Unidentified Monument In The Churchyard About 3 Metres West Of Porch Of Anglican Church Of St Thomas À Becket

PUCKLECHURCH

1096/4/207 WESTERLEIGH ROAD 15-AUG-85 (East side) UNIDENTIFIED MONUMENT IN THE CHURCHYAR D ABOUT 3 METRES WEST OF PORCH OF ANGL ICAN CHURCH OF ST THOMAS À BECKET (Formerly listed as: WESTERLEIGH ROAD UNIDENTIFIED MONUMENT IN THE CHURCHYAR D ABOUT 3 METRES WEST OF CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY)

GV II A chest tomb, dating from the early C19, constructed from sandstone. The tomb has a hipped top with corner pilasters and is set on a plinth. The inscriptions are very worn.

HISTORY: Pucklechurch, which appears from the archaeological evidence to have Roman origins, was an important settlement from the later Anglo-Saxon period, when it became the administrative, military and judicial centre of the Hundred which bears its name. The settlement, once forming parts of the ancient Forest of Kingswood, may have been a royal burh in the later Saxon period. Certainly it was the site of Edmund, King of Wessex's hunting lodge; he was murdered in Pucklechurch in AD946, and his body taken to Glastonbury Abbey for burial. The manor of Pucklechurch was formally granted to Glastonbury Abbey in AD950, and was subsequently transferred to Bath Abbey in the C13. After the Dissolution in the C16, the village underwent a phase of rebuilding and gentrification, with a number of large houses erected in the C16, C17 and C18, indicating that the settlement was relatively wealthy in this period. A further phase of expansion and prosperity occurred from the mid-C19, when a number of collieries opened in the parish.

The parish church was founded in the Norman period, and was perhaps a royal foundation, but the current building dates largely from the C13; a north aisle and south porch were built in the C14, together with parts of the tower. A chantry, now the site of the Lady Chapel, was set up by William de Cheltenham in 1337. There were further alterations in the C17, coinciding with the increased prosperity of the settlement after the Dissolution, and there were two major phases of work in the C19.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: This tomb, to an unidentified individual, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: as a good example of an early-C19 chest tomb * Group value: for its relationship with the Grade I listed church of St Thomas à Becket, and with the other listed tombs in the churchyard