'Under this stone , reader survey
Dead Sir John Vanbrugh's house of clay
Lie heavy on him, earth, for he
Laid many heavy loads on thee''Mad Jack' Fuller, a Sussex MP, had a pyramid made for his tomb, had himself embalmed, and dress
ed in full evening dress, and seated inside the pyramid. Frances Dashwood had his garden set out in the form of a nude woman. His mausoleum built of flint and stone was an hexagonal shape. Open to the sky it dominated the hill top site of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.
Many graveyards contain all kinds of flamboyancy, elaboration and decoration in tomb styles, some extremely spectacular - seen especially in London's very famous Highgate Cemetery ( so well maintained these days by the many friends of this renowned resting place.) Highgate has thousands of graves and monuments, some of the structures being three storeys high.
Common symbols used are the globe which stands for immortality; the serpent swallowing its own tail which represents eternity; the hour glass signifying time and the open book standing for both memory and knowledge. In the Cotswolds there was much use of the local stone which was easy to carve. St Mary's graveyard at Painswick has a trail walk to look around the magnificent array of marvellous architecture. There are ornate lyre-ended table tombs, fat-cheeked cherubs, bearded figures of time, women with mourning scarves and elegant circular and hexagonal tombs.
The industrial revolution brought about many headstones featuring various engines whilst seaside town cemeteries have carvings of sea-faring affairs. A stone at Warblington in Hampshire shows smoke coming from HMS 'Torbay' lost in an explosion in Portsmouth harbour.
Richard Parker, died after enduring 19 days in an open boat in the tropics. The yacht 'Mignonette' on which he served, was wrecked. The biblical words 'Though he slay me yet will I trust him' and 'Lay not this sin to their charge' tell us the real story behind this unfortunate cabin boy's death for in fact he had been killed and eaten by his own fellow crewmen.
The Hagger family of Barley in Hertfordshire (in common with numerous aristicratic families) always buried their own dead. The Haggers buried their dead in their fields many of the sites now ploughed over - a business which has unearthed urns, obelisks, sarcophagi and plinths.
It is rare to see all these features on one tomb, yet one at Burton Lazarus Churchyard in Leicestershire has them all. There used to be leper colony there in the middle ages. One of the graves is a pedestal decorated with panels and on top of this is a stone sarcophagus on scrolled feet. This has stone orbs circled by serpents. Above them are winged angels in ovoid panels. There is a pierced pyramidal obelisk on four balls and under its arched base is an urn and another urn in an oval through the centre of the pyramid. Draped figures are on either side with rich carving on their faces. This wonderful creation is topped with yet another stone ball.
Quite often the Stately homes have places where animals are buried, nearby Normanby Hall being a local example. Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennards had a neatly laid out burial ground at Belhus in Essex - the plots created just for animals. He even held funeral services for dogs, cats and horses, conducted by the Vicar at Aveley. A footman carried the little coffins (in the case of small animals) with Sir Thomas dressed in a long white gown and the Vicar following. After the service the usual graveside ceremony also took place.
Next week in Part 14 - Fishmonger's Epitaph
