Group Of 35 17Th To 18Th Century Monuments In The Churchyard Of The Church Of All Saints, West Of The Path To Church Cottage As Far As The Henry Baldwin Monument

Group of 35 monuments dating from the 17th to 18th centuries in the churchyard of the Church of All Saints, North Cerney, situated west of the path to Church Cottage and extending as far as the Henry Baldwin monument.

The group comprises five chest tombs and thirty headstones, some associated with flat stone slabs and footstones. All are constructed in limestone.

The earliest chest tomb is that to William Cherington (died 1696) and Sarah Cherington (died 1760), positioned approximately 3 metres south of the church porch. It features lyre-shaped ends and a moulded plinth. The north side carries an oval inscription panel to William Cherington, surrounded by finely executed foliate scrollwork, with foliate decoration to the sides of the lyre-shaped ends. The south side displays a plain rectangular inscription panel to Sarah Cherington, flanked by rectangular slabs decorated with representations of circular vases of flowers in relief and foliate decoration to the lyre-shaped ends. A cherub's head sits above a small cartouche at the east end with two cornucopias below, and another cherub's head and cartouche appear at the west end. The tomb has a thick capping with moulded margin. Three flat stone slabs are positioned immediately to the south, one accompanied by a headstone and footstone, and one with a headstone.

A chest tomb to Richard Jordan (died 1669) stands immediately south of these flat slabs. It has a flat-chamfered plinth and an illegible inscription panel on the north side, with the inscription to Richard Jordan on the south side. The capping is thick with a flat-chamfered margin.

A further chest tomb, approximately 0.5 metres west of the Jordan tomb, commemorates members of the Stephens family of Woodmancote and dates to the late 18th century. It features a moulded plinth with raised sunken inscription panels on the north and south sides, and sunken inscription panels at the ends. The capping has a moulded margin and moulded and hipped upper capping stone.

Between the Stephens family tomb and the Henry Baldwin chest tomb are thirty headstones spanning the late 17th to late 18th centuries. The late 17th and early 18th century headstones are of simple design, typically 0.5 metres in height, with sunken inscription panels and almost flat double scrolls at the top. An example is a pair of segmental-headed headstones approximately 3 metres west of the Stephens family tomb: the left-hand stone commemorates Joseph, son of Thomas Kilby (dated 1695), and the right-hand stone is dated 1703.

The mid-18th century headstones vary in size and are more ornate, incorporating cherub's heads, hanging drapery, open bibles, skulls, winged skulls with hourglasses, and floral motifs. The carving on these monuments achieves an almost three-dimensional quality. A pair approximately 0.5 metres south-west of the Stephens family tomb exemplifies this style: the left-hand stone to Mary ---- (dated 1730) has a cherub's head holding an open bible at the top, with a festoon below and hanging drapery and fruit and flowers flanking the inscription panel. The right-hand stone features an illegible oval inscription panel with a raised foliate margin and a carved head holding a skull at the top, flanked by cornucopias and hanging drapery.

The late 18th century headstones show less variation in size and decoration, typically featuring cherub's heads at the top and inscription panels with cartouche-like surrounds. Unlike the mid-18th century examples, the decorative motifs on these later stones are less prominently carved.

At the western edge of the monument group stand two further monuments. The chest tomb to Henry, son of Henry and Eleanor Baldwin (died 1756), and other family members features a fielded inscription panel flanked by fielded marginal panels on the north side, fielded inscription panels at the ends, and a capping stone with moulded margin and rectangular upper capping stone. Approximately 0.5 metres to the south is a pedestal monument to Ann, wife of John Blake, with a moulded plinth featuring inset corners, fielded inscription panels set back on two sides, and similar unused inscription panels on the other two sides. The monument is topped with moulded and stepped pyramidal capping, which was noted to be in poor repair at the time of resurvey in November 1986.