Thorley

St James the Great is another heavily re-furbished church consisting of tower, nave and chancel but its simplicity is its attraction. The exterior is peculiar with the nave and chancel being rendered and painted white whilst the tower remains flint and rubble and the interior is quite austere - I can't imagine why I warmed to it so.

ST JAMES. Norman S doorway. Colonnettes with spiral-fluted shafts and capitals with elementary upright leaves at the angles. Arches with two orders of zigzag. Nave and chancel have C13 lancet windows preserved. No aisles. W tower C15, unbuttressed, with low stair turret and spike. Tall C15 tower arch; the chancel arch of double-chamfered orders could be C13 still. The chancel Sedilia, however (ogee—headed), must be of the C14. The S and W windows C19 (1846, by Pritchett). - FONT. Square, C12, of Purbeck marble, with five shallow blank arches on each side. - REREDOS with side-panels of naturalistically carved flowers and leaves; High Victorian in style (by J. Day). The church was restored in 1854 by Vulliamy. The PULPIT and COMMUNION RAILS were designed by Sir G. G. Scott. - STAINED GLASS. W window, c. 1853, still in the painting style of the C18, that is pre-Puginesque. - PLATE. Chalice and Paten, 1562; Patens, 1809 and 1818; Flagon, 1839. - Many minor epitaphs.

Flickr set.

Thorley. Through the lychgate at the end of the lane we come in the shade of tall pines, limes, and ancient yews to the old church with its coat of plaster, and with a 15th century tower, a 14th century chancel, and a 13th century nave. We enter through a Norman doorway with twisted shafts and scalloped capitals; there is another tiny Norman doorway opening to the tower stairs inside, its delicate capitals probably carved by the craftsman who made the font. The piscina and the triple sedilia are both 14th century.

Thorley had as rector the brilliant Samuel Horsley who lies here, his coffin having been brought from St Mary’s, Newington Butts, when that church was pulled down to make room for a railway. Born in 1733, he lived till after the Battle of Trafalgar in spite of his quarrelsomeness and eccentricities. He would make bitter speeches at stormy meetings of the Royal Society, attacking Sir Joseph Banks as President, and at one of these meetings, pointing to the mace on the table, he shouted: "When the hour of secession comes the president will be left with his train of feeble amateurs and that toy upon the table, the ghost of that society in which Philosophy once reigned and Newton presided as her minister.” He also had a bitter controversy with Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, which began in a Good Friday sermon and lasted 12 years. He was clever enough to learn Latin without a master in his youth, and in his old age he would ride about in a coach and four. He believed that Napoleon would set up as a Messiah. As a preacher he was powerful and eloquent and a great force, but he was pompous and irritable.

Stocking Pelham

St Mary was rather unsurprisingly locked and I suspect that there would be little, monumentally speaking, of interest to be seen. However it's rather sweet and I bet mass, especially a sung mass, would be great.

ST MARY. Small church, of chancel and wide nave (the Royal Commission suggests it might originally have had a wooden S arcade because the S wall is not in line with the chancel). Mid C14 according to the remaining chancel N window and the remarkably original nave window. - No furnishings of interest.

Stocking Pelham. It has three good companions, a little church, a barn about twice as big, and the rectory still guarded by part of its old moat. The plain little church has been here about 600 years, and in its belfry hangs a bell which may have rung out the news of Agincourt. Its business, it tells us in Latin, is to drive away all evil things. One other link has this church with the Long Ago, fragments of glass five or six centuries old.

Little Hadham

I um and err about St Cecilia but think I come down on the positive side due to, as so often, it's location. It's a funny church - nice tower with mandatory Hertfordshire spike, crap nave with a great porch and a nicely proportioned chancel set amidst fields with the A120 running past and a tranquil graveyard if you ignore the traffic and planes.

Built in the late 14th and early 15th century, St Cecelia probably stands on the site of an earlier church that fell within the bounds of the manor of Hadham Hall.

The Saxon lords who first owned the manor also owned the advowson of the parish i.e. they had the right to appoint the clergyman to it, but this changed in 1086 when the Baud family held the manor, and they appointed the clergy. This continued until 1276 when Sir Walter Baud sold the advowson to the Bishop of London for the sum of £20. The family still maintained a close association with the church and possibly paid for its rebuilding in the late Middle Ages - the church that stands today. Many of the Baud family are buried here.

The Capel family who bought the manor in 1504 also established a close association with the church, enlarging it in the late 16th century by building the north transept. An ancient footpath that leads from Hadham Hall directly to the transept’s east door, suggests it was purpose built for use by the numerous employees of the mansion, which Capel rebuilt to coincide with Elizabeth I’s visit in 1578.

The Capel family vault, originally under the altar, was opened in 1883 during restoration work and the two memorial slabs in memory of Arthur Capel, his wife and son, were moved to their present position either side of the altar.

In 1632 Hadham Hall was inherited by Arthur Capel, who made many additions and alterations to the property, including the building of a Banqueting Hall that fully enclosed the courtyard to form a quadrangle, and an Italian garden. This he embellished with four fountains, classical statues, and a large terrace overlooking the deer park and woods. It was around this time that the Capel family portrait was painted by Cornelius Johnson and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

In 1633 Arthur Capel bought nearby Wickham Hall Manor and its farm, and in 1640 became an MP for Hertfordshire. The crowning glory to his prosperity and nobility came in 1641 when Charles I made him Baron of Hadham. However, in the following years an ever-increasing divide between Charles I and Parliament eventually led to civil war and, ultimately, the end of Arthur Capel's time at Hadham Hall.

The property then passed to his son, also Arthur, who lived in the premises until 1668 when he moved to his mother's estate at Cassiobury. There he led a busy and controversial political life but Hadham Hall soon fell into disrepair, possibly due to the cost of the Civil War or perhaps because of the Plague that raged in Bishop's Stortford and the surrounding area at that time.

When Arthur Capel died in 1683, the deer were taken from Hadham Park to Epping Forest, the house partly converted into a farmhouse and the estate itself was divided up into three farms. The Banqueting Hall was then demolished and the building materials probably used to build two new farmhouses needed at Wickham Hall and Hadham Old Park Lodge. The Capel family retained the house during this time and in April 1698 entertained King William II to lunch on his return to London from the royal residence at Newmarket. Around 1720, that part of the building which remained was modernised in Queen Anne style, and some rooms were reserved for the earl's own use when visiting his estate. Up until the start of the 20th century, Hadham Hall was farmed by a series of tenants including the Scott, Sworder and Betts families.

