in the MS. letters of a notable spy, Philip Stosch,1 whose despatches under the name of Walton, fill many volumes in the Record Office. They are all inspired with a strong bias against Sir Thomas, who, as has been seen, resided during his earlier life at Florence. Stosch declares that he had been his great friend till Dereham discovered his secret relations with the British Government, "when he began to persecute me like a fanatic, and did so till his death."3 Sir Thomas left Florence when Stosch appeared there in 1722. However, under the patronage of Cardinal Albano, whose uncle, Clement XI. was elected Pope in 1700, the spy shortly after returned to Rome. Sir Thomas, after having been admitted to an interview with the Pope, "a thing very difficult now to obtain," went to Naples for the Lent; "but he is reported to be due in Florence to-morrow, May 10th, 1722.” In 1732 Dereham arranged for the disposal of his property in England, and then, without fear of confiscation, became an open friend of the exiled Stuarts. In or after 1722 Sir Thomas sent over a beautiful monument of Florentine Mosaic, crowned by an elaborate escutcheon bearing his family arms, and enclosing the following inscription, to be placed in the old Parish Church of West Dereham : Baron Stosch was a distinguished archæologist, and an experienced diplomat. Sent on a mission to England by the States General in 1712, he studied under Bentley. Lord Granville, when Prime Minister, gave him the employment of a spy on the Chevalier St. George. Stosch made a valuable collection of coins. He died in Florence in 1757. Nouvelle Bibliographie Universelle, vol. xliv., Didot, Paris, 1864. 2 Record Office, Miscellaneous, 166 and 168, 1712-1719. 366 3. Using every possible means, ladies, priests, monks, Jesuits, the Inquisition, in a word all the influence and power of the Corsini family to worry me even in Florence."-Walton Papers. D. O. M. Thomas Dereham, Baronet, son of Richard Dereham, Knight and Baronet, and of Frances, eldest daughter of Robert, Viscount Purbeck (sic), having regard to (erga) his prudent, provident, and dearly loved mother, and also to the liberality of Thomas Dereham, Knight, formerly Envoy of James II., King of England, at (the court of) Cosimo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, eldest son of Richard Dereham of Boston in the county of Lincoln, Esquire (and) cousin of Richard Dereham, Knight and Baronet: Which Thomas (son of Richard of Boston) returned to the Manor of Dereham, built the Palace anew at his own cost, enlarged the demesnal roll of rents (and) appointed his cousin's widow executrix of his will and her son his heir: In order that the memory of the beneficent magnanimity of his illustrious Predecessors should be transmitted to posterity, has during his lifetime erected this monument of a grateful heart. A.D. MDCCXXII. This deeply interesting record is still in its place in the venerable church, side by side with earlier Dereham monuments. But of the "palace" only a small fragment remains. The old gateway has disappeared, just as have nearly all vestiges of the Premonstratensian Abbey. Of this, a portion of the buttressed wall, standing among the farm buildings, alone is left. In the grounds of Oxburgh Hall is an exquisite gravestone bearing a floriated cross with a crozier. It was found inverted and serving as the door-step of a cottage. Its graceful foliage reminds one of the Early 1 Poor Lady (Frances) Dereham died in 1720, and she was the last of her name to be buried in the Parish Church of West Dereham. Vide Register of Church. |