The Parish Church of St. Peter, Titchfield
1300 Years in the Making
Historical Background
St Wilfrid arrived in Hampshire in about 680AD and built his church at Titchfield.
In Anglo-Saxon times, Titchfield was with little doubt a ‘minster’ church, an establishment responsible for the pastoral care of a wide area.
From the thirteenth century, the church was in the patronage of a powerful monastery. The size of the church reflects these factors.
In the thirteenth century, the chancel was lengthened to it present size, and in the first half of the fourteenth century a chapel was built on the south side of the chancel.
The south chapel (now called the Southampton Chapel) has undergone many vicissitudes. It was built in the first half of the fourteenth century. At the East end of the chapel is a monument to William de Pageham, who may have been associated with the construction of the chapel. The chapel is effectively a complete church equipped for the full rite with its own sedilia and piscina of attractive fourteenth-century design. The chapel was largely shut off from the rest of the church. The large arch to the South aisle dates from the nineteenth century. The chapel communicates with the chancel by a doorway (in which the hinges for the original heavy door may till be seen) and a two-bay arcade rising on a dwarf wall. The arcade is an attractive piece of fourteenth-century design with its clustered shafts, foliage capitals and wave-moulded arches. The capital of the central column, with four winged beasts, is especially worthy of attention. The windows of the chapel are plain with the characteristic fourteenth-century ogee arch. The roof of the chapel is ancient, with trussed rafters and tie-beams.
At the Dissolution, the chapel came into the hands of the Wriothesley family and became a mausoleum for the Earls of Southampton. At the end of the sixteenth century, the monument which now dominates the chapel was installed.
Subsequent ages have found it difficult to integrate this part of the church with the rest of the building, and it has effectively remained as a mausoleum, with the additional function since the last century of an organ-chamber. In 1905 there was an attempt to restore this part of the church as a chapel, but it was soon found impractical and it was abandoned in favor of the North aisle as a subsidiary chapel. Advantage has now been taken of this space by mounting a permanent exhibition of drawings, maps, plans, and photographs which illustrate the history and development of the parish and its church.
St. Peters Titchfield, A Guide to the History of Church and Parish , Michael Hare, 2017
The Southampton Chapel
The Abbot’s South Chapel is Re-Purposed
‘When the Dissolution of the Monasteries took place in the reign of Henry VIII, the Premonstratensian Abbey of Titchfield, founded A.D. 1232, with its possessions, was surrendered by John Sampson, Bishop of Thetford, and last abbot of Titchfield, to the king’s Commissioner on February 8, 1537 (old) 1538 (new) to Thomas Wriothesley. The King then by letters patent, dated December 30th of that year, granted the “site, circuit and precinct” of the Abbey to Thomas Wriothesley, created Earl of Southampton in 1547. With the monastery, he acquired the patronage of Titchfield church and the chapel on the south side of the chancel. This chapel was converted into the mausoleum for the Earls of Southampton and the result is the magnificent Wriothesley monument which now occupies this part of the church. A large vault was excavated immediately before the altar.’
Some Notes on Titchfield Church and Parish , Rev. C.E. Matthews. L.T. H., Vicar of Titchfield. p .7
‘The Southampton Monument in Titchfield Church is not only one of the finest of Elizabethan monuments, it is also better documented than many monuments of the period. We have not only the will of the second Earl leaving money for the erection of the monument but also a bond of two of the Earl’s executors signed by the sculptor.'
The Documentary Evidence for the Southampton Monument in Titchfield Church, Michael Hare 1978, p. 1
‘The tomb still occupies its original site and lies east and west in the centre of the chapel on the south side of the chancel in Titchfield Church. The style is that of the Renaissance of the Elizabethan type. The materials are alabaster and marble. The three recumbent effigies and four kneeling figures at the sides of the altar tomb are of alabaster.’
Possession/Ownership/Raison D’Etre for the Dynastic Burial Vault
Date of Vault Construction and Ownership
‘Most churches of medieval foundation contain burial vaults of one sort or another, and about a tenth of that number have purpose-built aisles or chapels attached which can be directly associated with chantry or mortuary use.’
If a lay rectorate is attached to the freehold of the manor then the freeholder was in legal possession of the chancel and could, if he chose, exercise his prerogative and create a vault of any dimension with the said chancel without fee, let or hinderance, or recourse to the incumbent.''
‘Such rights and appurtenances were passed on whenever the manor house changed hands.’