Finally, in 1900, George Devereux de Vere Capel, the 8th Earl of Essex, sold the Hall and accompanying land, which by that time had more than doubled in acreage, to William Minet (1851–  1933), a London merchant of French descent. Family tradition has it that in 1686 his ancestor, Issac Minet, a Huguenot, had fled religious persecution in France by rowing himself and his family across the channel to seek refuge in England. Like many Huguenots who escaped to England the Minets grew prosperous, and in 1770 Hughes Minet bought land in Camberwell and Lambeth. By the mid 1800s his London land had vastly increased in value and, by inheritance, eventually came to his great grandson, William. He bought Hadham Hall and the manor, along with records of its Courts from 1492 onwards and many other documents to do with its history. Using this information he set about restoring the existing buildings to their former state.

Two brick-built barns were left standing but wooden barns, cattle sheds and stables were demolished. Three new cottages (Stable Cottages) and a stable were built and a new north wing was added to the mansion, albeit only half the length of its predecessor. Numerous alterations were carried out within the house and William Minet, who was his own architect, attempted to blend the restoration and rebuilding as closely as possible with the original. He did add his own mark by including the Minet cat –   a French pun on his family name –   in newly created niches on the outside of the building. A stain glass window was also added recording the family's time spent at Hadham Hall. Although the grounds were occupied by troops in both World Wars, the house remained with the Minet family until 1948 when it was then sold to Hertfordshire County Council. They took the brave and experimental step of converting Hadham Hall into a co-educational school at a cost of £65,000.

Its catchment area was Bishop's Stortford and the large rural community surrounding it, and in September 1952 it opened with 142 pupils. By June 1953 that number had increased to 172, including 14 boarders.

The school's official opening was later that year on Friday 23 October, carried out by Mr David Carter, Chairman of the Hertfordshire branch of the National Farmers Union. In his speech he said he hoped that such an establishment would encourage pupils to follow rural and agricultural pursuits.

While still preserving the features of the old house, every part of Hadham Hall was utilised: the gatehouse provided storage and workshop accommodation for the school and its associated farming activities, while the tithe barn housed the school's theatre and main assembly hall. The house itself became home for the headmaster and dormitories were created for the schools boarders. Classrooms within were oak panelled with beamed ceilings and additional modern, single storey classrooms were built in the grounds where livestock roamed freely. The once formal Italian garden was turned into a hockey pitch.

The school survived for 38 years until Hertfordshire County Council decided there were not enough children in the area to justify the expense of keeping it open. On Friday 20 July 1990 the school closed and merged with Margaret Dane school in Bishop's Stortford to form the new Birchwood High.

The listed house, out-buildings and 40 acres of land was then put on the market for £3 million.

In Little Hadham church is a memorial stone to Arthur, Lord Capel, who was executed for treason and hanged on March 9th 1649. A staunch Royalist during the Civil War, he was sent to the Tower of London after being captured by Parliamentarians. He escaped but was re-arrested.

One of his last requests was for his heart to be buried with King Charles I. The Bishop of Winchester preserved it in a silver box and gave it to Charles 11 when he was restored to the throne.

It's believed the King sent it to Capel's son, the first Earl of Essex because in 1703 a heart in a silver box was found at Hadham Hall. It was transferred to Cassiobury, near Watford, where the family later lived, but its whereabouts since are unknown.

Hadham Hall was the family home of the Capels, who became the Earls of Essex under Charles II. The Hall is in fact the entrance range of an Elizabethan house which was built around a large courtyard. Queen Elizabeth I once stayed there.

Between the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the year 1900, just two families owned Hadham Hall –   the Bauds and the Capels. The former built the first and second Hall while the latter, who purchased the second Hall in 1504 and then built the third Hall, began an ownership that added colour to its long history.

In Bishop's Stortford's library there is a book, written in the 1930s, called Twenty Centuries of England Being the Annals of Bishop's Stortford by W. Basil Worsefold. In it are fascinating details of people and events that helped shaped the town's and surrounding area's history, and included is Hadham Hall. Strictly speaking, Hadham Hall doesn't fall within the town's boundary, but there have always been tenuous links with Stortford and it would be a loss not to relate W. Basil Worsefold's text to a wider audience.

The author did much research and was fortunate enough to have met and talked with the last owner of Hadham Hall, William Minet, who disclosed many interesting facts about its past. Added to Worsefold's text is part of the content of a small book held in the British Museum, called: 'Excellent Contemplations, Divine and Moral, Written by the Magnanimous and truly Loyal Arthur Lord Capel, Baron of Hadham'. The title page goes on: Together with some Account of his Life, and his Letters to several Persons, whilst he was Prisoner in the Tower vigorously asserting the Royal Cause against all the Enemies thereof. Likewise his affectionate Letters to his Lady the Day before his Death, and his Courageous Behaviour, and last Speech in his Suffering March 9. 1648 (i.e.1649) with his Pious Advice to his son the late Earl of Essex. The book was printed in London in 1683.

Another copy of the book, donated to the museum early last century, contains many added notes that interpret and supplement the text throughout but, although these notes were written by hand at about the time of publication (1683), it isn't known who wrote them. The book also includes a vivid account of Capel's execution at Whitehall, and the extracts from it, included here, are thanks to W. Basil Worsefold's diligent research.

Due to the early death of his father, Arthur Capel (1604–  1649) inherited Hadham Hall from his grandfather, Henry Capel, in 1632. He was 28 years old and only a few years previous, in 1627, had married Elizabeth Morrison, heiress of a large estate near Watford called Cassiobury.

In 1640 he became an MP for Hertfordshire and strongly supported the Parliamentarians who were opposed to the Royal prerogative and Charles I's constant mismanagement of affairs. But as opposition towards the King increased it soon became clear to Capel that Parliament was more intent on destroying the King instead of checking his power. It was then that he changed his allegiance and supported Charles I. That loyalty was rewarded in August 1641 when he was created Baron Capel of Hadham.

In the coming year economic and, more importantly, religious matters, fuelled the differences between supporters of parliament and supporters of the monarchy. The struggle for supremacy that ensued was to ultimately lead to civil war.

When, in the early spring of 1642 the situation became untenable for the King, he fled to York and was followed there by many royalist peers, including Arthur Capel. A month later, in Nottingham, the Royal Standard was raised against the Parliamentary forces and from that time until his imprisonment in 1648, with only one brief interval, Arthur Capel was continually in the field, fighting and raising money for Charles.

