ESSEX


Arkesden  Boreham  Borley  Castle Hedingham  Chelmsford Cathedral  Clavering  Cressing  Danbury  Earls Cone   Felstead  Finchingfield   Great Maplestead  Great Saling  Gosfield    Great Coggeshall  Halstead

<Essex-2>
 
Arkesden - St Mary
If you have visited Clavering, then continue on the B1038 to Hill Green when the roads turns to the right but carry straight on along a Yellow Road north; at the T-junction turn left and then turn right to Arkesden. The church is open and there is some limited parking outside the church.
O/S Ref: TL 482 346

 John Croxby  Vicar here 1435-1456. He had previously been vicar of Islington and after leaving here of South Mimms and then East Ham.
Wearing cassock and surplice

Left and above (detail) John Withers (1692) & Wife
Attributed to Edward Pearce

Right:
Richard Cheek (1740)

Below: Richard (1592) & Mary Cutte Monument, close up of effigies, kneeling children and whole six poster ; notice the boys have been beheaded by not the girls! I've seen this curiosity in other churches.

A modern paint job!

  
Heavy armour, heavy carving and heavy painting give this a fair ground appearance.
 

Other Monuments
Thomas (1795) & Elizabeth (1794) Wolfe. '... their remains are depoſited in a vault beneath...' '...In the same vault is laid the body of Mary ... (1818) ... eldest daughter of above...' '... And alſo the body of Elizabeth ... (1822) ... the only surviving daughter...' White tablet on black background.
Rev'd W Birch Wolfe (1864) & Marianne Birch Wolfe (1897) Brass
Richard Birch Wolfe (1859) '... remains are laid in the vault beneath this chancel...'. His wife Emily (1879) '...was interred in the Hastings cemetery.'  White tablet, black background
Lt George Whitmore Beadle MC RASC (1919) '... died on active service in Euskirchen, Germany...' Age 27. Brass
'... In the vault beneath this chancel are deposited the earthly remains of...' Lucy Wolfe (1823). '... In the same vault are also deposited the remains of John Wolf (1827) Husband of Lucy and son of '...Thomas and Elizabeth  ... whose deaths are recorded upon a tablet in this chancel.' White tablet on black background.
'... In a vault beneath the altar repose the remains of...' Sophia Birch Wolfe (Paris) (1840) White tablet with urn on black background.
Rev Thos J Griffinhoofe (1869) Sometime vicar. His wife Henrietta Sophia (1909). '... their bodies rest in a vault in the churchyard...' Brass.
John  George  Griffinhoofe (1900) Second son of the above. Brass.


Boreham - St Andrew

 Radcliffes, Earls of Sussex (1542, 1567 & 1583)
Alabaster. By Richard Stevens of Southwark. It was completed in 1589 and cost £266-13s-4d

Borley - Dedication Unknown

Sir Edward (1561) & Frances (née Neville) (1589) Waldegrave. Six poster. He was Master of the Wardrobe and, as an officer in Mary Tudor's household, was imprisoned in the Tower in Edward VI's reign for refusing to prevent Mary from celebrating mass, but was released on health grounds. He served Mary Tudor on her becoming Queen but objected to her marriage to Philip of Spain and was pensioned off. He was again imprisoned in the Tower  in Elizabeth's reign for allowing  mass to be said in his house. He died in the Tower and was buried in St Peter ad Vincula there. His wife outlived him by 38 years and later married Lord Chidiok Paulet, son of the Marquis of Winchester. Their children are shown and named:
Charles, Nicholas, Magdalen, Marie, Kathrine, Mary, Frances, Christopher. Frances had one son - Thomas - from her second marriage.

 Magdela Southcote (1598) daughter of Magdalen  Waldegrave (above) and John Sothcote.

Castle Hedingham - St Nicholas

John de Vere, 15th Earl of  Oxford (1539) & Wife.
Black marble. Four daughters and four sons kneel on opposite sides; the latter are not now visible as the monument is now against the wall instead of in the middle of the choir as it was originally placed. The Earl and his Wife are represented kneeling on the lip below the coat of arms.  Perhaps by Cornelius Harman


Chelmsford - Cathedral Church of St Mary
 
Left and right: Thomas Mildmay (1571) Note the curious shape and kneeling children on the lower part but no other figures, although they probably existed.