‘The Earls took this chapel as the family mortuary. A vault was made in the place once reserved for the relics of the Saints: below the altar. There and not under the monument are the remains of four Earls pickled in honey. The third Earl is thought by many to have been Shakespeare’s patron.'
St. Peter’s Church, Titchfield A Guide , author unknown, presumed Reverend Spurway, August 1946, p. 9
The date of the vault’s construction is unknown but can be reasonably placed between 1537-1581.
No documentation regarding its design or construction has been discovered to date.
In 1742, the Duke of Beaufort sold his moiety of the estate to Peter Delme, Esq of St George's, Hanover Square, Middx. Botley and the other manors remained in the hands of the Dukes of Portland until 1771 when the third Duke put them in the hands of trustees for sale.’HRO Summary of Wriothesley of Titchfield
The Portland Dukedom eventually became extinct and with it any local connection to Titchfield Parish. The Delme family finally abandoned Place House in 1781. The remains were purchased by the government in the early twentieth century and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the care of English Heritage.
Raison D’Etre for the Dynastic Burial Vault‘The raison d’être for the dynastic burial vault in early modern England was explained by the antiquary John Weever in the preface of his eloquent treatise of 1631, “It was usual in ancient times, and so it is in these our days, for persons of especial rank and quality to make their own tombs and monuments in their lifetime; partly, for that they might have a certain house - as the old saying is -whensoever they should be taken away by death out of their tenement, the world; and partly to please themselves, in beholding their dead countenance in marble. But most especially because they thought to preserve their memories from oblivion.” The construction of dynastic burial vaults, especially those associated with estate churches, were subterranean sepulchers expressive of wealth. Indeed, most trusted that these vaults would safeguard their remains until the day of resurrection itself, and they believed that their sepulchral monument would justly reflect the grandeur associated with their status in the world, however small that might have been.’Journal of the Church Monument Society, Vol XIV, Tombs fit for Kings: Some Burial Vaults of the English Aristocracy and Landed Gentry of the Period 1650-1850, Litten, J.,1999, pp. 104-105Possible Abbatial Interments
‘It is supposed that, upon the erection of the mansion, the bodies of the Abbots were removed to the Mortuary Chapel of Titchfield, as there are several coffins in the latter, of stone, bearing the pastoral staff, and none have been found in the ancient Chapel of the Abbey.’
Vault Interments/Parish Registers
See Timeline below for individual interments.
The Titchfield Registers begin recording in 1589; therefore, the date of the first Wriothesley vault interment predates the available register and is unconfirmed. The best guess would be 1574 when Jane Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton died and was interred in St. Peters. We can assume the vault was complete by at least 1581 when the 2nd Earl of Southampton was given a heralds funeral and interred in the chapel as directed in his last will, dated 29th June 1581, just three months before his death. (Will proved on 7 Feb 1582). To date, the last known interment, confirmed by the burial register, was March 1737.
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Titchfield Parish Register 1589-1634/©Titchfield History Society |
| Titchfield Parish Register 1634-1678/©Titchfield History Society |
Meet the Vicars of Titchfield 1302-2020
In 1231, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, gifted St. Peter's Church to the newly founded St. Mary’s Abbey to the north of the village. The canons were allowed, from 1283, to appoint one of themselves as vicar, and this relationship continued until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537. Few parishes can boast a longer running list of incumbents which begins in 1302 and continues uninterrupted to the present.
