Out & About July 2017

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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.
When Henry was travelling, Mass was
celebrated every day in honour of the Blessed
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
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
To find out more about The Vyne and the
progress of the roof project visit
Henry VIII stained glass
Flemish floor tile
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