Supporters of Parliament (known as Roundheads or Puritans) came from the emerging middle classes and tradesmen of the Puritanical movement, mainly in the more prosperous southern and eastern counties. Support for the monarchy (the Cavaliers) came from peasants and nobility and the more northern and western counties. Apart from Margaret Denny of Rectory Manor in Bishop's Stortford, Arthur Capel was the only other noteworthy Royalist in this area.

Directly after Capel had followed the King to York he was impeached for high treason by the Parliamentary leaders, and immediately put his estate in the hands of trustees. He had never made secret his activities in the Royalist cause and soon after war broke out information reached Parliament that arms were stored at Hadham Hall. Although the majority of peers and country gentlemen supported Charles at the outbreak of war, many nobles and landowners declared their loyalty to Parliament, among them the Duke of Bedford. On 29 August 1642 he rode from Woburn in Bedfordshire with a troop of horse to search Hadham Hall, and inside found enough guns with which to arm a thousand men.

The civil war continued for the next 4 years. Then, after countless battles and skirmishes between the two sides, it seemingly ended with Charles fleeing from Oxford on 5 May 1646 to give himself up to the Scots at Newark and seek their protection. Oxford then surrendered to the Parliamentary forces and Capel returned briefly to his home.

Prolonged negotiations between the King and Parliament took place and, for a short while, it seemed possible the King would be reinstated. However, in February 1647 the Scots reneged on their deal with Charles and handed him over to Parliament. On 15 January 1648 came the vote of 'non-address' –   the virtual dethronement of Charles. But this, combined with the subsequent direction of affairs of the nation, led by Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army, produced a reaction in the King's favour both in Scotland and England. Scottish Presbyterians, led by the Duke of Hamilton, marched south to his assistance and Royalists took to the fields in Wales, Kent and other counties. In Essex, Capel helped raise a large force of Cavaliers. The object of this resurgence was to rescue the Monarchy and Parliament from the military tyranny that threatened the existence of both.

However, the Scots were beaten back and the Kentish Cavaliers were quickly routed at Maidstone, retreating northwards to join Royalists in Essex. There, they combined forces and occupied Colchester, but the Roundheads laid siege to the town and on 28 August 1648 the Royalists surrendered. Under the articles of agreement for the surrender, Capel and other prominent supporters were sent to the Tower of London, but while under arrest both he and the Duke of Hamilton managed to escape. Their freedom was short lived. After recapture they were returned to the Tower and it was during his six months imprisonment there that Capel composed his book 'Excellent Contemplations'. He also wrote letters to the Bishop of Exeter and other loyalists urging them to rescue Charles from imprisonment, and two letters to Cromwell, protesting against the trial of the sovereign. It was all to no avail.

Charles I was put on trial for treason in 1648 and, by a vote of 68 to 67, found guilty and executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649. Capel, Hamilton and other notable Royalists were brought to trial for high treason soon after, but Capel's only argument against the charge came later, in a speech from the scaffold in Palace Yard.

However, his true bitterness of his sacrifice for the King was later revealed in two letters he wrote to his wife, Elizabeth; one written on the day of his execution, the other on the day before. He had no reproaches for false friends, no anger against relentless enemies, no pity for himself. All his thoughts were for her and those he was about to leave behind. These are the letters he wrote to his wife:

'My dearest life, My greatest care in relation to the world, is for thy dear self... I beseech thee again and again, moderate thy apprehension and sorrow for me; and preserve thyself to the benefit of our dear children... I pray remember that the occasion of my death will give thee more cause to celebrate my memory with praise, rather than to consider it with sadness. God hath commanded my obedience to the Fifth Commandment: and for acting that duty I am condemned. God multiply all comforts to thee. I shall leave thee my dear children: in them I live with thee; and leave thee to the protection of a most gracious God. And I rest'.

On the morning of his execution he wrote...

'My dearest Life, My eternal life is in Christ Jesus. My worldly considerations in the highest degree thou hast deserved. Let me live long here in thy dear memory... Sorrow not unsoberly, unusually. God be unto thee better than an husband; and to my children better than a father. I am sure, He is able to be so. God be with thee, my most virtuous wife: God multiply many comforts to thee and my children, is the fervent prayer of'.

The account of Arthur Capel's last moments (given in the book) before his execution, were written down by Dr Morley, Bishop of Winchester, in a letter to Edward Symonds, for many years Capel's chaplain.

'I was there at the time assigned... But he was to have an agony before his passion; and that was the parting with his wife, eldest son, son-in-law, two of his uncles, and Sir Thomas Corbet, especially the parting with his most dear lady; which was the saddest spectacle that I ever beheld... in blessing the young lord, he commanded him never to revenge his death, though it should be in his power. The like he said unto his Lady... After this, with much adoe I persuaded his wife and the rest to be gone: and then being all alone with me, he said, 'Doctor, the hardest part of my work in this world, is now past'....

When the bishop had prayed with him (the letter continues), 'they were all carried to Sir Robert Cotton's house; where I was with him, till he was called unto the scaffold, and would have gone up with him, but the guard of soldiers would not suffer me.'

Capel then gave an impassioned speech to the crowd gathered below, in which he said; his obedience to Charles I, for which he had been condemned to die, was not merely no crime, but a duty enjoyed by all laws, divine and human, upon every subject of the sovereign. He ended his speech with a prayer.

The bishop's letter continued: 'God's mercy on those that were the causes of his coming here'. Then the grim courtesies of the scaffold began. While he was speaking, the executioner had slipped away, and when he turned from the crowd in Palace Yard to prepare for the block, Capel looked in vain for him among the group of men, including his chaplain and Colonel Beecher, the commander of the guard, standing upon the platform. 'Which is the gentleman?' he asked, taking off his doublet and waistcoat. Then, when the executioner had returned and knelt to ask forgiveness, he replied, 'I forgive thee from my soul'; and accompanied his words by a gift of five pounds. One boon he asked: the time for a short prayer after he had lain down upon the block.

The book continues:

CAPEL: Stay a little; which side do you stand upon? I think I should lay my hands that way (pointing fore-right): and answer being made 'Yes'; he stood still a little while, and then said (speaking to his servants): Prey at the moment of striking joyn your Prayers: but make no noise; it is inconvenient at this time.

SERVANT: My lord put on your cap.

CAPEL: Should I?

Then turning to the executioner, he said, 'Well, you are ready when I am ready, are you not?' and then (kneeling to try the position). 'Am I well now?'