List of Vicars 1302-2019, Parish Church of St. Peter, Titchfield, Hampshire
Guide Book/Parish Church of St. Peter, Titchfield, Hampshire, UK
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1574 |
Vault Interment Jane Wriothesley née Cheney, Countess of Southampton d. 15 Sep 1574, buried 1574 Complete Peerage and the will of 2nd Earl of Southampton. Interment predates known Parish Register. |
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1581 |
Vault Interment Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton d. 4 Oct 1581, Ytchel (Itchel), Hants, buried 30 Nov 1581 Will dated 29 Jun 1581, proved on 7 Feb 1582/3. Interment predates known Parish Register. COD He died on 4 October 1581 at Itchel in the parish of Crondall, Hampshire, aged thirty-six, and was buried on 30 November at Titchfield, after a lavish funeral, costing over £138. The Will of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton “I bequeth my body to be buried in the chapel of the parish church of Titchell, co. Southampton, where my mother lies interred; … Also two faire Monuments there to be made, the one for my Lorde my Father (whose bodye I woulde have thether to be broughte and buried), and my Ladye my Mother; the other for mee, with portraitures of white alabaster or such lyke uppon the said Monuments; and I will to be bestowed thereuppon one Thousande poundes by my foresaide Executors.” (Excerpt from the will of the 2nd Earl of Southampton, The National Archives, PROB 11/34/154, 29 June 1581, proved 7 Feb 1582) |
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c.1581 |
Reinterment Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton d. 30 Jul 1550, buried 3 Aug 1550, St Andrews, Holborn, reinterred PCSPT n.d. Source: Complete Peerage and as directed by the will of the 2nd Earl of Southampton. Interment predates known Parish Register. COD 28 June 1550 he was allowed for reasons of health to retire to Titchfield. He was too ill to travel, however, and on 30 July 1550 he died at his London home, Lincoln House in Holborn, which he had obtained by exchange with Warwick. According to Ponet, ‘fearing least he should come to some open shamfull ende, he either poisoned himself, or pyned awaye for thought’ (Ponet, sig. Iiiiv). The fact that he was repeatedly ill of a quartan fever suggests that he may have been a consumptive, possibly the cause of death. He was buried in St Andrew's Church, Holborn, on 3 August, but his body was later removed to Titchfield. His will, dated 21 July 1550, was proved on 14 May 1551. |
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1607 |
Vault Interment Mary Wriothesley née Browne, Countess of Southampton d. 4 Nov 1607, Copt Hall, Epping, Essex, buried 16 Nov 1607 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 18, will directing burial at Titchfield, 22 Apr 1607 |
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1609 |
Vault Interment Mabell Sandys née Wriothesley, da. of the 1st Earl of Southampton Buried 26 Feb 1609/10 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 25 |
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1615 |
Vault Interment Lady Mary Wriothesley, da. of 3rd Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Vernon Buried 10 Jan 1615, age 4 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 21 |
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1624 |
Vault Interment James Wriothesley d. 5 Nov 1624, Roosendaal, Netherlands, buried 28 Dec 1624 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 23 |
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1624 |
Vault Interment Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton d. 10 Nov 1624, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, buried 28 Dec 1624 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 23 |
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1635 |
Vault Interment Charles Wriothesley, s. of 4th Earl of Southampton & Rachel de Massue b. 6 Jun 1635, d. 20 Nov 1635, buried PCSPT The Complete Peerage, Note: Portland Manuscript, Vol. ii, p. 127 |
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1639 |
Vault Interment Rachel Wriothesley née de Massue, Countess of Southampton d. 16 Feb 1639/40, buried 26 Feb 1639/40 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 6 Note: Funeral Certificate in PRO has her buried at Titchfield on 24 Feb 1639/40 |
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1643 |
Vault Interment Wriothesley, da. of 4th Earl of Southampton & Rachel de Massue Burial Register identifies her as The Lady Maudlin, buried 7 Dec 1643 |
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1649 |
Vault Interment Penelope Wriothesley, da. of 4th Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Leigh Buried 7 Apr 1649 |
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1655 |
Vault Interment Penelope Wriothesley, da. of 4th Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Leigh Buried 8 May 1655 |
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Vault Interment Elizabeth Wriothesley née Vernon, Countess of Southampton d. AFT 23 Nov 1655, buried n.d. Not in PCSPT Burial Register, date of interment not confirmed |
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1660 |
Vault Interment Audrey Wriothesley, da. of 4th Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Leigh d. 12 Oct 1660, buried 17 Oct 1660 |
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1667 |
Vault Interment Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton d. 16 May 1667, London, buried 18 Jun 1667 Titchfield Parish Register, p. 14, Funeral Certificate at the College of Arms |
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1680 |
Vault Interment Elizabeth Wriothesley Noel (Countess of Gainsborough) d. 8 Feb 1680, buried PCSPT Titchfield Parish Register |
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1737 |
Vault Interment Elizabeth Bentinck née Noel, Duchess Dowager of Portland da. of Wriothesley Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough and Catherine Noel Buried 19 Mar 1737 Titchfield Parish Register, Note: Wife of Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland |
Southampton Chapel, Monument
& Vault Interment Timeline
1231
Founding of the Premonstratensian Monastery
In 1231 Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, chose Titchfield as the site of the Premonstratensian Monastery which he intended to found. The monastery was sited about half a mile to the north of the town. Peter gave to the monastery the church of Titchfield together with its chapels and substantial income. As a general rule medieval monasteries were not concerned with pastoral work in the surrounding areas, but Premonstratensians were perhaps the principal exception to this rule.
