John Chamberlayne, (son of Dr. Chamberlayne,) who resided in the house formerly occupied by his father, was a learned and worthy man. He was admitted into Trinity College, Oxford, in 1685, and was gentleman usher to George Prince of Denmark. He translated, from the French and Spanish: 1. The Manner of making Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate. 2. From Italian into English, A Treasure of Health, written by Castor Durant de Gualdo, physician of Rome. 3. The Arguments of the Books and Chapters of the Old and New Testaments, with Practical Observations, written originally in French by the Rev. Mr. Ostervald, Professor of Divinity, and one of the members of the church at Neufchatel, in Switzerland, and by him presented to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, of which society he was a member. 4. The Lives of the Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences; translated from the French of M. de Fontenelle; republished since, in 1721, under the title of “Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris, Epitomized, with the Lives of the late Members of that Society.” 5. The Religious or Christian Philosopher; or, The right Use of Contemplating the Work of the Creator; translated from the Dutch of Dr. Nieuwentyt, with cuts. 6. History of the Reformation in and about the Low Countries; translated from the Low Dutch of Gerard Brandt. 7. The Lord’s Prayer, in 100 Languages. 8. Dissertations, Historical, Theological, and Critical, on the most memorable events of the Old and New Testaments, wherein the Spirit of the Sacred Writings is shewn, their authority confirmed, &c. Mr. Chamberlayne was Fellow of the Royal Society, to whom he communicated several papers on important subjects. He augmented and improved his father’s book of “The Present State of Great Britain,” to the latter editions of which his name is prefixed. He was not only learned but pious, earnest at all times in promoting and disseminating religious principles. In the old churchyard, facing the river, are inscriptions to the memory of this distinguished family. { 82}
Mr. Bowack, to whom we are so much indebted for his valuable information, resided near Dr. Chamberlayne’s house in Church Street. In 1705 he began to publish, in folio numbers, “The Antiquities of Middlesex; being a Collection of the several Church Monuments in that County; also an Historical Account of each Church and Parish, with the Seats, Villages, and names of the most eminent Inhabitants.” The work extended through the parishes of Chelsea, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick, and Acton, and was then discontinued. It is much to be regretted that he could not complete his design. He has preserved many monumental inscriptions, since destroyed. Mr. Bowack was writing master to Westminster School. “I have,” says Mr. Faulkner, in reference to his own work, “carefully embodied the greater part of the information contained in his (Bowack’s) folio volume, now become extremely scarce.”