St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford - Part 2

In Part 2 we will have a look at some of the magnificent tombs and monuments for the Earls of Rutland and Barons de Roos which are located in the chancel area of the church.

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 the chancel of St Mary's was used as a burial place for the Rutland family and some monuments were brought to the church from Belvoir Priory and Croxton Abbey. Burials continued at the church until a mausoleum was built in 1828 at Belvoir.

Its taken a bit of time to match my photos with names in the church guide but hopefully they are all correct.



Robert de Roos, 1st Baron de Roos - Effigy and Heart Stone, 1285

This small Purbeck Marble effigy was brought from Croxton Abbey and it depicts a knight from the late 13th century. It is accompanied by a plaque or "Heart Stone" also brought from the Abbey. Robert de Roos heart was buried at the Abbey after his death in Yorkshire on 13th May 1285 while his body was interred at Kirkham. (Sorry not the best of photos it was in a difficult position to get a decent picture)

This effigy is just entitled "A Woman c1310"

The effigy was brought from Belvoir Priory again at the Dissolution. Originally it had a base chest bearing the de Roos emblem but this no longer exists. The clothes she is wearing suggest a date of 1310 to 1320 and it may commemorate Maud (or Matilda)de Roos, who was wife of William, 2nd Baron de Roos and son of Robert (seen in the effigy above)

Sir William 7th Baron de Roos KG, died 1414

The tomb is alabaster and was brought from Belvoir Priory. Sir William is dressed in armour with a peacock by his head. Unfortunately I failed to take a photo of the base chest which has weeping angels with spikey wings and shields which may be the work of the Chellaston school of sculptors from Derbyshire. This was one of the last tombs I photographed and I had told D who had left I would only be 10 minutes (I was nearly half an hour!!).

John, 8th Baron de Roos, died 1421

Again the photos aren't brilliant as there were so many items in the way but I did find a photo D had taken which was much better.

Another tomb brought from Belvoir Priory. John was the son of William (see above)

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Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, died 1543, and Countess Eleanor, died 1551.

This tomb made of alabaster marks the first of the burial in St Mary's of eight Earls and four Dukes over a period of nearly 250 years. The Earl wears mail and full plate armour and the mantle of The Order of the Garter. At his feet is a hornless unicorn. Countess Eleanor's feet rest on a griffon. The base chest shows "weepers" possibly children of the family.

Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, died 1563, and Countess Margaret, died 1560.

An unusual tomb where effigies of the Earl and Countess lie beneath a decorated table. The Earl is wearing a coronet and again at his feet is a hornless unicorn. Countess Margaret is wearing a coronet and ermine trimmed mantle with her head resting on a scroll with a lion at her feet.Following the death of Countess Margaret the earl married again to Bridget who lived until 1600. The three kneeling figures are the children of Henry and Margaret - Edward, Elizabeth and John.

Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, died 1587 and Countess Isabel

This alabaster tomb was made by Gerard Johanssen - a Flemish craftsman. Earl Edward is wearing full plate armour with the Order of the Garter and Isabel wears a ruff and an ermine trimmed mantle. Their daughter Elizabeth kneels at their feet and she married William Cecil, grandson of Lord Burleigh (High Treasurer of England) when she was only 13 and bore a child at the young age of 15. Sadly she died aged 15. The details on some of the clothing on the effigies really are rather beautiful.

John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland, died 1588 and Countess Elizabeth.

This tomb was again made by Gerard Johanssen. John died only 10 months after Edward's death. The Earl and Countess had nine children (5 sons and 4 daughters) with two dying in infancy. Effigies of the surviving children (4 boys and 3 girls) surround the tomb although one has apparently disappeared.

I haven't been able to find a photo of the tomb of Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland, died 1612 and Countess Elizabeth who died the same year so we move on now to what is called "The Witchcraft Tomb"

Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland died 1632 and Countesses Frances and Cecilia died 1653

The height of this tomb meant the roof of the chancel had to be raised. Earl Francis lies between Countess Frances and Countess Cecilia. The Earl is shown in court dress plus the garter and mantle of the Order. Countess Frances had one daughter Katherine and died in 1608 only four years after their marriage. She is wearing Elizabethan dress. Countess Cecilia who was a widow married the earl in 1608 and they had two sons Henry and Frances who both died young. Her effigy is wearing Carolean clothes. Katherine is at one end of the tomb and the two sons from the second marriage at the other. The sons carry skulls as symbols of their early and untimely deaths.

Part of the tomb's inscription includes the following words "In 1608 he married Lady Cecilia Hungerford...... by whom he had two sons, both who died in their infancy by wicked practice and sorcerye". The "witches" concerned were arrested for their alleged parts in the death of the sons and were sent to Lincoln for trial. One Joan Flowers died on the journey but her two daughters were executed in 1618. A sad story of less enlightened times.

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George Manners, 7th Earl of Rutland, died 1641

A romanesque tomb with the effigy standing and wearing Roman clothes. The Earl's wife Countess Frances died in 1641. She was childless and denied a place on the monument. The tomb was probably made by Grinling Gibbons as it that of the 8th Earl.

John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland, died 1679 and Countess Frances, died 1671.

A white marble tomb with the effigies again in Romanesque style dress. They had 11 children and of the three sons only the 3rd survived becoming the 9th Earl and in 1703, the 1st Duke of Rutland.

The peacock altar frontal was created by Watts of London in memory of George and Win Johnson 2003.

The Chancel Arch contains the Arms of Queen Victoria and

above are the remains of a "doom" wall painting.

The final post on the day out will include the snowdrop displays at Easton Walled Gardens.


