothing perished or hardned, but in colour, proportion, and softnesse alike to any ordinary corpes newly to be interred, his body large of length, si foote wanting foure inches, his haire yellow, his face broad ; which might seeme to be thus preserved by the strong embalming thereof : For as Saint Gregory writing upon the Canticles, saith, Mortuorum corpora myrrha condita fuisse perhibenter ne putresserent. the bodies of the dead were embaulmed with Myrre, that they should not putrifie.

And so on for 25 lines on the burial habits of the ancients...


This page is maintained at the University of Chicago by James Eason.