Out & About July 2017

The chapel was built at some point between 1524-26, during William Sandy’s campaign to significantly develop the house. It was richly decorated and an inventory of 1541 lists plate, altar cloths, hangings and vestments for a priest, a deacon and a sub- deacon. The beautifully carved Tudor choir stalls are similar to those made for the Lady Chapel at Winchester Cathedral, and decorated with heraldic imagery. On the floor are Flemish tiles, dating from the early 1500s and featuring images of animals, birds and geometrical figures. The stained glass in the chapel’s windows is considered to be among the most beautiful and exceptional 16th-century glass in Europe. Famous for its jewel-like clarity and superb draughtsmanship, it is unmatched in England, and the finest example of Tudor glass in the National Trust’s care. Virgin Mary – the so-called Lady Mass. At Mass, Anne Boleyn would have sat separately to the king, in my Lady’s Closet. It was at times like these that she reportedly used to try and speak privately with Henry. Historian at Keble College, Oxford, Dr Lucy Kaufman, explained the significance of this period in history: “Henry VIII’s 1535 Progress was an opportunity to cement what we’d now call a ‘Protestant’ loyalty among his most powerful and wealthy subjects, including William Sandys, owner of The Vyne. It was also a chance to be seen with his controversial queen, Anne Boleyn.” Henry and Anne visited the chapel between 15 and 19 October 1535. His two year marriage to Anne Boleyn was tempestuous and had not secured a male heir. Plans to close the monasteries were met with rumours of revolt among some of his commanders, and Henry had just executed his former confidante Sir Thomas More for refusing to acknowledge him When Henry was travelling, Mass was celebrated every day in honour of the Blessed

as head of the Church of England. However, in a letter to Lord Lisle dated 9 October 1535 Henry’s close friend Sir Anthony Wyndesore wrote that: ‘The King’s Grace and The Queen’s Grace were merry in Hampshire, thanking be our Lord…’. This may have been because Anne was pregnant at the time. Three months later, on January 29 , 1536, she suffered a miscarriage, and on May 2 she was escorted to the Tower by Lord Sandys himself, just seven months after he had entertained her at The Vyne. The unique sound of a Tudor Lady Mass has been created for the chapel. In this recreation, the ritual at the altar and the chants are undertaken by the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal, with the more elaborate music (polyphony) sung in three parts by the Children of the Chapel Royal with their master. These boys would have been chosen from among the best in England, sometimes plucked from poverty – a rare opportunity to obtain an education. The polyphonic music for the Lady Mass was composed by Nicholas Ludford in around 1530. He was organist in St Stephen’s Chapel in the royal palace of Westminster. The only manuscript in which this music survives belonged to Henry VIII, and was placed in the Royal Library at Westminster by 1542. This is the first time a soundscape of the Lady Mass, as Henry VIII would have kinown it, has been created. It is also reflected visually with an ornate altar frontal featuring Christ and four saints on display. The piece is copied form a rare hanging of the same peeriod at another NT property – Cotehele in Cornwall. General manager Stuart Maughan explained: “While our first floor is currently closed, we wanted to give our visitors something really different to experience.” The Tudor Mass audio experience will run throughout 2017

Henry VIII stained glass

To find out more about The Vyne and the progress of the roof project visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-vyne

Flemish floor tile

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