The Huntrodds’ Memorial
On the south east side of the parish church at Whitby North Yorkshire , close to the entrance to the Cholmley
Pew, is the Huntrodd’s Memorial 1600 – 1680.
The inscription tells us :
‘ Here lie the bodies of Francis Huntrodds
and Mary his wife who were born on the same day of the week,
month and year (viz) Septr ye 19th 1600
,
marry’d on the day of their birth and after
having had 12 children born to them
died aged 80 years on the same day of the
year they were born, Septr ye 19th 1680
the one not above five hours before ye
other.’
‘Husband and wife that did twelve children
bear,
dy’d
the same day; alike both aged were.
Bout 80 years they liv’d, five hours did
part,
(Ev’n on the marriage day) each tender
heart, so fit a match,
surely could never be, both, in their lives,
and in their deaths agree.’
Fact is indeed
stranger than fiction.
Huntrodds Tomb
The watery grave.
Colonel and Mrs John Harrison, who lived in Kirby Malham in North Yorkshire in the 19th century, were separated for long periods due to
the Colonel’s frequent overseas service, with the result that his wife Helen
decided that as water had separated them for so much of their married life, so
it should in death. To that end she arranged for their burial plot to be
situated in a corner of the old churchyard where a small stream runs. This
stream would separate the double plot. Helen died in 1890 and she was buried on
the south side of the stream. John died in 1900 and, it is said, when the gravedigger
attempted to dig the grave on the other plot on the north bank, he hit
impenetrable rock. The result was that John had to be buried with his wife and
so in fact they were united. The stream still runs through the plot which is
marked by a stone kerb and a very fine marble cross.
Nuptial discord
The church of St Lawrence in the tiny village of Ayot St
Lawrence in Hertfordshire (the last home of Sir George Bernard Shaw), is like a Greek temple, with Doric portico and
two colonnaded wings leading to pavilions on each side, a perfect example of
the Paladian style. The front of the
church is stuccoed, but the back has been left in plain brick, whilst the roof
is of copper sheeting. The very fine
interior is in keeping with the structure and the altar is at the west end.
Sir Lyonel Lyde of Ayot House and
Lord of the Manor in 1778, was responsible for this curious edifice, having
decided to build a new church for the village.
Actually, he decided that the old medieval church obstructed the view
from his house and decided to demolish
it and to build the new church to the west of his house where he could see and admire it from a distance. Before he could demolish the old church, the
Bishop intervened with an injunction, but the old building was never restored
and was left in ruins as seen today.
The appearance of the exterior of
the new church is due to the fact that Sir Lyonel could only see the front of
the building and this also explains why the altar is at the west end of the
church, i.e the opposite end to the front.
The tombs of Sir Lyonel and his
wife are under the two side pavilions, one on each side. It is said that these unusual separate
mausoleums were the outcome of a life of nuptial discord. Sir Lyonel had apparently vowed that since
the church had united them in life, it should make amends by separating them in
death.
The faithful wife
A desciptive tablet in the parish church at Tenby in South Wales tells its own story:
Margaret Mercer's fine memorial
Nine husbands
A tablet in the church at Birdbrook in Essex
records :
who died on May 7th 1681 .
She was the wife of 9 husbands successively,
but the 9th outlived her.’
The funeral text
was : ‘Last of all the woman died also.’
Which
was recorded in the register.
It was
also recorded that,
‘Robert Hogan of this parish had 7 wives successively.’
He married his 7th
wife, Ann Livermire, , January
1st 1739
The Pudsay family
An unusual family tomb can be seen in the lovely church of St Peter St Paul Bolton-by-Bowland
in Lancashire .
It commemorates local Lord of the Manor, Sir Ralph Pudsay (died 1468),
his three wives and twenty five children! The figures of each one of the family are
carved in relief on the huge grey marble slab, together with the names of each
of the 25 children
The King’s barber
Edmund Harman also had a large family, nine boys and seven
girls, and their images are carved on his fine memorial in Burford Parish
Church
‘EDMUND HARMAN Esq.
Whom God from his earliest years blessed
with countless benefits,
Put this monument to the Christian memory of
himself
and of his only and most faithful wife AGNES
and of the 16 children whom, by God’s mercy,
she bore him.
1569’
As barber and personal servant to King Henry V111 he was
trusted to hold a razor to the King’s throat and once when he was ill with no
doctor available, Harman successfully ‘bled’ the King. Harman was also a witness to the King’s will,
a close servant indeed. Figures of Red
Indians and strange fruits also adorn the monument which are thought to
commemorate discoveries made by Harman’s brother on voyages abroad.
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The Bradshaw
Memorial
In about 1600, Anthonie Bradshaw erected his own memorial in his parish
church at Duffield in Derbyshire. Although he described it as a ‘little
monument’ it was in fact 12 feet tall and commemorated his living self, his two
wives and his (then) 20 children. Born of an old Derbyshire family, Bradshaw
became a successful
His monument is of sandstone, with obelisks and rusticated pillars, and
is inset with alabaster panels. They are full of inscribed information, some in
Latin and some in English, about Bradshaw
and his family. He and his family are portrayed in half-figure incisions identified by
initials with full names above and at the foot of the monument is an acrostic
of his name. The whole thing is topped with his coat of arms and crest. One thing missing is the date of his death
in 1614.
Bradshaw had a further three children before he died.
The monument was restored in 2002.
   
Duffield Parish Church
Another large family
The church
of St Martin was a Collegiate church until 1547 when it became the parish
church and in the late 18th century the church was reduced to its
current standing of the medieval nave, leaving the old chancel in ruins. A
striking gravestone can be seen inside the church having been removed from
the ruined chancel for preservation. It depicts the figures of a man and a
woman draped in a cover over which a tree is growing. Shields are at the roots
of the tree and at the ends of its branches are the heads of 13 children, 7
sons on the male side and 6 daughters wearing caps on the female side. It is
thought to commemorate Sir Thomas de Heslerton and his wife Alice and their
children.
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The
Stonemason's family
Back in the 18th century, James Faichney was a
stonemason living at Inverpeffray near Crieff in Perthshire. During his lifetime he carved a large
elaborate stone depicting himself, his wife and each of his ten children and he
built it into the churchyard boundary wall.
Apart from the images, dates of birth, marriage etc., are included,
making a complete record of his family.
In 1994 the stone was removed from its original position
and after restoration it was place inside the interesting pre reformation
church at Inverpeffray.
The stone's detail
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