Other Monuments - Not Shown


Mathew Ridd (1615)
mural incised slab; attrib to Epiphanius Evesham



Robert Bownd (1696)
with flower garlands

Earl Fitzwalter -(Benjamin Mildmay) (1756)
Large standing wall monument with large urn in centre flanked by Corinthian columns and large cherubs. Signed: James Lovell

Mary Marsh (1757)
various marbles with urn. 


Clavering - St Mary & St Clement
Church is open. At the end of a short 'white' road off the B1038; the parking is very limited outside the church so better to park in the lay by on the B1068
O/S Ref: TL 471 318







Knight early 13th century. Purbeck marble. Said to be John de Clavering (1300)

Above:  Rev John Smith Formerly a preacher at St Paul's, he installed a new hourglass pulpit when he came to Clavering; a book of his sermons was published after his death.
Above centre left: 'Neere this place lyeth bvried WILL BARLEE ESQ & ELIZAB his wife...' 'He had issve several sonnes & davghters...' 'He departed this life about ye yeare of o' Lord 1610 Eliz abovt ye yeare 1619'  Then written on the adjacent urn: IOHN BARLEE ESQ the only svrviving sone of ye same WILL married MARY ... (Haynes) by whom he had issue HAYNES WILL and ELIZABETH departed this life ...  1633 & Mary his wife dyed in...1643 & were bvried neere to this place WILLIAM their sonne likewise dyed ...  1635 & lyes bvried on the north isise of the chvrch.
About this Barlee monument is a shield of arms, possibly from another monument and below a brass to Eileen Margaret Ludgate (1924-2006) Historian. 'Organizer and fund raiser for the restoration of the Barlee monuments in 1989.
Centre right: John Stephenson (1741) and his wife Anna (Patten) (1722)
Far right:
'Near this Monument are depoſited the Bodies of MR JOHN LETCH ... (1796) Alſo of EMMA his wife ... 
(1787) And of EMMA (MARTIN) ...And Daughͬ of the above ...   (1788) Age 20

Some Floor Monuments: Ledgers Stones and  Brasses
The edges of some of these stones are covered slightly by the woodwork of the pews
Richard Godfrey Gent (1699)
Below is partly illegible:
Wife: Mary (168_) Ann (1690) probably second wife. 'By _ wives _ he had _ children _ buried near this place
Brass with parts missing
Late 16th C

William Banson Gent (1677)
2nd son of William & Elizabeth (right)
William Banson (1659) & Elizabeth (Barlee) (1677)
'He had issue by her Seaven ſons and four daughters, eight ſurviuing Viz Iohn, Eliza, Barbara, Geor, Charle, Henry, Mary & Jane
Christopher Banson Gent (168_)
7th son of William & Elizabeth (left)
WILLIAM IEKYLL Gent (1711)
Also his wife MARY (1722)
Also WILLIAM (1712) only son of Thom/s and Martha Iekyll. Age 6 weeks
Brass matrix: three adult figures can be made out; below these on the left a group of daughters remain; on the right a group of sons are lost

Wall Mounted Brasses
The Songar Brass (c. 1480)

This fragmentary brass was found in the vicarage, then restored but stolen in 1968; it was recovered a few years later in Germany, returned and remounted as we now see it in 1992
The Joane Day Brass (16th century)

There are no names or dates on this brass; the inscription gives a variation of the familiar lines;
'Behoulde the place wherin I lye, For as thou art somtyme was I, And as I am so shalt thou be, From lyfe to death followe me'
The inscription states that this is a fragment of a group of children on the left while on the right is a facsimile of the reverse of this brass; a palimpsest.

The Barlee Monument
Margaret Barlee Haynes's first wife whom he 'happilye enjoyed her neere 16 yeares'; she died in childbirth aged 35 giving birth to her 13th child who was stillborn. Haynes Barlee (1696)
Erected 1747
Mary Barlee (née Turner)  With this marriage Haynes gained a 'plentiful fortune but noe issue being married 2 years and 4 months.'
Haynes married a third time and had more children; he died in his nineties

The children of Margaret Barlee: 13 in all as noted above, 4 boys and 9 girls. Note the child coffins with skulls on top.