EXECUTIONER: Yes

CAPEL: (Lying with both his hands stretched out), 'Here lie both my hands out. When I lift up my hand thus (lifting up his right hand) then you may strike.'

With his head on the block, Capel said the prayer he had asked for; and, that done, raised his two hands in signal. At one blow his head was severed. The body, with his clothes, was taken up by the servants, put into a coffin and carried to Hadham Hall. It was then placed in the family vault beneath the altar in Little Hadham church, where, too, eleven years later his wife was laid by his side.

Lady Capel probably lived at Hadham Hall with her children until her death in 1660; the same year the monarchy was restored. Only then was it possible to place a very outspoken inscription over the common grave of the husband and wife. The stone was moved to its present position, south of the Communion Table, during the restoration of the church in the 19th century but the inscription has not been touched. It reads:

Here under lyeth interred the body of Arthur Capell Baron of Hadham who was murdered for his Loyalty to King Charles the First March 9th 1648 (1649)
Here lyeth interred ye body of Elizabeth Lady Capell Wife of Arthur Lord Capell Onely daughter of Sr Charles Morrison Kt She departed this life ye 26th of Jan, 1660.

In the second copy of the book 'Excellent Contemplations', a note on the flyleaf tells how Capel, not content with the sacrifice of his life, ordered his heart to be preserved and laid at the King's foot. The heart was put into a silver casket, enclosed in a box with two locks, and given to Lord Beauchamp. He retained one key and a second was given to Sir Thomas Corbet. When Beauchamp was nearing death he gave the box to Corbet who, when he approached the end of his life, gave it to Capel's son, Arthur Capel, then Earl of Essex.

After the Restoration (1660) no funeral rites were performed on the body of the dead King and so the casket was laid in the Evidence Room at Hadham Hall. And there it stayed until Arthur Capel's death in 1683, when it was found by his steward and given to the Second Earl of Essex. Not knowing what it contained he asked his mother about it and she told him of its contents. To prevent any violation of the family tomb, the heart was removed from the silver casket and placed in an iron box. This was then put into the family vault within the chancel of Little Hadham church. The silver casket was sold and the proceeds distributed to the poor of the parish.

ST CECILIA. The church lies on its own to the N of the village Street and to the W of the outbuildings of Hadham Hall. It is a small church, of nave and chancel with W tower, N transeptal chapel, and S porch. The tower has diagonal buttresses and a spike. The tower arch dates it to c. 1400 or a little earlier. The nave has Perp windows. The chancel windows are renewed. The interest of the church lies in the S porch and the transept. The S porch is of the C15, lightly built of timber with wide open sides trefoil-cusped along the tops. The gable is bargeboarded, also with a simple trefoil cusping, ending on top in an ogee. The N transept is supposed to date from the late C16. It is of brick with elementary posthumously Perp three-light W and E windows and intersected tracery in the four-light N window. Inside, the transept opens in a wide four-centred arch. The PULPIT bears the date 1633. It has small-scale strapwork decoration, and a contemporary back and a big tester. Its decoration is the same as that of the PANELLING of the pew to its E and also some panelling in the N transept. The church has later box pews and the pulpit which is a three-decker (a rarity in Herts) is in its lower parts also later. - SCREEN. C15, of five one-light openings at each side of the entrance. - STAINED GLASS. A few C15 fragments in a S aisle window. - BRASSES to a Knight in armour (perhaps Thomas Baud) and his Lady, elegant, somewhat mannered figures, c. 1480; and to R. Warren, a priest, late C15, much rubbed off (chancel, S wall).

 

Flickr set.

The brass photographs are a huge disappointment

Little Hadham. A silver casket with a story links the noble fronted Elizabethan hall with the modest church of St Cecilia over which eight centuries have passed. In the hall and the church centres the historic interest of Little Hadham, but on the rising ground outside is a delightful windmill, and round Bury Green’s three-cornered plot of grass are three farmhouses, one from the 17th century, one with an Elizabethan brick wing (where a double-headed eagle presides in the elaborate plaster ceilings), and one (Clinton’s)with a wing nearly 500 years old, where a great roof beam stretches from wall to wall enriched with Tudor tracery.

Hadham Hall, though fire has destroyed half of it, remains a triumph of the Elizabethan architect who built it for the Capel family, a grand sight with its entrance turrets, its octagonal chimneys, its gallery 135 feet long, and its ancient gatehouse and barn. The church has no such outward grandeur, but its nave owes something to Norman masons, its 14th-century tower has a splendid arch, and outside the 15th century timber porch, near an ancient yew, is the grave of William Harvey, who sailed as a midshipman three times with Captain Cook. He was with him on the last tragic voyage to the Sandwich Islands, and gained promotion as lieutenant when the officers all moved up one to replace their murdered captain.

Inside the church is a rich pulpit carved in 1633, with sounding board and standard; an early 16th-century screen of elaborate
tracery; a fine array of panelling from the doors of the 17th century pews; and two figures and a shield in glass 50o years old, St Lawrence with his gridiron, Isaiah, and the arms of Bishop Braybrooke who built Much Hadham’s great tower. The nave roof is 15th century. There are brass portraits of a 15th century family of father, mother, and four girls (probably the Bauds), and a priest of their time, Richard Warren. Up in the tower hang one bell about 500 years old and another dated 1595. Down below is the family vault of the Capels, which brings us to the story of the silver casket.

For years this casket lay in the Tudor hall, and was then carried to this vault, its contents reverently buried, for it contained as loyal a heart as ever sewed a king, the heart of one of Charles I’s noblest followers. He was Arthur, Lord Capel, a man in whom even his enemies could find little fault; but after unsuccessfully defending Colchester for ten weeks he was one of the first to be sentenced to death when the king himself had walked out on to the scaffold in Whitehall. While he lay in the Tower a cord was smuggled to him with a message that his friends were waiting on the other side of the moat. He let himself down from his window, and waded chin-deep through the mud and water, which, but for the fact that he was a head taller than most men, would have drowned him. For two or three days he lay hidden by the Temple, and then went by boat to a house in Lambeth Marsh; but the waterman who rowed him was suspicious, followed him, and betrayed his hiding-place for ten pieces of gold.

