Group of Five Freke and Roper Monuments to North East of Church of St Laurence is a Grade II listed building in the Dorset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 22 December 1997. Monuments.
Group of Five Freke and Roper Monuments to North East of Church of St Laurence
- WRENN ID
- haunted-pillar-plum
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Dorset
- Constituency
- South Dorset MP: Lloyd Hatton (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 22 December 1997
- Type
- Monuments
- Address
- Group of Five Freke and Roper Monuments to North East of Church of St Laurence, Church Street, Weymouth
- OS grid reference
- SY 660 852
- Coordinates
- 50.66589, -2.48158
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
A group of five monuments, consisting of three headstones and two chest tombs, is located to the northeast of the Church of St Laurence in Weymouth.
The first chest tomb is dedicated to Robert Freke, who died in 1699. It is made of Portland stone and features a very pitted ledger slab with a moulded edge. The south side is plain, while the north side has a pair of sunk segmental-arched panels with low relief enrichment and inscriptions. The ends are heavily bolstered with upper and lower mouldings; the west end displays a naive skull and cross-bones, and the east end has an angel with outspread wings. The base of the tomb is partly sunk.
The second chest tomb, located immediately to the east of Robert Freke's tomb, is for Mrs Mary Freke, who died in 1712. This tomb is also made of Portland stone and has a flat ledger slab with a moulded edge. The north side features a plain panel with an inscription in capitals, while the south side is plain. The ends are similarly bolstered, with the east end showing a naive skull and cross-bones, and the west end being plain. This tomb was created by the same mason as the one for Robert Freke, but the lettering is typical of 17th-century monuments.
To the east of these two chest tombs are three headstones arranged north to south. The first headstone commemorates Joseph Roper, who died in 1770. It is made of Portland stone, has a shaped top with scrolls and cherub heads, and features fine lettering that remains mostly legible. The second headstone is for John Roper, who died in 1858. This stone has a top with a central arch flanked by smaller arches, containing an open book and an urn draped with fabric. The date is late for this design and may commemorate an additional occupant. This stone is leaning considerably towards the east. The third headstone is for Tregunel Roper, who died in 1817. It is an unusually tall stone, approximately 1.6 meters high, but is also leaning seriously to the east. The top is shaped with small corner scroll rosettes, and the lettering is clear and bold.
This group of monuments is significant for its architectural and historic interest.
Local climate
Group of Five Freke and Roper Monuments to North East of Church of St Laurence receives an average of 850 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 58% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 78% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 14 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 5 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- Flood risk assessment
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