British Church Monuments: list of monuments shown in lecture for 1 projector Jane Kelsall, 2011
1. 1st Earl of Coventry by William Stanton 1710 at St Mary's, Elmley Castle near Evesham Worestershire. Rejected by snobbish stepson but given a home by widow's next husband.
2. The Savage monument by Samuel Baldwin c.1631 also at Elmley Castle. One of the finest in . Britain. Three generations in repose.
3. Bishop Roger d.1139 at Salisbury Cathedral. Tournai marble with Purbeck head transplant.
4. Bishop Nigel 1133-69, at Ely cathedral. Archangel Michael taking his soul to Heaven in napkin.
Tournai.
5. William Longespee. Earl of Salisbury d. 1226, Salisbury Cathedral, effigy now on a tomb chest.
6. Sir John Holcombe. late 13C. Dorchester, Oxon. Figure in action: crossed legs - not always a
Crusader.
7. Robert Duke of Normandy d.l 134, bog oak effigy c.1200, base 15-C, repainted Campion 1665.
Gloucester Cathedral. Effigy conceived as an upright figure, but oddly lying on his back.
8. 1st Earl of Warwick & wife. 1369. Rare, as hands joined. Figures now prone, heraldic bears.
9. Sir Robert (d.l452) & Lady Agnes Whittingham. Mon. originally at Ashridge, moved 1575 to St
John B. Aldbury. Standard late medieval position of effigies ie., on their backs, hands in rigid
prayer position, eyes open but deathlike. Pattern books used at workshops (Southwark, in this
case) to show all-important status. Faces not likenesses. Lancastrian 'S' collar. In a fine Perp.
chapel. Fierce Wild Man at Sir Robert's feet with communion wafer in teeth.
10. Queen Philippa d.l369 as above, by John Orchard. First known likeness by first named sculptor.
11. King Edward III d.l377 at Westminster Abbey. Gilt bronze, deathmask.
12. Sir Guy de Brien d. 1359 at Tewkesbury Abbey. Decorated canopy.
13. Abbot Wakeman d. 1551, Perpendicular canopy, decaying corpse with 5 bugs. Grim morality tale.
14. Earl & Countess of Leicester (Robert Dudley & 3rd wife Lettice) 1588, St Mary, Warwick.
Renaissance motifs all over but all medieval features still evident: i.e. tomb chest, effigies and
canopy. Highly coloured, but not gaudy.
15. Sir Philip & Sir Thomas Hoby by Bontemps & Cure (figures) c.1566 at All Saints, Bisham.
Reclining in a mood of devout contemplation. The loss of belief in Purgatory changed effigy positions.
16. Lady Elizabeth Russell & 3 dead daughters and 1 baby son. c.1607. All (except baby) in kneeling position. Daughter Countess of Worcester & 2 sons survived; one son the model for Shakespeare's Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Dispute about Elizabeth's costume: she'll wear a Countess' robes in posterity.
17. Sir Richard & Lady Margaret Grobham c.1620 at Great Wishford. Compare her effigy on 2 mons.
18. Sir John St John. 2 wives & 13 children, some already deceased (holding skulls) 1634, by Samuel Baldwin at Lydiard Tregoze near Swindon. Compare likeness of Lady Margaret as she has an effigy on both mons. See portraits in adjacent Lydiard House (closed at lunchtime, where church key is kept) of Lady Margaret, Lady Anne Leighton (1st wife) and Sir John. Church full of other good monuments and paintings.
19. Sir Will & Lady Eliz. Gore by Nost, SS P&P, Tring. Vast Baroque vulgar ego trip, all about worldly grandeur. In-yer-face heraldry of Lord Mayor, with immortality urn. Operatic presentation of figures with weeping putti. But we need honest bankers. Don't identify, just admire, says Sir William, with trophy wife.
20. SS Peter & Paul, Exton Northants. Rococo mon. to 4th Earl Gainsborough, wife & her second spouse. Nollekins 1790.
21. Brecon Cathedral, north transept, showing Neo-classical Greek-style stele wall-hung monuments
in fashionable white marble from 1790s onwards. Many urns, broken columns, grieving female figures, and angels appear again, re-introduced by ultra-Protestant sculptor John Flaxman.
22. Percy Bysshe Shelley d.1822 and grieving wife, mon.1854 by Henry Weekes at Christchurch Hants. Very good Romantic naturalism.
23. Captain Westcott by Thomas Banks 1804 St Paul's Cathedral. Dire Romantic naturalism. Poor man in chiton, being dropped by Victory.
24. Lady Penelope Boothby d.1793. Thomas Banks at St Oswald's, Ashbourne. She died age 5, of a fever. Touching epitaph: once again, a display of grief is fashionable. Thomas Banks, all is forgiven.
25. Arch Henry Moore 1876 at Lichfield Cath. Design G G Scott, sculp Armstead. Medieval revival of tomb chest, effigy and canopy. A hotchpotch of styles from all ages - but it works... does it?
26. Lady Anna Thynne age 60. by Armstead & GG Scott 1868 at St Mary Haynes, Beds. Renowned zoologist. She is not dead, but sleeping. High Victorian revival of 14Cstyle, this time correct stylistically but a mature woman.
27. Archbishop Temple by Pomeroy 1903 at Canterbury Cathedral. Splendid sumptuous bronze, influenced by Alfred Gilbert's lost wax casting method.
28. Maud Ashley. Lady Mount Temple with daughters (one Edwina Mountbatten) 1911 by Fuch at Romsey Abbey. One of that last - a fine high relief white marble of family group.
29. Bishop Woods by Epstein 1958, bronze at Lichfieid. The last of a great tradition? Why? Because both the aristocracy and the church are broke, so, if we want a memorial for our loved ones, we give something useful to our church.
30. Go to St Mary Swinbrook. Oxon to see the 6 Fettiplace effigies 1562-1686, to cheer yourself up. The 4th man had a wonderful cook for a wife. So did his descendants - but that does pile on the pounds.
31. Don't miss the graves of 3 of the Mitford girls in the churchyard - Unity, Nancy and Diana.
Booklist for the study of church monuments:
Church Monuments by Brian Kemp, Shire Publications Ltd, Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough. Aylesbury. Bucks HP17 9A.I. ISBN 0 85263 768 3, recently reprinted. About £5.00 A most useful little booklet which may be kept in your car, with a county-by-county list of good monuments.
English Church Monuments by Brian Kemp, Batsford 1980, ISBN 0 7134 1735 8. The only comprehensive book with a good index, b&w pictures, alas now out of print. Why? Available from library. 208 pages.
Sculpture in Britain 1530-1830 by Margaret Whinney, Penguin 1964 (and many editions since) hardback ISBN 0 14 0560 23 8. paperback ISBN 0 14 0561 23 4. Good index and maps, b&w pictures. 522 pages.
Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis, Murray, 1951 and many later editions. May be found in cheap rip-off editions printed on nasty paper in second-hand bookshops (mine has gone yellow but is perfectly usable). Excellent indexes of places and names. 514 pages. A few pictures, b&w.
Victorian Sculpture by Benedict Read YUP 1982&3 hardback ISBN 0 300 02506 8 or paperback 0 300 03177 7. Good text and index, many b&w pictures and a few colour plates. A lovely big book for a present. 414 pages.
7 Jane Kelsall. 2010.