Did Castlereagh wear glasses?
From the correspondent of the Morning Herald, London, printed Monday 19 August 1822
THE LATE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY NORTH CRAY, Sunday Night [18 August 1822] We attended the little village church this morning … The pew of the Londonderry family stands conspicuously by the reading desk, and it was a practice with his Lordship to stand so that he could read the Liturgy from the Clerk’s book. The poor fellow felt honoured by this participation; and, after the service was over this morning, we saw him in the midst of a groupe, describing the circumstance, with tears in his eyesꟷpointing out the exact spot on which his Lordship stoodꟷand showing minutely how he used to hold the leaves of his book to accommodate him. The poor man’s earnestness, and the eager attention of his hearers, would have been a fine subject for Yorick.
Why would Castlereagh want to follow the service from a book at some distance from where he was standing? Perhaps he was long-sighted but always left his reading glasses at home.
Note: The interiors of many churches in the 18th and early 19th centuries included designated pews for families, and a two- or three-layer structure with the pulpit from which the minister delivered his sermon at the top, then a reading desk for the minister and the parish clerk’s desk at the bottom. St James Church North Cray was rebuilt in the nineteenth century, and I have not seen a plan of the 1822 layout, but the interior of St Clement’s Church, Knowlton, Kent, might give an idea of the sort of arrangement.
https://www.visitkent.co.uk/media/2530/knowlton-st-clement-int-credit-
The view from the clerk's point of view. A family pew on the right.