Back in the Tower, with death on the scaffold now inevitable, Capel asked that if it should not be thought a vain ostentation his heart should be put in a silver casket and laid at the feet of his dead king. It was not to be. Charles was buried at Windsor, and his faithful follower’s heart was turned to dust at Little Hadham, where on Lord Capel’s stone we read that he was "Murdered for his loyalty to King Charles the First." It was put in a silver casket as he desired, the keys of the two locks being kept by his friends, Lord Beauchamp and Sir Thomas Corbet. When Sir Thomas lay dying he passed the casket to Lord Capel’s son, and for years it was kept at the hall, and then forgotten. Not till 1703, when the family had moved to Cassiobury, was it found again, and then the heart was carried to the family vault in this church; but lest the silver casket should tempt a thief an iron box was substituted, and the silver casket was sold to help the poor.

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Sawbridgeworth

Sawbo, aka Sawbridgeworth, is, around these parts, a synonym for shit-hole, much as Harlow, in the vernacular Arlow, is a synonym for single teenage mum and sink-hole estates, but rather surprisingly contains a jewel - and what a jewel. I knew you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover and I've now learnt not to judge a church by it's exterior - I took 150 interior photos which reflects the quality of Great St Mary.

The Church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is thought to be called Great St. Mary's to distinguish it from St. Mary's, Gilston. During the second half of the 18th century and much of the 19th it was said, even in the Diocesan books, to be dedicated to St. Michael, though how this confusion arose is a mystery. Later it was said to be dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, presumably a misinterpretation of S. Maria Mag., "Mag." being short for Magna = great.

The earliest reference we have to the church in Sawbridgeworth is the entry in Domesday Book that the priest had one hide (about 120 acres). The church itself is not mentioned, but that need not surprise us, for in the whole of Hertfordshire only three churches are mentioned.

Sawbridgeworth was assessed at 24 1/2 hides, which is four or five times the size of an average village; moreover it was almost all good farm land, so the tithes would have ensured a large income for the priest. It was, in fact, one of the most valuable benefices in the London Diocese and for many years was reserved by the Kings of England as provision for some favoured official. The list of Rectors is a striking one and bears the names of many who held high office in church and state.

The early history of the church is somewhat complex. The Manor of Sabrixteworde, as it was then called, was given by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who founded the Priory of Hurley, which he endowed with a third of all his lands. When he died, Sawbridgeworth was given to Eudo Dapifer until Geoffrey's son William had paid a debt of £2210. Eudo had just founded the Abbey of St. John, Colchester, and he endowed it with another third of the tithes of Sawbridgeworth. Eudo died in 1120 and Henry I granted the manor to his favourite Otuel FitzCourt, who was later drowned in the White Ship; then Henry gave it to the monks at Westminster and it is thought that he probably stipulated that a number of the monks should live at Sawbridgeworth and pray for the souls of those who had lost their lives in the White Ship.

During the war between Stephen and Matilda, Geoffrey de Mandeville, grandson of the first Geoffrey, managed to regain possession of Sawbridgeworth and he gave it to the Priory of Walden, which he had just founded. At that time Walter, Geoffrey's chaplain, was Rector and he is the first Rector whose name we know. Later, about 1220, the Bishops of London claimed that they had been given the advowson by an agreement with the Abbots of Walden and ;Westminster, and from that time until 1356 there were continual arguments between the Bishops of London and the Abbots concerning their rights. In actual fact, neither Bishop nor Abbot had much part in the selection of the Sawbridgeworth Rectors; they might claim their right of presentation, but the choice lay with the King, and the King saw to it that the living went to one of his household. So it is that among Sawbridgeworth Rectors we find the names of four Chancellors of England, a Chancellor of the Exchequer, a Papal Vice-Chancellor and other notables.

In 1356 the tithes were appropriated to the Abbey of Westminster and a vicarage was endowed. As a result the living was no longer wealthy and we find no more great men among the incumbents.

The present church dates from the 13th century but it must replace an earlier building, though no trace of such a church has been found. There is just one possible hint of an earlier phase. ln pagan times sacred stones were much venerated, and the Venerable Bede relates how Pope Gregory told his missionaries not to destroy them, but to incorporate them in the fabric of their churches. As a result a number of mediaeval churches have pagan stones built into their footings. One well known example is St. Mary's, Chesham, which is built on a circle of boulders. A near example is Magdalen Laver which has two pudding-stones marking the corners of the North Wall. Sawbridgeworth has a puddingstone built into the south wall of the tower.

The church consists of a chancel 44 ft. x 23.5 ft., a nave 58 ft. x 28 ft., north aisle 59 ft. x 11.5 ft., south aisle 73 ft. x 19 ft., south porch 12 ft. x 10 ft., and tower 19.5 ft. x 17 ft., all inside measurements.

It is built of rubble with flint facings and stone quoins, the chancel walls being coated with cement, and is surrounded by a large burial ground containing some fine trees. The battlemented tower is of three stages, surmounted by a 'Hertfordshire Spike'. The spike and roofs are covered with lead, with the exception of the north aisle which is covered with copper, and the south aisle with stainless steel.

In style it is Early English and the chancel, nave and lower stage of the tower are generally thought to be late 13th century, the aisles being added in the 14th century. According to the Victorian County History there was a tremendous amount of rebuilding of Hertfordshire village churches at this time. This is attributed to two causes: it was a time of Church reform, and the whole nation was seized with an impatience of the old forms and a desire for new things. Added to this a number of churches had fallen into a sad state of disrepair, the drain of men and money to the Scottish and French wars being given as one of the causes. This may well have been the case in Sawbridgeworth.

The clerestory and the roofs of the nave and aisle are said to be 15th century, together with the porch and upper stages of the tower. The little brick tower staircase is 16th century.

The church has apparently suffered no damage from Cromwell's army and the only Puritan influence now visible is in the pulpit with its inscription 'Christe is all in al/' and in a few erasures from one or two brasses. The historian William Cole who came here in 1763, records 'The Communion Railes, which were maliciously and illegally pu//ed down by a usurped powen in the late Rebellious Times, were, according to law and for the Honour and Decency of Religion, and again erected before the Communion Table in the Chancele of Sabridgeworth, on Thursday before Easter viz April 17th ano 1674 by the order of John Warde vicar'.

During the Protectorate in 1656 the chancel was found to be in a ruinous state and, it being reported that the nave was large enough to accommodate the whole parish, it was at first ordered that the chancel be pulled down and the material used to repair the nave. Later this order was rescinded and the chancel was restored. By 1700 it was again in a very bad state, the Vicar reporting that 'the last

repairs amounted to £2OO and were done presently after the Reformation and the said Chancel is much out of repair and in great danger of falling to the Ground if timely care be not taken’. It was again repaired and re-roofed.

