Gravestone Of Elizabeth Reynor In Churchyard Of St James'S Church

CASTLE BYTHAM

1762/0/10006 Gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor in chur 09-MAR-11 chyard of St James's Church

GV II A small, rectangular, upright, gravestone erected in 1678 of moulded limestone ashlar with a recessed shield incorporating the engraved lettering, above which is a central stylised flower motif flanked by scrolls. The inscription reads: 'Here Lieth the Body of ELIZABETH REANOR Who Departed [...] Life AVG: Ye 16 1678'. It is located approximately 4.5 metres south of the chancel.

HISTORY The gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor is located in the churchyard of the Grade I listed St James's Church which dates to the late C12. The churchyard is laid out on all four sides of the church and contains limestone and slate headstones dating from the C17 to the C20. The parish records have an entry for the death of Elizabeth Reynor, a widow, on 18 August 1678, who is presumably the person commemorated here.

SOURCES Allsop, N, J,'Castle Bytham Churchyard', unpublished survey (1997)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Date: it is a pre-Georgian monument, known to date to 1678 * Intactness: its essential form survives with the decorative carving intact and the majority of the inscription legible * Group Value: it has strong group value with the Grade I listed church and two Grade II listed gravestones dating to the early and mid-C18, also located just south of the chancel, the area considered to be the prime position for burials