5 Monuments On South Of Parish Church Of St James The Great

There are five monuments located to the south of the Parish Church of St James the Great in Thorley village. These monuments date from 1717, 1750, around 1750, around 1840, and 1909. They form a group of stone monuments against the south wall of the church.

Two 18th-century headstones have shaped tops and are carved with skulls in relief, commemorating John Flack from 1717 and Robert Flack from 1750. A contemporary stone with a shaped top, placed three yards to the south along the path, was set up by a landlord to draw attention to the previous two stones.

There is a square gabled pillar that serves as the Frere family monument, dating from around 1840, which features a colored coat of arms and an inset bronze oval panel depicting Christ crucified on an anchor. This design is said to have been copied from a monument seen in France, as noted in the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Transactions from 1899.

Additionally, a tall tapering rough stone stele, located ten yards south of the church tower, has a rectangular bronze panel with Christ crucified on an anchor, dedicated to Esther Frere from 1909, and is likely designed by Eustace Frere.