In 1845 the whole church was in a shocking state, windows crumbling and the roof letting in the rain, and some repairs were done to the chancel and it was again re-roofed.

In 1849 there was a major restoration and at various times up to and including 1872 further repairs and alterations were carried out. In 1951 because of the high cost of lead the north aisle was re-roofed in copper, which was treated to harmonise with the old lead roofs.

Before the Victorian alterations there were two large family pews, belonging to Pishiobury and Hyde Hall, blocking up the screen and the entrance to the chancel. A three-decker pulpit stood on the south of the nave, the aisles were filled with box pews, though the nave had pews of the present type and the whole of the west part of the nave and the aisles was filled with three large galleries.

The east window was smaller, and beneath it was a carved wood reredos and a much smaller altar. It is generally thought that the chancel is late 13th century, but it has been so much repaired that most all the visible material is modern. However, according to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, at the west end of the south wall there is an original richly moulded two-centre arch, said to be c. 1200. The Chancel arch is probably 13th century, repaired, with modern capitals and bases. In the north wall is a blocked doorway which used to lead to a vestry, pulled down because it was ruinous in the 19th century.

In 1656 the chancel was found to be in a ruinous state, and was to be pulled down, but the order was rescinded and it was restored at a cost of 2200. In 1700 it was in a poor state yet again and was repaired and re-roofed. 1845 saw the chancel in a shocking state, so repairs were again undertaken. In 2001 the lead on the roof needed to be replaced. When the lead was removed it was discovered that it was near to collapse. Of the ninety rafters fixed to the main beams sixty-five had completely rotted away. The whole roof was properly repaired, restored and strengthened.

The windows were all renewed in 1845, and in 1859 the east window was enlarged, but it was not until 1866 that the stained glass was inserted in memory of B. B. Colvin, Esq., of Pishiobury. It represents the Five Principal Events in the life of Our Lord and is by Hardman.

Over the chancel screen is the figure of The Risen Christ, a sculpture by John Mills, commissioned by The Friends of Gt. St. Mary for the millennium.

The oak ceiling was put up in 1872, before that there was plaster. On the west side of the second beam across the ceiling is the inscription '1662. Thomas Russell repaired this chancel'. On the east side of the first beam from the east wall is 'W Sharpe 1884'.

To the north of the altar is the tomb of John Jocelin (d. 1525) and 'Philip' his wife. William Cole in 1763 notes that it is already mutilated.

On the south side is a richly carved canopied tomb of Purbeck marble, with indents for brasses of a man, his two wives and children and an emblem of the Trinity. There is a tradition that this also belongs to the Jocelin family, but it has not been possible to confirm it. It is interesting that it is practically identical with Chaucer's tomb in Westminster Abbey.

On the north wall is a charming painted alabaster monument to Sir Waiter Myldemaye (d. 1606) and Marie his wife (d. 1605). They are shown kneeling, facing each other across a reading desk, while their son Thomas kneels behind his father. This is not, as is sometimes stated, the Sir Walter Mildmay who was Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of Emmanuel College. He was also Sheriff of Herts from 1589-1590 and inherited Pishiobury from his father. He is buried in St. Bartholomew the Great.

Nearby is the brass of Jeffrey Jocelin (d. 1470) and his two wives Katherine and Joan. Further west, but still on the north side, is the large and flamboyant memorial to George, Viscount Hewyt (1652-1689). The trophies and architectural background are heavy and undistinguished, but the figure of Lord George himself and the head of the cherub above the inscription are beautifully done.

On the south wall is a large tablet to the Hon. Henry Lumley (1659-1722), his wife Anne (1669-1736) and his little daughter Frances. The inscription says that he was in every battle and at every siege as Colonel, Lt.-Colonel or General of Horse in 29 campaigns in Ireland, Flanders and Germany. Frances, his only child, was born when he was 55 and his wife 45, but she died in her sixth year. No wonder they say of her Sometime ye joy then ye anguish of her fond parents'.

The hatchment is one of the Jocelin family; the quarterings are Castelain, Batell, Hide and Bardolf.
 

The nave walls are probably 13th century and the arcades with their two-centred moulded arches 14th century, but the arches were much restored in 1849 when the nave was re-roofed and the clerestory windows renewed. Some of the carved heads at the stops of the arch mouldings date from this time and represent Bishop Wigram, Bishop Claughton, H. R. Rivers Esq. (Churchwarden), and the vicar's youngest son Oliver Cromwell Field. At this time the church was in the diocese of Rochester, and was transferred circa 1866 to the Diocese of St Albans. Bishop Claughton became the first Bishop of St. Albans, his tomb, a magnificent white marble monument may be found in the north transept of the Cathedral.

The roof is 15th century, with moulded beams and traceried spandrels, on carved stone corbels. As with the chancel, the roof was in a terrible state and had to be extensively renewed. This was started in 1849 under the direction of Harry Rivers, the vicar’s warden at the time. This was completed in 1872. The quinquennial inspection in 1997 showed that the nave roof was due to be re-leaded. In 2001 the old lead was stripped off to reveal that most of the timber was severely affected by dry rot, and was deemed to be in a dangerous condition. Consequently scaffolding had to be erected, not only over the roof but inside the whole of the nave whilst ends of the main beams were replaced together with the support arches. This of course added considerably to the cost, and a total amount of £300,000 had to be raised. This work was completed in December 2002. Generous support was given by various means, in particular by The Historic Churches Preservation Trust.

The screen of traceried oak is 15th century and above it there used to be a rood loft, the entrance to which can be seen in the east wall of the nave. This was no doubt taken down at the Reformation.

Above the chancel arch are four panels, showing the Lord's Prayer, Apostles' Creed and the Ten Commandments. The letters were all cut out of cardboard, and covered with gold silk thread, and nailed on to blue velvet by the family of A. Wiseman, Esq. Vicar’s Warden, in 1878. Restored by ‘The Friends’ in December 1999. Work on the panels was carried out by National Trust conservators.

When the three-decker pulpit was taken apart, cleaned and scraped, it was found to be an old Jacobean oak pulpit with the date 1632. This is thought to have been added by the Puritans, and reads "Christie is all in all 1632". The Pulpit is now not in its original position, and was sited in front of the doors to the screen, which, together with the high sided Family Pews (now gone) virtually blocked out the view to the chancel. Several of the pews are early 16th century, the others 19th century copies.

