Journal of Proceedings. ix
believed to be the end of the world, and the last swell of that great
wave of enthusiasm had not entirely subsided when the miraculous cross
which was brought to Waltham and deposited in the church erected there
was discovered. It was a miracle-working age, and no wonder that a
miraculous crucifix was found under-ground, possessing extraordinary
virtues, and demanding extraordinary devotion on the part of the faithful.
Tovi, who lived in the time of King Canute, was the first to set aside a
portion of his land for the purpose of building a church at Waltham.
After Tovi's death the lordship of Waltham seemed to have reverted to the
Crown, and subsequently Harold enlarged Tovi's foundation for two
priests to one for a dean and twelve canons. The regular clergy or the
monks had not then attained the footing in England which they afterwards
did. We did not during several succeeding reigns hear of any alteration
in Harold's Church, which was consecrated in 1059. The founder himself
had been found under a heap of slain, and had been laid to rest in the
choir of his own Church. A wonderful tale of how Harold had escaped,
and had had several subsequent adventures and admitted that he was
Harold, had been invented; but that legend could not bear the test of
historic research. In the year 1177 an important change took place at
the church at Waltham, when Henry the Second enlarged Harold's
original foundation. Henry's work was probably limited to the choir, of
which nothing now remains, and to the conventual buildings, of which
fragments do remain. In 1242, in the time of Henry the Third, we hear
of the Abbey Church of Waltham being consecrated, proving that some
alteration had been made in the east end of the Church; that the altar
had been moved, thus causing the choir to require re-consecration. There
is thus very little doubt that Harold's choir had been pulled down, and a
more magnificent choir built. He believed that, in making excavations at
the east end of the present Church, foundations were discovered on the
north side for a long distance in a line with the present walls, proving
that the choir was a very long one, probably nearly the same length as
the nave. There was found no wall on the south side to correspond with
that found on the north side ; the foundations on the south side had been
entirely removed. Afterwards a beautiful Lady Chapel was built on the
north side of the nave. Prom the character of the work of the Chapel,
one would imagine that it was early 14th century ; but he thought that it
was a little later than that, and dated from about 1340. No alteration of
any magnitude was subsequently made until the dissolution, after which
time as much trouble was taken to demolish as had previously been taken
to build. During the reign of Philip and Mary the central tower was
blown up with gunpowder. In the 18th century and early in the present
all sorts of barbarities were inflicted on the Church, the roof being
lowered and two galleries erected at the west end, and the whole area
filled with high pews. The present improved state of the Church was due
to the work of Mr. Burges, the Architect of the restoration in 1859—60. A
few fragments of the domestic buildings of the Abbey even now existed.