Publisher's Synopsis
The Chapel Royal holds a singular position in English ecclesiastical and musical life, as a body of priests and musicians appointed by and serving the personal religious needs of the sovereign. Its historical significance owes much to its location at a court which was, for many centuries, the centre of national power and culture. It was, indeed, both an instrument and a visible manifestation of policy, and its history can be seen as reflecting the fortunes of government. While its origins are lost in the mists of time, its growth and membership become increasingly apparent from the thirteenth century, and can be traced in detail from the sixteenth century. Chief among the documents which provide evidence of the ChapelÆs development and administration are the two surviving Cheque Books, preserved in the Archive of the Chapel Royal at St JamesÆs Palace. These cover a period from Queen Elizabeth I to Queen Victoria (and contain a few later entries as well). - - The æOldÆ Cheque Book has been widely used by scholars since an edition was published by Edward F. Rimbault in 1872. The inadequacies of this edition have, however, long been recognised, and a new, full and accurate transcription has now been prepared by Andrew Ashbee and John Harley, both known for their work on records of the English court and its musicians. They have added transcriptions of the æNewÆ Cheque Book, and of the valuable personal memoranda compiled by William Lovegrove and Marmaduke Alford, respectively Serjeant and Yeoman of the Vestry of the Chapel Royal. - - These documents not only provide a register of the ChapelÆs personnel and their appointments, but reveal many of the day to day concerns of the group of men who formed the Chapel. Students of political and ecclesiastical history will find much to interest them in details of the administration of a unique part of the royal household, while musical scholars will value information about an institution whose traditions span several centuries and whose members have included men of the calibre of Orlando Gibbons and William Boyce.
