The excursion visited the churches at Lowick, Sudborough, Rothwell, Geddington, Burton Latimer and Higham Ferrers.
The tower of the old church is now in the care of the local council and was opened for us. Those who were both adventurous and nimble took the opportunity to admire the views from the roof of the tower, from which the tower of the new church could be seen to advantage.
The brass of John and Margaret Lymsey was almost complete when Fisher drew it but parts disappeared over the next century or so, leaving the male figure, two shields and a fragment of inscription. These remaining parts were lost in the aftermath of the 1955 fire, the state of the indent, with much pitch still in situ, suggesting they were stolen rather than destroyed. The slab itself shows, that like the effigy of John Lymsey, it was reused. It had previously contained two effigies with a foot inscription and four shields at the corners. The idiosyncratic layout of the Lymsey brass, with a pale of children between the feet of the parents, attempted to disguise the reuse.
The brass of Arthur Dericote, a member of the London Drapers Company, in contrast, retains all of its parts bar the shield, which has been replaced in marble. He died in 1562 and is shown with his four wives (below left). The other brass that was found to be missing after 1955 was that of Hugh Johnson, died 1618, who was depicted in his pulpit.It was in a stone frame. Fisher’s ground plan of the old church shows many indents and Fisher made three sheets of drawings of the more interesting ones. They are probably still in their original positions, under the grass that covers the site of the old church, only the Elrington slab now being on the surface.
Welcome to the picture gallery of past MBS events.
These days we have only two meetings a year, including our AGM, in London and another at a different London church each year. We prefer to get out and about, holding the remainder of our meetings around the country, often in churches where we can study brasses, incised slabs and other monuments in their architectural context. Although these meetings are very popular with members, many are unable to attend. So, from Spring 2005 we we will providing picture reports of our meetings, to supplement the full written reports that appear in MBS Bulletin.
The audience listens to the closing remarks
Those who attended the society’s inaugural graduate conference enjoyed a wide selection of interesting papers:
Ellie Pridgeon, University of Leicester Representations of Saint Christopher in Late-
Matthew Sillence, University of East Anglia, ‘Monuments in Miniature’: Architectural Frameworks on Seals and Brasses
Pam Walker, University of Manchester, Dressing up in death: The comparison of women’s status as depicted in costume on medieval funerary monuments
Rob Kinsey, University of York Each according to their degree: the brasses of the Thorpe family
Jon Denton, Hymers College Lineage and Commemoration in Late Medieval England: the importance of place in gentle identity
Chloe Morgan, University of York, ‘For a Gret Remembrauns’: The Brasses of Ingham, Norfolk, and John Metham’s Amoryus and Cleopes
Rhianydd Bierbach, University of Swansea Conspicuous by their Absence: Rethinking explanations for the lack of brasses in medieval Wales
Rupert Webber, Royal Holloway, University of London The use of Medieval Church Brasses in recognising Local and Religious identities in Late Medieval Gloucestershire
Kelcey Lee, Royal Holloway, University of London A Fifteenth-
David Harry, University of Bristol ‘Quod tu es, ego fui; quod ego sum, tu eris’:
cadaver brass inscriptions and the monastic heritage of popular piety in pre-
A full report will appear in the society’s Bulletin
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