1283-2020
In 1283 the canons of Titchfield were given the right of nominating one of their own body as vicar, and from this time up to the Dissolution, the vicars became abbots of the monastery.
1537
Dissolution
At the Dissolution in 1537, Titchfield Abbey was granted by Henry VIII to a subordinate of Thomas Cromwell called Thomas Wriothesley, who was later created Earl of Southampton. With the monastery he acquired the patronage of Titchfield church and the chapel on the South side the chancel. This chapel was converted into the mausoleum for the Earls of Southampton and the result is the magnificent Wriothesley monument which now occupies this part of the church.
From the Dissolution to the nineteenth century, the huge area of the parish of Titchfield was served by a single vicar, sometimes assisted by a curate. Finally, in the nineteenth century, the vastly increased population of the outlying parts of the parish made new arrangements necessary. Between 1837 and 1933 the parish of Titchfield was divided into six separate parishes, the following new parishes being created: Sarisbury with Swanwick (1837), Crofton (1871), Hook with Warash (1872), Lock’s Heath (1893), and Lee-on-the-Solent (1930). The old mother parish is still the largest in extent, covering an area of about 7 1/2 miles.
circa 1570
Construction of the Wriothesley/Southampton Sepulchre
1574
Interment/Titchfield
Jane Wriothesley née Cheney, Countess of Southampton
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Interment predates know Titchfield Parish Register
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Interment predates know Titchfield Parish Register
1581 November 30
Interment/Titchfield
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton
d. 4 Oct 1581,Ytchel (Itchel), Hants, buried 30 Nov 1581
Will dated 29 Jun 1581, proved on 7 Feb 1582/3
Died on 4 October 1581 at Itchel in the parish of Crondall, Hampshire, aged thirty-six, and was buried on 30 November at Titchfield, after a lavish funeral, costing over £138.
Excerpt from the Will of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton:
I bequeth my body to be buried in the chapel of the parish church of Titchell, co. Southampton, where my mother lies interred . . . Also two faire Monuments there to be made, the one for my Lorde my Father (whose bodye I woulde have thether to be broughte and buried), and my Ladye my Mother; the other for mee, with portraitures of white alabaster or such lyke uppon the said Monuments; and I will to be bestowed thereuppon one Thousande poundes by my foresaide Executors.
Excerpt from the Will of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton:
I bequeth my body to be buried in the chapel of the parish church of Titchell, co. Southampton, where my mother lies interred . . . Also two faire Monuments there to be made, the one for my Lorde my Father (whose bodye I woulde have thether to be broughte and buried), and my Ladye my Mother; the other for mee, with portraitures of white alabaster or such lyke uppon the said Monuments; and I will to be bestowed thereuppon one Thousande poundes by my foresaide Executors.
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Interment predates know Titchfield Parish Register.
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Interment predates know Titchfield Parish Register.
circa 1581
Interment/Titchfield
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
d. 30 Jul 1550, buried 3 Aug 1550, St Andrews, Holborn, reinterred Parish Church of St. Peter, Titchfield n.d.
He was buried in St Andrew's Church, Holborn, on 3 August, but his body was later removed to Titchfield.
His will, dated 21 July 1550, was proved on 14 May 1551.
Cause of death:
28 June 1550 he was allowed for reasons of health to retire to Titchfield. He was too ill to travel, however, and on 30 July 1550 he died at his London home, Lincoln House in Holborn, which he had obtained by exchange with Warwick. According to Ponet, ‘fearing least he should come to some open shamfull ende, he either poisoned himself, or pyned awaye for thought’ (Ponet, sig. Iiiiv). The fact that he was repeatedly ill of a quartan fever suggests that he may have been a consumptive, possibly the cause of death.
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Reinterment predates known Titchfield Parish Register
His will, dated 21 July 1550, was proved on 14 May 1551.
Cause of death:
28 June 1550 he was allowed for reasons of health to retire to Titchfield. He was too ill to travel, however, and on 30 July 1550 he died at his London home, Lincoln House in Holborn, which he had obtained by exchange with Warwick. According to Ponet, ‘fearing least he should come to some open shamfull ende, he either poisoned himself, or pyned awaye for thought’ (Ponet, sig. Iiiiv). The fact that he was repeatedly ill of a quartan fever suggests that he may have been a consumptive, possibly the cause of death.
Reinterment predates known Titchfield Parish Register
1594 May 6
Bond by Garret Johnson/HRO 5M53/262, 6 May 1594
Monument Bond by Garret Johnson of St. Saviour, Southwark, tombmaker and Nicholas his son, to Edward Gage and Ralph Hare, the executors of Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, to observe conditions of a deed of covenant.
