Photo. G.P. Heisch.
EFFIGY OF MAILED KNIGHT.[ToList]
Photo. G.P. Heisch.
THE TREHEARNE MONUMENT.[ToList]
The most conspicuous monument in the aisle is that of John Trehearne, servant to Queen Elizabeth and "Gentleman Portar" to James I. Flanked by two pilasters, carved in the Italian style, supporting a plainer canopy, the monument consists of three parts: first a plain base; then a plinth, on the front of which (in bas-relief) are the four children of the deceased in a kneeling posture; and, lastly, on the top of the tomb, the kneeling figures of Trehearne and his wife in the picturesque costume and ruff collars of the age. The principal figures are holding a tablet between them inscribed with a eulogistic epitaph in English, the moral of which is that if Trehearne's royal master could have retained his services, his heavenward progress would have been considerably delayed. The Vestry minute for 15th October, 1577 (quoted by Dr. Thompson), shows the deceased to have been a passive resister in the matter of tithes, for which he had to pay double in the long run. He died on 22nd October, 1618, and was buried the very next day. His wife died on 22nd January, 1645. She was followed by the eldest son on 22nd of August in the same year, and they were all buried in the one grave.
A door in the aisle communicates with the Chapel of St. John the Divine, at present used as a clergy vestry. Fortunately it has not shared the fate of the companion chapel of St. John the Baptist. Up to a quarter of a century ago it had been turned to account as a Magistrates' Court, and still retains the Royal Arms over the large pew erected for the purpose. This, with the iron safe and wooden cupboards set up against the walls, still gives the chapel some of the appearance of a Committee room, and helps to conceal some most interesting architectural features. A shaft had long been visible on the exterior which was thought to show signs of Saxon workmanship. This fragment, added to the known fact that the chapel was one of the oldest parts of the church, if not the oldest of all, has led to a fuller examination in recent years, revealing the outlines of three Norman arches in the inner walls, and still more recently the shafts of a wall-arcade on the eastern side, apparently indicating an apsidal termination.