Chest tomb approximately 11 metres south east of chancel of Church of St Swithun is a Grade II listed building in the Gloucester local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 December 1998. Chest tomb.
Chest tomb approximately 11 metres south east of chancel of Church of St Swithun
- WRENN ID
- second-stone-reed
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Gloucester
- Constituency
- Gloucester MP: Alex McIntyre (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 15 December 1998
- Type
- Chest tomb
- OS grid reference
- SO 813 170
- Coordinates
- 51.85148, -2.27179
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The chest tomb of Captain John Freeman is located approximately 11 metres southeast of the chancel of the Church of St Swithun in Hempsted, Gloucester. This tomb dates from the mid-17th century and commemorates an officer in the Royalist army. It is constructed from dressed and carved stone slabs. The cover slab features projecting moulded edges and is supported by slabs at each end, which are carved with projecting, foliated volutes and a central escutcheon in an oval, foliated frame relief. Each side slab has volutes carved in low relief at the ends.
On the south side slab, there is a Latin inscription that translates to: "Here lieth John Freeman, Captain of Horse, son of John Freeman, of Bushley, in the County of Worcester, Gentleman, pierced through by the stroke of a gunner's bullet at the siege of Gloucester, in the camp of the King." John Freeman is said to have been killed during a sortie by the Parliamentary defenders of the city in 1643, and it is believed that his funeral was attended by Charles I.
Local climate
Chest tomb approximately 11 metres south east of chancel of Church of St Swithun receives an average of 770 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 62% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 53% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Freeman Memorial, About 2 Metres South of Cox Memorial in Churchyard of Church of St Mary
- 2 Freeman Monument in the Churchyard Approximately 18 Metres North of North Transept to Church of the Holy Trinity
- 3 Freeman Memorial About 5 Metres North of Church of St Mary
- 4 Church of St Peter and St Paul, Group of 6 Chest Tombs and 8 Headstones South of the Church
- 5 Harwood Monument, in the Churchyard and 10 Metres South of Porch of Church of St Peter
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Nearby listed buildings
- Boundary Wall Between Churchyard of the Church of St Swinthin and Hempstead House
- Church of St Swithun
- War Memorial in St Swithun's Churchyard
- Hempsted House
- Church Farmhouse
- Village Cross (At Corner of Rea Lane)
- Newark House
- Llanthony Priory, Remains of Precinct Wall South of Outer Gatehouse
- Norfolk Buildings
- Llanthony Priory, Remains of Range on South Side of Inner Court