Group Of Seven Monuments Mostly To Howse And Wise, About 1 To 7 Metres South Of South East Nave Window In Churchyard Of Church Of St Mary

This is a group of seven chest tombs located about 1 to 7 meters south of the south-east nave window in the churchyard of the Church of St. Mary. The tombs are primarily dedicated to the Howse and Wise families.

From south to north, the first tomb belongs to the Howse family, with the earliest readable inscription dating back to 1784. The second tomb is for Richard Howse, who died in 1767, followed by another Howse family tomb with an inscription from 1731, and an unidentified tomb, likely also belonging to the Howse family, from 1763. Further from the porch, the Wise family is represented with a tomb that has the earliest decipherable inscription from 1780, followed by an unidentified pair of tombs, probably belonging to the Wise family, dating to the early 18th century.

All the monuments are made of limestone and feature moulded plinths and capping, except for the unidentified pair. Three of the Howse monuments have a single step tent top, while two have lyre ends with side panels divided into two sections. Each monument has fielded panels, and they are all beginning to deteriorate as of the last survey in August 1985. The Wise monument has a stepped tent top with rounded top moulding, a fielded south panel, and the rest of the panel is recessed. The unidentified pair is set closely together and features slab tops and sides, with plain footstones and carved headstones that include a cherub head and a cartouche for inscriptions on the west side.