Other Monuments
Two identical white marble tablets:

1. Rev Lancelot Pepys Stephens AM. (1831) Vicar here and formerly classics master at Christ's Hospital.
    Elizabeth Catherine Stephens (1851) Sister of the above

2. Mary Wales (1827) She was the widow of William Wales FRS who was astronomer with Captain Cook on his second voyage around the world; secretary to the Hon: Board of Longitude; and later master of the Royal Mathematical School, Christ's Hospital. She was the mother in law of the Rev Lancelot Stephens (above), explaining the similarity of the tablets.

Cressing - All Saints

Henry & Ann Smith (née Nevill) 1590
Note daughter kneeling below and the baby
Earls Colne - St Andrew

Richard Harlakenden (1602) & Four Wives

 Danbury - St John the Baptist
The church is open 10 am to 4.00 pm daily. Services: Thursday 11.45 am to 12.00 noon, and two Sunday services 8.00 am til 12.00 noon. Concert: 2nd Friday each month, 11.45 am - 1.00 pm.
Large car park outside church for visitors to  only
O/S Ref: TL 779 041


Left: Oak knights late 13th C   Right: Oak knight very early 14th C.  Said to be of the St Clere family

Above 3rd column. Very early 14th century. Oak. South wall.
Above 2nd  column.  Late 13th century. Oak. North wall -West Above 3rd column. Late 13th century. Oak. North wall - East.

 Felstead - Holy Cross

Richard, 1st Lord Rich (1568) & Son (1581)
Lord Rich became Lord Chancellor; he reclines and looks back at his son who kneels at a prayer desk. Behind are reliefs of Lord Rich with allegorical figures: Fortitude & Justice, Hope & Charity and Truth & Wisdom. Probably erected about 1620 and by Epiphanius Evesham. shown

Other monuments:
Christine Bray (1410) brass; Knight (1400) brass


 Finchingfield - St John

John Berners & Wife (1523) These brasses are set into the Purback marble top of a tomb chest.   Thomas Marriott (1766) by W Tyler (signed


Gosfield - St Katharine


Sir Hugh Rich (1554) Tomb Chest Above top
Thomas Rolfe (1440) in robes of Serjeant-at-Law brass on tomb chest. Above bottom
Sir John Wentworth (1567)
tomb chestwith blank arcading
John Knight (1733) & Wife (1756) By Rysbrack . Two white marble figures seated with urn between.
Great Coggeshall - St Peter-Ad-Vincula


In the Paycock Chapel
John Paycocke (1533) & Wife brasses with indent of Virgin above

Thomas Paycocke (1580)
Two Females (c 1480)

In the S Chapel
May Honywood (1620) The inscription says that she left 367 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

From Markshall Church, now demolished as indicated in drawing

Great Maplestead  - St Giles


Above: Sir John Dean (1625) Note the children kneeling behind and above the main figure.
Left: Lady Ann Dean (1633) The monument was erected by her son in 1634 and he lies at her feet, facing us with arms folded. Lady Dean stands behind in her shroud. Note the angels, crown and Trinity. By William Wright of Charing Cross. There was a fashion for standing shrouded figures in the1630's


Both of the male figures lie on rolled up mats.
Great Saling
St James the Great
John & Elizabeth Yeldham (1786)
   
 Halstead - St Andrew

John Bouchier (1329)  & Helen  Granite The tomb chest dates from mid 14th C John, Lord Bouchier (1400) & Wife  

Other Monuments - Not Shown
Bartholomew, Lord Bouchier (1409) & Wives brass


 
 
 
 With thanks to Dr & Mrs D Kelsall of St Albans and Ms Jean McCreanor for many of the Essex photographs.
The etching is from C A Stothard's
Monumental Effigies of Great Britain and the lithographs from Chancellor's The Ancient Sepulchral Monuments of Essex
 
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