Walter Porter, singer and musician, was Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey from 1639-1644. He was buried in St Margaret's Westminster on 30th November 1659 but he has no monument or marker.
He was born around 1587 and was said to have been the son of Henry Porter but little is known of his background. In 1603 he sang as an Abbey chorister at the funeral of Elizabeth I and later sang tenor in the Chapel Royal choir, attending James I's funeral in 1625. Walter travelled abroad and was a pupil of Monteverdi and the composer of the last book of English madrigals. His well known works were published as Madrigales and Ayres and Motets of Two Voyces. Due to the disbanding of the Abbey choir at the time of the English Civil War he then lived at the house of his friend Sir Edward Spencer. A Walter Porter married Elizabeth Gregory at St Benet, Paul's Wharf in London in 1630 but it is not clear if this was the composer. Among various petitions he wrote to the Dean and Chapter there is one (undated) where he states he was now old and in great want and had four children to keep, three of them being choristers.
Further reading
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Walter Porter Collected Works by J.P. Wainwright, 2017
The Westminster Abbey Singers by Edward Pine, 1953 (where some petitions are printed)
This image can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library
Image © 2024 Dean and Chapter of Westminster