*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50 bridge camera
Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera


Reference: - For information on the church and tombs I am indebted to the Visitors Gide to St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford, Leicestershire

St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford, Leicestershire - Part 1

I have too many photos of the church at Bottesford and can't decide which to leave out so have decided to split the church visit into two posts - so apologies in advance for the detail and huge amount of pictures!! but it was a fascinating church and so much to see.

The church is located on the bank of the River Devon and it is likely a Saxon church stood on the site before the present church was constructed.

Arches and nailhead decorations which can be seen in the chancel area are the remains of the late 12th century church (1190-1220) when the Albini family were the Lords of Belvoir. In the mid 13th century the de Roos from Helmsley(whose estates included Kirkham Priory and Rievaulx Abbey) took the title.

In the early 14th century St Mary's was rebuilt and enlarged. The nave from the original church became the chancel and a new nave and the transepts were constructed. In the early 15th century there was another major rebuilding including the construction of the Perpendicular nave, south transept, aisles, tower and spire.

In the 100 Years War and The War of the Roses the de Roos supported the Lancastrian kings and after the Battle of Hexham Thomas Lord Roos was executed in 1464 by supporters of Edward IV. Belvoir via marriage passed to Sir George Manners and after the Dissolution tombs and monuments to 3 Baron de Roos and 8 Earls of Rutland and their Countesses were added to the chancel at St Mary's. Burials were also made in vaults including one under the high altar.

Restoration of the church under Canon Norman, Rector 1846-1889 took place in the 19th century and at the same time urgent repairs to the tower which was under imminent danger of collapse were carried out.

The 15th century tower has walls over 6 feet thick and supports the spire.

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We walked round the exterior of the church first. There are World War Two graves in the churchyard for airmen who died during accidents at nearby RAF Bottesford. I always find these graves so sad when you realise how young many of the men were.

I would have liked to explore the churchyard for longer but as already mentioned in the last post time was limited if we wanted to visit Easton Walled Gardens as well.

So just a few photos of tombs and gravestones.

When I saw these angels I remembered that I had read about "Belvoir Angels" in the past. There are a group of gravestones in the Vale of Belvoir and surrounding area carved from local Swithland slate (from the Charnwood Forest area) and these have a carved angel's head with wings representing the ascent of the deceased's soul into Heaven. The angels have curly hair and "ruffs" and the wings tend to point downwards. Some gravestones have two angels and these are often flanked by an hour glass and crossed bones. They date from the period 1690 - 1759 and many in the Vale are probably the work of one or two masons.

I didn't know any of the above at the time otherwise I would have looked more carefully for dates but to be honest I very much doubt that the examples below are proper "Belvoir Angels" as they look more angels/cherubs I have seen on many gravestones elsewhere. - perhaps Rosie from the Corners of My Mind could please advise me as I am sure I have seen them mentioned on her blog in the past.

The West Door with shields depicting the emblems of The Crucifixion and the Arms of Robert de Roos (note the money bags!)

When I first started to visit and explore churches I always failed to look up and this is a big mistake as you can miss so much.


A selection of Medieval grotesques and gargoyles around the exterior - I always wonder if any of these were based on real villagers or rectors?

This one is the Bellman

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Snowdrops

and an Ordnance Survey Bench Mark depicting the height above sea-level.

Church Interior

18th and 19th century hatchments to members of the Manners family.

"The Fair Maid of Normanton"

According to the church guide there are a number of theories concerning her identity. Firstly, she was a "flighty" member of the Belvoir household and in the past Dukes refused to allow the effigy inside the church. Secondly, it could be the effigy of a young lady who was hit on the head by a ball on Shrove Tuesday and fractured her head so badly that she died (it is said earwigs crawled out of her ears!). Thirdly, there is a record of a girl who was found dead nearby and was buried in 1597.

The octagonal font is 15th century with carved angels and flowers. It is supported by Tudor legs on a 13th or 14th century base.

Illustrating the importance of looking up! there are number of carvings between arcade arches in the nave. Some represent mythical creatures from the Medieval Bestiary, some are faces and others based on real animals. Creatures include the amphibaesta, the manticore, an ape, a dragon or wyvern, a lion, a snake-like creature or the medieval idea of a crocodile, dragons and wild men. Other carvings include a king, a bishop and angels. The allegorical carvings represent aspects of good and evil and would have carried a moral message to parishioners hundreds of years ago.

A wolf

A dragon?

I think this is a manticore, a mythical creature, with the body of a lion, the face of a man with sharp teeth and a tail with poisonous spiked barbs.

This I believe is an amphibaesta which is another mythical creature with two heads. Although I have to admit that D and I have had quite a disagreement about the identity of these few photos so if anyone can confirm please leave a comment.

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A lion

The de Roo Arms (with 3 water bags) above which is a Cap of Maintenance topped by a Peacock (crest of the Duke of Rutland)

A carving of an unknown king and a

bishop

Angels

The Saxon font was recovered from the Duke of Rutland's hospital garden in the 1930's where it was being used as a water trough. (I have lost count of the number of similar stories in church guides about fonts being either buried or used as troughs nearby!).

The Jacobean pulpit is finely carved oak and has the date 1631.

There were several pairs of hands protruding through the walls in the chancel which I found exceedingly spooky! John from the Stray Rambler blog in a discussion on Twitter has kindly given me more information. They appear to be a set of Funerary Helm and Gauntlets. The helmet which is missing should rest on the bracket above the gauntlets. Many thanks John and I have checked my photos and found a few more gauntlets but no helmets.

1905 organ (replacing at least two earlier ones) by T C Lewis

Stained Glass

East Window

If you have made it to the end of this thanks so much for reading such a lengthy post! In Part 2 I will post photos and information on the tombs and monuments in the chancel area and a few other features not mentioned above - hopefully there will be fewer photos!



*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50 bridge camera

Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera


Reference: Visitor Guide to St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford, Leicestershire.
Thanks again to The Stray Rambler