Group Of 5 C18 Headstones Approximately 11 Metres South Of The Tower Of The Church Of St Mary The Virgin

TQ 55 41 SPELDHURST SPELDHURST HILL (north side), SPELDHURST 12/577 Group of 5 C18 headstones approx 11m south of the tower of the Church of St Mary the Virgin GV II

Group of 5 headstones. Dated 1711-1782. All are upright sandstone slabs standing ebtween 400mm-1.3m high. All have curvilinear shaped heads, some of them double headed. Two commemorate members of the Wagon family. The smallest has a moulded frmae and the head is inscribed with an hourglass amongst scrolls. The inscription is in somewhat calligraphic Roman serif upper and lowr case lettering and records the death of 16 year old Samuel Wagon in 1711. The other has a double head carved with profiled busts of Roman emperors in front of crossed trumpets. Sunken panel below with moulded frame is inscribed in Roman serif upper and lower case lettering and records the death of another Samuel Wagon in 1738. Nearby a very similar double- headed headstone in memory of George Morley who died in 1740. Another single headed stone has a sunken front panel and the head is carved with crossed arrows. It commemorates William Martin who died in 1737. The latest in the group has its head carved with a winged cherub head and crossed trumpet and torch. The first word of the inscription is in ornate Gothic lettering, the rest in Roman serif upper and lower case lettering. It records the death of John Jenner in 1782 and includes an obituary poem.

Listing NGR: TQ5533741403