Historic%20Yorkshire

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
The house in whichhe died was,however, not an inn,
consequentlythe description of " the inn's worst room "
is merely fanciful; the building was his own,but in the
occupation of one of his tenants. At the time of his
Lordship's demise it must have been, with one exception,
the best house in the town. It was built in the ancient
style, with wings, andhavinga frontageof sixteenyards.
The apartment in which the Duke breathed his last was
on the second floor at the front of the house, and is the
best upper room, with boards of fir.
In an old parish register of Kirkby-Moorside is the
following entry: —
" Burials. — 1687, April 17th, Gorges Viluas, Lord
dooke of bookingham."
This,though recording the death of his Lordship,is no
proof ofhis burial at Kirkby-Moorside,for he was interred
in the family vault, under a sumptuous monument in
Henry VIII.'s Chapel,in Westminster Abbey.
His widow administeredto the estate, there being no
will. Leaving no issue, the family by his death became
extinct.
In many respects he was a remarkable man. He
occupied part of his chequered career in literary work,
consisting of dramatic compositions,satires, and poems,
which, among other miscellaneousworks, werepublished
in an octavo volume in 1704. His life was printed by
Curl in 1721, and his works pirated, but the action was
condemned by the House of Lords as a breach of
privilege.
It is stated that the Duke ofBuckingham was the first
to introduce the manufacture of glass and crystal from
Venice into England.
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