Monument to Sir Thomas Selwyn
| 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: | Friston Hill |
| Town: | Friston |
| Parish: | East Dean & Friston |
| Council: | Wealden District Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN20 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Inside building |
| and in: | Religious |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | The Selwyn (North) Transept, Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 158 |
| Grid reference: | E2 |
| 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. | |
| Previous location: | The Chancel of the Church. |
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Makers
| Name : | Isaac James |
| Role: | Sculptor |
| Qualify: | attributed to |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Selwyn family |
| Construction period: | After 1613 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin. Friston. |
| Description: | Funerary monument to Sir Thomas Selwyn, with two figures, depicting Thomas and Elizabeth Selwyn, kneeling either side of a prayer desk with open volumes. Beneath the desk, three infant corpses resting on a cushion depicting three sons who died in childhood ; around the base, six kneeling figures depicting six surviving daughters. The principal figures kneel in front of a panel with an inscription in Latin. The memorial surmounted by three carved, painted and gilded armorial crests. |
| Inscription: | DOROTHEAM/ANNAM, & BEATRICEM./ V. ANN.LXVII. ANIMAM CHRISTO REDDI/DIT APUD FRISTON XVI MARTII A. SALUTIS MDCXIII/ EXPECTANT EXUME HIC CONDITQ MAGNU/QUE UNIVERSI EXPECTAMQ DIEM/ L. M. P.MOER./ELIZABETHA CONIUNX |
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Classification
| Categories: | Religious, Funerary, Commemorative, Sculptural |
| Object type1: | Relief |
| Object type2: | Marker |
| Object subtype1: | Inscribed stone |
| Object type3: | Sculpture |
| Object type4: | Statue |
| Subject type1: | Figurative |
| Subject subtype1: | Group |
| Subject type2: | Portrait |
| Subject subtype1: | Group |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Whole monument |
| Material: | Alabaster and grey marble with gilding and painted decoration |
| Height (cm): | 240 |
| Part 2: | Base plinth |
| Material: | None |
| Width (cm): | 180 |
| Depth (cm): | 50 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Structural |
| Condition 1: | Broken or missing parts |
| More details: | Minor damage to base figure 3rd from left |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 10/02/2008 |
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History
| History: | Translation of inscription:
SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THOMAS SELWYN ESQUIRE (descended from the ancient SELWYN family in this district ) A man (while he lived) distinguished for piety, honesty and liberality and ever ready to come to the aid of relatives and friends. By ELIZABETH his wife, A daughter of Henry Goring of Burton, Knight, He has three sons (who lost the light of this life In their tender years) and six daughters, Mary, joined in wedlock to Thomas Woodward, Elizabeth to Thomas Parker, Alice to John Woodward, Dorothy, Anne, Beatrice. He lived for 67 years and rendered his soul to Christ at Friston on the sixteenth March in the Year of our salvation 1613. His remains hidden Here await the great day for which all men look. ELIZABETH HIS SORROWING WIFE PLACED THIS STONE IN MEMORY The Selwyn transept ‘ was built about the middle of the 19th century by Miss Anne Gilbert, for the purpose of providing additional seating accommodation, and also as a place to move two of the Selwyn Monuments, which up to that time had stood in the Chancel and considerably reduced its space.’ Two further monuments to Selwyn family in church- brass memorial on oak base, originally inlaid in Sussex marble, in blocked up doorway, south wall of Nave ; worn stone beneath carpet of aisle. (Rev.A.A. Evans, Friston Parish Church: a short historical account, revised ed. 2006, Revd. A.A. Evans, The Selwyns of Sussex, 1923, revised ed. 2002) |
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References
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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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