On the east wall, above the lectern, is the black and white marble monument of Sir William Hewyt (d. 1637) and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1646). With its air of quiet devotion it is in marked contrast to that of Sir William's grandson, Lord George, in the chancel. Above the pulpit is the fine monument of Robert, Viscount Jocelyn (1688-1756), for 17 years Lord Chancellor of the Kingdom of Ireland. It is signed by John Bacon and is considered one of his best works. Viscount Jocelyn is shown wearing his robes and wig as Chancellor, while below is the weeping figure of Justice mourning his loss.

Near the entrance to the chancel is an incised floor slab with the almost obliterated figure of a woman. When seen in an oblique light it is just possible to make out the head, the hands and some folds of the garments. The inscription is in Lombardic letters but is too worn to read. The date appears to be late 13th century, so this is probably the oldest memorial in the church.

Nearby in the central aisle is the floor slab of Master Thomas de Aungerville, rector of this parish from 1333. Though the brass letters of the inscription have long ago disappeared the indents remain and are nearly all legible The language was Latin, the letters Lombardic. Translated the inscription reads 'Here lies Thomas de Aungerville, sometime Rector of Sabrichesworth' (an old form of Sawbridgeworth).

In front of the lectern is a broken brass of 12 boys (there used to be 16) and one of six girls. This is all that remains of the brass of John Chauncy (d. 1479) and his wife Ann (d. 1477), sister of John Leventhorpe. The missing figure of John was long thought to be at Goodrich Court and a plate of eight children in Saffron Walden Museum was also said to belong to it. These were returned in 1949 and will be found in the south aisle, but as explained in the 'Notes on Monuments in Great St. Mary's' they cannot in fact be part of this brass.

On the south wall is a hatchment of the First Earl of Roden. His peer's robes are used instead of the usual mantling. On the north wall are, east, the hatchment of Jeremiah Milles, whose monument is in the south aisle, and west, that of an unmarried female member of the Gardiner family.

In 1967 the organ, which used to fill the arch between the chancel and the south aisle, was moved to its present position above the tower arch. Experiments then started to find the best place for the choir. The north aisle was tried, utilising some of the pews in the nave, but it finally joined the organ at the west end.

On the walls round the choir will be seen some of the brasses of the Leventhorpe family. On the south of the west wall are the brasses of Edward Leventhorpe (1514-1551) and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1592). Edward wears early Stuart armour, and Elizabeth's garments are also those of the end of the 16th century. On the north side is the heraldic brass of Joan, wife of Thomas Leventhorpe (d. 1527) whose brass has been lost. Originally Joan's mantle would have been coloured red with an ermine canton, and her headdress would also have been coloured.

On the north wall are the brasses of John Leventhorpe (1400-1488) and his first wife Joan (d. 1488). They are shown in their shrouds, and in their hands they hold their hearts inscribed with the prayer Jhu Mcy' (Jesu mercy).  Later the prayer was scored through, probably at the Reformation, when prayers for the dead were considered Popish. The inscription that belongs to these brasses is mounted below. It used to be on the east wall of the south chapel:

Beneath lie dust, decay and gnawing worm:

Death's lackey now he is, as life is his no more;

He nothing knows, nor has, nor are his virtues seen.

Look-meaner than the mire, the terror horror stench,

Disgrace of all the world, and common refuse he.

Here, brother see thyself and breathe a prayer for me.

The church used to be lit by two large chandeliers which hung from the roof of the nave and by long wooden candlesticks which fitted into the tops of the pews. The holes in which they fitted can still be seen.

Formerly the men used to sit on the south side of the nave and the women on the north side, but this was discontinued in 1879.

The lower stage of the tower is 13th century, the two upper stages 15th century. The tower arch is 14th century and so is the west doorway but both have been repaired.

In 1857 ‘the tower was re-cased in flint and during the course of the work the two lancet windows in the 2nd stage were rediscovered: they had been covered with plaster. They were repaired and the four 3rd stage windows were renewed. It was also at this time that the entrance arch and west windows were partly restored, but it was not until 1895 that the stained glass window was put in. The upper part of the centre light shows Our Lord appearing to the Disciples after the Resurrection, the lower His meeting with Mary at the raising of Lazarus. The right light shows Timothy with his mother Eunice, and the left David before Saul. The glass was given by J. T. Mann of Hyde Hall in memory of his second son.

In 1859 the gallery in the nave was removed and the tower arch was opened up. The big memorial to Sir Thomas Hewyt was also brought from the chancel and placed under the tower.

On the North wall is a list of the Benefactors for Charities connected with the Parish which dates back to 1732, and it is interesting to note the change in the lettering of the money. The pounds shillings and pence is denoted as 1 f d and the figure 1 is shown as a J. This must have changed during that year to read the usual £ s d.

Towards the end of the completion of repairs to the Nave roof in December 2002 it was discovered that part of the Tower was bulging and in a dangerous condition. Work was started to dismantle the East face, N. East and S. West corners and gradually re-build the whole of the East face. This took a long time as the walls are 4ft thick. The bulging was caused by the rotting of part of the original 16th century scaffolding called "put lugs" (similar to wooden railway sleepers). This, together with the weight of the bells and steeple had caused enormous cracks right to the top of the Tower. Further repairs to the West face and every corner were completed in June 2004.

The north arcade has rather richer mouldings than the south and is probably some 20 years older, though both are 14th century. So are the windows, though they were largely restored in the 19th century. The stained glass was put in in 1882 by Mr. Wiseman and represents some of the parables. The north doorway is also 14th century.

At the east end is the Memorial Altar dedicated to the men who gave their lives in two World Wars. The roll of honour was carved by the local firm of Walter Lawrence and Son, and the altar furniture was bought with funds from the wartime Forces Canteen.

Beside the altar is a large piscina, whose height shows that the floor of the old chapel which must once have been here was at least 18 inches higher than the present level.

The pews were installed in 1859, replacing the old box pews.

The roofs of both aisles are 15th century, with moulded ribs and carved bosses. They used to be plastered between the ribs, but the plaster was removed in 1951.

The south aisle is 14th century and in the south wall of the chapel is a blocked 14th century window, but all the other windows are either modern or greatly restored. The two windows in the south wall were put in in 1862, replacing one large and one small window. The stained glass in the more westerly one was put in in 1884 in memory of Mrs. Hiley of Hyde Hall and represents the Feeding of the Five Thousand; the other was added two years later in memory of Lieut. Hiley and shows the Raising of Lazarus. The brass inscription beneath this window can be translated: 'Not only in memory of a youth distinguished for rare physical and mental powers, but also to the glory of God who in mercy gave and with mercy hath taken away his life this window has been erected by a grief stricken father and a friend'.

