Opposite this, at the North Wall, was the tomb of Ralph Hengham (d. 1311).  Like so many great lawyers of old time he was in Holy Orders, Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter, and also Chief Justice of the King’s Bench.  He was sent to the Tower for falsifying a document, which he is said to have done in order to reduce a fine imposed on a poor man from 13_s._ 4_d._ to 6_s._ 8_d._, and was himself fined heavily; the money being applied to building a clock tower in Palace Yard, opposite the door of Westminster Hall.  Two judges, on being urged to tamper with records for beneficent purposes, are said to have declared that they did not mean to build clock towers!  He was afterwards restored to office.  He did good work in his day in compiling a Digest of the law.

SIR SIMON BURLEY, K.G., tutor and adviser of Richard II., beheaded on the charge of having corrupted the King’s Court, 1388.

[Illustration:  THE CHAPTER HOUSE AND CLOISTER, After W. Hollar.]

[Illustration:  THE NAVE, OR PAUL’S WALK. After W. Hollar.]

[Illustration:  THE CHOIR. After W. Hollar.]

[Illustration:  THE LADY CHAPEL. After W. Hollar.]

[Illustration:  THE ROSE WINDOW. From the drawing by E.B.  Ferrey in the Trophy Room, St. Paul’s Cathedral.]

[Illustration:  GROUND PLAN OF OLD ST. PAUL’S. After W. Hollar. The dotted line shews the position of Wren’s Cathedral.]

[Illustration:  THE SHRINE OF ST. ERKENWALD. After W. Hollar.]

[Illustration:  TOMBS OF SEBBA AND ETHELRED. After W. Hollar.]

St. Paul’s, as we see, was rich in tombs of mediaeval bishops; as to Royalty it could not be named as compared with Westminster Abbey, for the City was not a royal residence except in very rare cases.  But here we come to two tombs of Kings.  Sebba was buried in the North Aisle in 695.  He had been King of the East Saxons, but being afflicted with grievous sickness he became a monk.  His tomb remained until the Great Fire, as did that of Ethelred the Unready, next to it.  On the arches above were tablets containing the following inscriptions:—­

“Hic jacet Sebba Rex Orientalium Saxonum; qui conversus fuit ad fidem per Erkenwaldum Londonensem Episcopum, anno Christi DCLXXVII.  Vir multum Deo devotus, actibus religiosis, crebris precibus & piis elemosynarum fructibus plurimum intentus; vitam privatam & Monasticam cunctis Regni divitiis & honoribus praeferens:  Qui cum regnasset annos XXX. habitum religiosum accepit per benedictionem Waltheri Londinensis Antistitis, qui praefato Erkenwaldo successit.  De quo Venerabilis Beda in historia gentis Anglorum."[1]