Oratory Chappel

image after a forgery, supposedly etched by Joseph Sympson II after William Hogarth
ca. 1794

British Museum 1978,U.3484

Inscription above the image:

It is written my house shall be called y^e house of prayer but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Inscription below the image:

Heaven with Butchers plac'd thy Priestley stall. Poor humble Faith to mangle hack & maul.

The Reverend John (Orator) Henley preaches in the pulpit at the left, underneath a platform on which a dog in Scots plaid holds a sign reading "Politicks & Divinity." Members of the congregation brandish fists and clubs at one another; others appear to be heeding the sermon, while others below share in a congenial conversation or read the paper. A pew on the right, its occupants wearing Scotch plaid, is labeled

Pews for y^e Doctors Friends &c

Butcher Frenchman
Scot and Tory
Join to rob Britain
of its Glory

A coat of arms above the pew is inscribed with the mottos

"Bray" and "No Faith No King No Law"

Bulletins below read:

Repaired and Beautifyd by O—t— H—y [Orator Henley]

and

Subjects to night y^e. Battle of Dettengen & y^e. Bishops