THE WALL MONUMENTS
The finest of the many wall monuments in the church are undoubtedly those of Richard and Margaret Paine of East Twyford and Sir John Franklyn on the left and right respectively of the High Altar.
The Paines' monument shows the two figures kneeling under arches on either side of a prayer desk. The fact that the lady is to the right indicates that she died first. Down each side are very delicately carved panels of strapwork - swags of fruit and flowers (representing the Resurrection) tied together with tasselled cords. There is elaborate scroll work below, with pomegranates, rosettes, and decorative plants and leaves, a typical example of the highly carved and brightly coloured monuments of the time.
John Colt was given the other great commission of that time - the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I. It is a strange fact that the name of John Colt was not known until as recently as 1935, when the petition he sent to King Charles asking to be given his uncle's position was discovered and printed. The monument rests on lion head brackets - one of Colt's trade marks. The unusual pediment is typical too, as are the allegorical details to right and left. The hand above the skull represents the opening of the Book of Life. The base of the memorial with its acanthus scrolls and the shell are pure 18th century rococo - years ahead of their time. The other monuments in the church are not so spectacular, although they are very pleasant indications both of the way in which life was going on outside the Church and also of the way in which fashions changed. Those in the Sanctuary, to various Roberts, Barnes and Franklyns, are of an unusually dark alabaster, which leads us to assume that, although they are anonymous, they all came from the same studio. There is a lovely monument to the Jackson family which is often overlooked, tucked away as it is to one side of the Gallery at the West End of the Church. A complete list, and the inscriptions are as follows:
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a) Francis Roberts b) John Barne c) Richard and Margaret Paine of East Twyford d) Sir John Franklyn e) Richard Franklyn f) Henry John Knapp g) Major General Charles Franklyn CB h) Henry Finch i) Rev. George Cecil Oakley j) Charlotte Otway k) Thomas Shore Woodman l1) Alice Mary Greening l2) Evadne Prichard l3) 1852 Restoration Plaque m1) May Watling m2) Jackson Family n) Fredr. Thos. Sergeant and Henrietta his wife o) William Ewart Gladstone p) Rev. Brownlow Thomas Atlay MA |
d. 5th Sept. 1631 d. 4th Sept. 1615 d. 1606 & 1595 resp. d. 1647 d. July 1615 d. 18th July 1850 d. Aug. 1861 d. 8th Aug. 1913 1912-1981 29th Dec. 1827 4th Oct. 1822 d. 12 Jan 1927 d. Jan. 1874
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The present fine condition of the older wall monuments is largely due to the generosity of Mr John W Roberts of Richmond, Virginia, (a descendant of Francis Roberts 1551-1631). During the restoration of the 1960s, he sent several donations to Rev. Oakley for repairing, not only the plaque to his ancestor, but others in the chancel. Prior to this, the wall memorials had been dilapidated and covered in grey paint. A complete transcript of the wall monuments is here: ![]()
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