Group Of 8 Chest Tombs And 19 Headstones In The Churchyard Of The Church Of St Andrew Forming A Group Immediately South Of Nave

Group of 8 chest tombs and 19 headstones in the churchyard of the Church of St Andrew, forming a group immediately south of the nave.

The group is arranged with 5 headstones marking the western boundary and the monument to William Arkell forming the southern boundary. The monuments date from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.

The chest tomb to John Mason, a yeoman who died in 1687, and his wife, who died in 1688, stands immediately adjacent to the south porch. It is built of limestone with a moulded plinth and bears inscriptions on both sides. Baluster-shaped motifs in relief flank the inscriptions on either side. The tomb has lyre-shaped ends and displays an hourglass motif within a raised oval border flanked by foliate scrollwork at the east end, while the west end features a skull and crossbones within a raised oval border, also flanked by foliate scrollwork. The capping is thick with a moulded margin.

About 2 metres south stands the chest tomb to Thomas Timbrell, who died in 1765. This limestone tomb has a flat-chamfered plinth and bears an inscription on the north side flanked by fielded marginal panels. The south side is similarly treated with marginal panels. The capping is thick with a margin moulded towards the top.

An unidentified chest tomb from the 17th century lies approximately 0.7 metres south. Built of limestone with a moulded plinth, it once had inscription panels flanked on north and south by rectangular panels with raised single flower motifs. The panel at the north-west corner is now in fragments. The tomb has lyre-shaped ends with oval plaques with raised margins flanked by foliate scrollwork, and features thick moulded capping.

About 2.5 metres south is a limestone chest tomb with only the visible date 1807. It has a moulded plinth and an almost illegible inscription on the north side within a sunken panel with beaded margin. Marginal panels with beaded margins also flank this inscription, each decorated with a single rosette and hanging bellflower motif. A fluted frieze runs across the tomb, and the south side is similar to the north but lacks an inscription, instead featuring swag decoration within the marginal panels. It is topped with thick moulded capping.

Approximately 1 metre south stands the chest tomb to Thomas Arkell, who died in 1754, and William Arkell, who died in 1772. This limestone tomb has a moulded plinth with inscriptions on north and south sides flanked by fielded marginal panels. The ends have fielded segmental headed panels and thick moulded capping.

About 2.5 metres west of the Thomas Arkell monument is the chest tomb to Robert Lord, who died in 1673, and his wife Mary, who died in 1724, as well as to Mary Nind. Built of limestone and slatestone, it features raised rectangular inscription plaques on north and south sides with marginal panels either side decorated with single stylized flower motifs. The ends are lyre-shaped, and the inscription to Mary Nind appears within an oval inscription plaque at the east end. A badly eroded slatestone inscription plaque is found at the west end. The capping is thick and moulded.

About 1 metre south of this monument is a tomb comprising a solid rectangular limestone block, bearing an inscription on the south side to Robert Lord, who died in 1650.

Approximately 4 metres south-west stands the chest tomb to Robert Tibsworth, who died in 1743, to a Tibsworth who died in 1709, and to Elizabeth, the second wife of Robert Tibsworth. This limestone tomb has a flat-chamfered plinth and bears inscriptions on north and south sides with marginal panels either side. The inscription to Elizabeth Tibsworth is positioned at the west end. The capping has a moulded margin.

The remaining 19 headstones, dating from 1674 to the mid-18th century, are all good examples of their period and illustrate a variety of different decorative motifs. Two headstones have ogee-shaped heads.