Beside it is an interesting example of a modern brass. It is that of Cpl. Joseph Vick (d. 1888). He was one of the few survivors of the "six hundred" in the Charge of the Light Brigade. He had his horse shot from under him and was wounded in the head, rescued by holding on to the stirrup of a fellow soldier. He was buried in the churchyard with full military honours and the brass was erected by public subscription at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

The roof is 15th century and most of the corbels are carved, the four more easterly ones being symbols of the four Evangelists.

The altar is a solid oak communion table, nearly square, of about the same age as the pulpit, and used to be the High Altar. It has had a chequered career. At some unknown period a new altar was installed and this one was relegated to the old vestry. When the vestry was pulled down, it was sold to a tradesman in the town and from there it passed to the Reading Room. The Reading Room was a failure, so a carpenter bought the table for a planing bench, and the vicar, the Rev. S. R Field, happening to see it, thought it looked ecclesiastical, traced its history, bought it back and restored it to the church. The next vicar lengthened it, and in 1939 it was placed in its present position, when the south aisle was blacked out and used for evening services.

Behind the altar two broken pieces of coffin lid will be seen leaning against the east wall. They are of similar type but do not belong to the same coffin, and one of them is inscribed. The letters are Lombardic, the language Norman French: only part of the inscription survives. Translated it reads 'William   lies here. God of his charity have mercy`.

This stone was found some years ago in a Knight Street yard being used as a chopping block. The other was found a little later in a Bell Street garden being used as a doorstep. Both are probably 13th century.

The south aisle is the original resting place of the Leventhorpe family's memorials, though some have been moved to the west end. In front of the altar is the magnificent brass of the founder of the Hertfordshire branch of the family, John Leventhorpe (d. 1435), and his wife Katherine (d. 1437). He was the second son of a Yorkshire squire, yet he rose to be King's Esquire to Henry IV and Henry V, Guardian of Henry V when he was a boy, Receiver General of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Executor of the Wills of both Henry IV and Henry V.

Nearby is the fine painted alabaster tomb of Sir John Leventhorpe, the 1st Baronet (1560 to 1625) and Joan his wife (d. 1627). Below them kneel their children. Charles, their fourth son, who was Rector of High Roding, is shown in clerical dress, and Arthur, who died in infancy, is shown as a child.

Near the porch is a floor slab, similar to that of Thomas de Aungerville in the nave, but so worn that it is impossible to read the inscription.

The chest is probably early 17th century. It is oak, with iron straps, and was fastened with five padlocks, one of which is wedge shaped, having the hole for the key at the side, and is very old. The lid has been sawn in half and a door made at one end. For many years it was used as a coal bin, which accounts for some of its damage.

The south door is particularly massive. It is of English Oak cut from Hatfield Forest, 11 ft. 6 in. by 5 ft. 2 in. and 4½ in. thick with traceried panels and most original ironwork. It is probably 14th century or early 15th century, but has been repaired. The huge old key has a stem 1 ft. long.

Near it is an old oak poor box with three locks, which probably dates from about 1600.

The font is octagonal, with quatrefoil panels and dates from c. 1400. It is very much repaired and is said to have been in 200 pieces.

The two hatchments are, east, that of Rose, wife of Jeremiah Milles and, west, that of her daughter, wife of Rowland Alston.

Mrs. R A. Esdaile, the great authority on English Monumental Art, has written 'The brasses at Sawbridgeworth, the admirable Church chest, the poor box, and the colossal mediaeval South door are well known. It is less commonly realised that the sculptured monuments are of quite exceptional importance. The Church in fact is a museum of English sculpture by great artists'.

PEVSNER.

Flickr set.

Sawbridgeworth. We turn from the Cambridge road into Bell Street, and it is like going back 300 years. The old cottages of timbered-and-plastered brick overhang the street on either side, and at the end is a church where the great folk of this small town live on in stone and brass.

They are nobly housed in this spacious medieval church, standing boldly on a wide expanse of lawn among pines and yews, with a view across the River Stort through a row of chestnuts. The nave and the chancel are 700 years old, the aisles and arcades 600, the spire, the upper part of the stalwart tower, the porch and clerestory were added 500 years ago, and on the bell outside the tower the hours have struck since Charles II got back his throne.

We enter by the massive iron-strapped door which has been opening and shutting for 500 years. Here is the traceried chancel screen and the aisle roofs with carved bosses all new in those days, the railed pews with linenfold ends, the poor-box into which the Elizabethans dropped their alms, the pulpit and the great chest with five locks, and the font to which rich and poor brought their babies 600 years ago to be baptised by Thomas de Aungervil, whose stone is in the floor of the nave. On another stone is cut the outline of a 14th-century nun, nameless, as is the grand 15th century canopied tomb from which the brass portraits have been torn.

The chief families portrayed in brass and stone are the Levenhorps, who were here for centuries, and the Joscelyns, who lived across the river at Hyde Hall, now replaced by a Georgian house. At Hyde Hall was born John Joscelyn, one of our first Anglo-Saxon scholars, who as Latin secretary to Archbishop Parker contributed the Lives of the Archbishops for his employer’s History of the British Church, published in 1572. John lies at High Roding in Essex, but here are buried his relatives: Ralph, twice Lord Mayor of London during the 15th century; John, who is sculptured with his wife on a tomb of 1525; and Geoffrey, pictured on a brass of 1470 with his two wives and 18 children. (this was the only inaccessible brass when I visited -to view it you have to make prior arrangements as several rows of chairs have to moved). Then come the Leventhorps: Sir John, an executor of Henry V’s will, with a fine brass portrait of himself and his wife; Joan, probably the brass lady of about 1500 who has lost her name and her husband but retains the Leventhorp arms; Mary of 1566, whose portrait is under the tower near those of a nameless 15th century couple in shrouds; Edward and his wife, with brass portraits made in 1600; and last of all Sir John Leventhorp, whose stone figure in Jacobean armour reclines by his wife’s, while their eight daughters and six sons (one the jolliest little fellow) appear in relief. There are also figures of their neighbours, Sir William Hewett and his wife, and a small monument of 1606 where Sir Walter Myldemaye kneels with his wife and their bearded son. It was to this Sir Walter that Elizabeth I granted Pishiobury, the 250 acre park to the south of the town, but the noble mansion Sir Walter built there was burned down, and only some panelling and a few fittings were rescued for the house raised in its place beside the lake, a battlemented brick house reached by an avenue of oak trees nearly a mile long.