In Westminster Abbey, in 1643, "Soldiers were quartered who brake down the rail about the altar, and burnt it in the place where it stood; they brake down the organ and pawned the pipes at several ale-houses for pots of ale; they put on some of the singing-men's surplesses, and in contempt of that canonical habit, ran up and down the church; he that wore the surpless was the hare, the rest were the hounds."
It would be needless to add to these miserable stories; those who care to read further on the subject, are referred to the quaint old book _Mercurius Rusticus_, from whence the foregoing extracts have been taken.
So complete was the destruction of church music-books, that examples of the pre-Commonwealth time are now most rare.
Not only were the organs and music destroyed, but musicians, organists, and singers were turned adrift, and had to seek precarious livelihoods by teaching music to the few who cared or were willing to learn the art, or else to escape starvation by adopting some less congenial occupation than that for which they were fitted by nature and education.
If tradition may be relied on, the Protector, Cromwell, was himself a lover of music, and not unwilling, when opportunity served, to assist and befriend musicians.
Cromwell's secretary, the poet Milton, was no mean performer on the organ, and being the son of an eminent composer,[1] would doubtless, with his passionate love for music, be at all times ready to use his sympathetic voice and counsel on behalf of any distressed and poor musician who might petition the Protector for help or redress.
It is well known that the organ which stood in Magdalen College, Oxford, was saved from destruction through the intervention of Cromwell, who privately caused it to be removed to Hampton Court, where it was placed in the great gallery, in order that he might have the frequent pleasure of hearing it; and he also appointed as his organist and music-master, at a salary of 100_l._ per annum, John Hingston, who had been one of the musicians to Charles I. Cromwell was extremely partial to the Latin _Motets_ composed by Richard Dering, and these were performed on the organ by Hingston, who was assisted by his pupils in the vocal parts. The interesting organ which must have often poured forth its sweet sounds under the fingers of Milton, was, after the Protector's death, returned to Magdalen College; but subsequently the College authorities sold it, and it was removed to Tewkesbury Abbey, where it now stands.