Monument to Thomas, 8th. Lord Dacre and Sir Thomas Fiennes
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Church Road |
| Town: | Herstmonceux |
| Parish: | Herstmonceux |
| Council: | Wealden District Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN27 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Inside building |
| and in: | Religious |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | The Dacre Chapel, All Saints Church |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 122 |
| Grid reference: | C5 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| OS Reference: | TQ61 |
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Makers
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Dacre family |
| Construction period: | 1534 |
| Installation date: | 1534 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | All Saints Church, Herstmonceux. |
| Description: | Gothic style tomb, decorated on both sides with panels of four quatrefoils, cusped and sub-cusped, each separated by narrow ''doll's head'' motifs. On the tomb lie the effigies of two men in Milanese armour of about 1480, carved in Caen stone. Their hands are in an attitude of prayer; their heads rest on Brocas helms and their feet on animals, representing the Bull of the Dacre family and the Alant (wolf hound) of the Fiennes family. Above the arch on the side facing the Chancel is a richly carved cornice of shields, helmets and mantling, in Caen stone. The middle shield bears the arms and eagle crest of the Fiennes. |
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Classification
| Categories: | Funerary, Free Standing, Commemorative, Architectural, Sculptural |
| Object type1: | Statue |
| Object type2: | Sculpture |
| Object type3: | Building |
| Object subtype1: | Mausoleum |
| Subject type1: | Portrait |
| Subject subtype1: | Group |
| Subject type2: | Figurative |
| Subject subtype1: | Group |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Statuary, south side |
| Material: | Caen stone, painted |
| Height (cm): | 55 |
| Width (cm): | 195 |
| Depth (cm): | 55 |
| Part 2: | Chest tomb |
| Material: | Purbeck marble |
| Height (cm): | 130 |
| Width (cm): | 270 |
| Depth (cm): | 205 |
| Part 3: | Whole monument |
| Material: | Painted Caen stone, Bonchurch stone and Purbeck marble |
| Height (cm): | 470 |
| Width (cm): | 320 |
| Depth (cm): | 300 |
| Part 4: | Statuary, north side |
| Material: | Caen stone, painted |
| Height (cm): | 55 |
| Width (cm): | 197 |
| Depth (cm): | 55 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Surface |
| Condition 1: | Corrosion, deterioration |
| Condition 2: | Previous treatments |
| More details: | General weather-wearing to stone work. Paintwork has been re-done c.2000. |
| Condition 2 of type: | Structural |
| Condition 1: | Broken or missing parts |
| More details: | Noses on statuary broken off. Fingers and thumb of southside statue broken. Edges of chest tomb broken on all sides. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 29/06/2008 |
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History
| History: | Erected to the memory of Thomas, 8th. Lord Dacre (1470-1533) and his son, Sir Thomas Fiennes, who predeceased his father in 1528. The tomb is built of three types of stone, Caen, Bonchurch and Purbeck marble. The table tomb chest and spandrels are older than the cornice and niches and it is supposed that the Purbeck sections constitute the original earlier tomb. The north side of the tomb shows considerably more signs of wear than that on the Chancel side. This indicates it may have been exposed to the weather at one time and could have been on the outside wall of the church before the Chapel was added and acted as protection. It was realised some years ago that the entire tomb was deteriorating badly and if some restoration were not carried out would become a dangerous hazard. In 1969 Mrs.Elizabeth Dacre, widow of Air Commodore George Bentley Dacre, C.B.E.,D.S.O., who died in 1962, generously offered to do this and in 1970 the work was carried out by Mr. George Elliott, B.E.M., Master Mason and a resident of Herstmonceux. The consultant architect was Mr. John Denman of Brighton and much help and advice was given by Mr. Wilfred Scott-Giles, O.B.E., F.S.A., F.H.A., Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary of the College of Arms. In the course of the restoration work some of the original colouring of the shields became evident and it was decided to repaint these. Shields which could not be reliably identified were left blank. On the North side the identified shields bore the arms of the families of Marmion, de Warenne, Odingsells, Grey of Rotherfield, FitzHugh and Merley. On the South side those of Multon, Marmion, Mandeville, Dacre, Grey of Rotherfield and Ufford. Beneath the flanking niches in the Chantry and the Chancel are North for Filliol, South for Fiennes. It had long been suspected that the two effigies on the tomb were not those of Lord Dacre and his son as the arms on the tabards are those of Hooe. During the restoration work it became clear that these had been altered and there is little doubt that they were originally carved to represent the half-brothers Hooe. It is possible that they were brought from Battle Abbey, after the monastery was suppressed by Henry VIII who granted the house and site to Sir Anthony Browne in 1539. The church seems to have been dismantled immediately, its tombs and carvings probably being sold as job lots. As the Dacre finances were low at this time there is a strong possibility that the effigies were bought and placed on a tomb and altered to represent Lord Dacre and Sir Thomas Fiennes. It was decided to accept and restore them as such. They were distinguished persons in their own time and also fine carving and All Saints can be proud to have these effigies.
('All Saints Church Herstmonceux') |
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References
| Source 1 : | |
| Title: | 'All Saints Church Herstmonceux' |
| Type: | Book |
| Author: | Tate, Mary H. |
| Edition: | Revised |
| Page: | 6-8 |
| Publisher: | All Saints Church. Herstmonceux. |
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Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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