Group Of Five Chest Tombs To Thomas And Anne Page, John Tipper, George Higgon, John Page And Another; In The Centre Of St Mary'S Churchyard

A group of five chest tombs in the centre of St Mary's churchyard, Poulton, dating from the 18th century, with one possibly earlier. All are constructed from local limestone ashlar. A sixth table-top tomb in the group is not of special interest.

The first tomb, dating to around 1779, commemorates Thomas and Anne Page. It is built from oolitic Cotswold limestone and set on a moulded plinth. The monument features an architrave and cornice, with a deeply-moulded capstone that rises above and terminates in a narrow roll. The sides have moulded panels, with the long sides flanked by similar narrow panels. The inscription to the south includes the names Thomas and Anne Page and the date 1779, but is heavily weathered and largely illegible.

The second tomb, dating to around 1756 with an additional inscription of 1785, is dedicated to John Tipper. Constructed from oolitic Cotswold limestone, it rests on a plain chamfered plinth with panel stones to the long sides featuring inset margins and moulded central fields. The top is flat with a cyma recta moulding all round. The ends have raised and fielded panels. The inscription to the south reads: "IN MEMORY OF / JOHN TIPPER WHO DIED / FEBRUARY YE 28 1756 AGED 55 / ALSO OF ELIZABETH HIS WIFE / WHO DIED MARCH YE 12 1785 AGED 71".

The third tomb, dating to around 1770, is dedicated to George Higgon, Richard Person, William Lane and others, with various later inscriptions. Made from oolitic Cotswold limestone, it comprises six separate upright panels, each with moulded edges and raised fields, topped by a heavy cyma recta moulded cornice to the flat top. All six panels are inscribed, though all inscriptions are weathered and partly illegible. The south panel reads: "IN MEMORY OF / WILLIAM LANE / WHO DIED JULY YE / ... AGED 70 YEARS / ALSO HIS CHILDREN / WILLIAM LANE / JOHN LANE / ... LANE". The second panel states: "NEAR THIS PLACE LIETH / THE BODY OF GEORGE HIGGON DIED / ... 1777". The north and west panels carry weathered inscriptions to members of the Lane family. The east end reads: "IN MEMORY OF / RICHARD YE / SON OF THOMAS & / MARY PERSON / WHO DIED JUNE / YE 8TH 1770 / AGED 32 YEARS".

The fourth tomb, dating to around 1736, commemorates John Page. Built from oolitic Cotswold limestone, it has simply-panelled sides with insets to the long sides and moulded edges to the panels, topped by a flat cyma recta moulded slab. The north side carries an inscription to John Page who died in 1736.

The fifth tomb is a low chest tomb of the 18th century or earlier, constructed from sandstone on a limestone base. It has low, plain ashlar walls with a chamfered capping stone having a flat top. The west end carries a weathered inscription that is no longer legible.

Historical Context

The parish of Poulton was part of Wiltshire until 1844, when it was transferred to Gloucestershire. The parish church of St Michael existed from the 12th century. In 1337, Sir Thomas Seymour, lord of the manor of Poulton, founded and endowed a chantry in the parish church, and in 1348 constructed a chapel for five chaplains. In 1350, an agreement between Seymour and the king resulted in the majority of the manor and the advowson of Poulton being granted to the Priors and Canons of Sempringham (the Gilbertines). They founded the Priory of St Mary, a priory for canons only, adopting the chapel of 1348 as the priory church, dedicated to St Mary. In 1387, the priory took over the earlier chantry in the parish church. In 1389, Alice Seymour was granted licence to remove the remains of her ancestors from the parish church to the priory church, suggesting that the parish church may have been going out of use at this time.

Few records of the priory survive until the Dissolution. The priory was surrendered by the Bishop of Llandaff, then head of the order, and Thomas, Prior of Poulton, on 16 January 1539. At this point the house consisted only of the prior and two canons, each of whom received a pension at the surrender.

The priory church, which remained dedicated to St Mary, was used as the parish church from the Dissolution until it was replaced by a new church dedicated to St Michael, built further north within the new centre of the village in 1873. The priory churchyard of St Mary, which contains a large collection of chest tombs and headstones dating from the later 17th century to around 1873, was left in situ, and a new burial ground was created adjacent to the new church. The large number of grave markers and headstones was removed to the edges of the churchyard in the later 20th century, leaving only the larger tombs in place.