The bond also tells us that the monument was not begun until 1594, thirteen years after the second Earl's death. This delay is doubtless a result of the difficulties caused by the Earl’s will. The heraldry on the tomb also provides some evidence of date. This evidence confirms that the monument was erected after 1585, for there is a shield in which the arms of Arundel of Wardour impale Wriothesley, resulting from the marriage in June 1585 of Mary, the only daughter of the second Earl, to Sir Thomas Arundel. A large monument such as the Southampton monument could take two or more years to make, but it would seem to have been finished by 1598. The third Earl married in that year, but the sinister half of the shield carrying the arms of the third Earl is left blank.’
‘The amount of one thousand pounds bequeathed for the erection of the monument and for the remodelling of the chapel was a vast sum by contemporary standards. In fact the full scheme was never carried out. In place of the two monuments prescribed in the will, only one was erected with three effigies. There is no indication that any remodelling or redecoration of the fourteenth century chapel, in which the monument stands, was attempted. The bond is signed by Garat Jhonson (sic) and N Johnsonn, and the witnesses are William Chamberlene, John Sewyll (?), and Richard Hall servant to Henry Alyson Senior. It should be stressed that this document is not the contract to make the monument; it is a bond in the sum of £300 to perform the contract, the contract being the “payre of Indentures” to which reference is made. The contract itself does not seem to have survived.’
'The bond gives us an indication of the cost of the monument. A bond might well be for a larger sum than the actual contract, but it is likely that the cost fell within the range £150-£300. A figure in this range seems reasonable when we compare the two large wall monuments erected by Garret in 1591 at Bottesford in Leicestershire at a cost of £100 each. The full amount of £1000 bequeathed by the second Earl was not spent, and this again is doubtless a reflection of the difficulties presented by the will.
1607 November 16
Interment/Titchfield
Mary Wriothesley née Browne, Countess of Southampton
d. 4 Nov 1607, Copt Hall, Epping, Essex, buried 16 Nov 1607
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Titchfield Parish Register 1589-1634/Transcript/©Titchfield History Society/p. 54
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Will directing burial at Titchfield, 22 Apr 1607/ National Archives PROB 11/110/388
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Will/National Archives PROB 11/110/388/Modern spelling transcript copyright ©2010 Nina Green All Rights Reserved http://www.oxford-shakespeare.com
1609 February 26
Interment/Titchfield
Mabell Sandys née Wriothesley, da. of the 1st Earl of Southampton
Buried 26 Feb 1609/10
1615 January 10
Interment/Titchfield
Lady Mary Wriothesley, da. of 3rd Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Vernon
Buried 10 Jan 1615, age 4
1624 December 28
Interment/Titchfield
James Wriothesley, Son & Hier of Henry Wriothesley, 3EoS
d. 5 Nov 1624, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, buried 28 Dec 1624
1624 December 28
Interment/Titchfield
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (1573-1624)
d. 10 Nov 1624, Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, buried 28 Dec 1624
1635 November 25
Interment/Titchfield
Charles Wriothesley, Son of 4th Earl of Southampton & Rachel de Massue
b. 6 Jun 1635, d. 20 Nov 1635
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Titchfield Parish Register 1634-1678/Transcript/©Titchfield History Society/p.7
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Complete Peerage
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Portland Manuscript, Vol. ii, p. 127
1639 February 26
Interment/Titchfield
Rachel Wriothesley née de Massue, Countess of Southampton, first wife of the 4th Earl of Southampton
d. 16 Feb 1639/40, buried 26 Feb 1639/40
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Funeral Certificate in HRO has her buried at Titchfield on 24 Feb 1639/40
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Titchfield Parish Register 1634-1678/Transcript/©Titchfield History Society/p.23
1643 December 7
Interment/Titchfield
M. Wriothesley, daughter of 4th Earl of Southampton & Rachel de Massue
Burial Register identifies her as The Lady Maudlin, buried 7 Dec 1643
1649 April 7
Interment/Titchfield
Penelope Wriothesley, daughter of the 4th Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Leigh (second wife)
1655 May 8
Interment/Titchfield
Penelope Wriothesley, daughter of the 4th Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Leigh
Buried 8 May 1655
After 1655 23 November
Interment/Titchfield
Elizabeth Wriothesley née Vernon, Countess of Southampton, wife of 3rd Earl of Southampton
d. after 23 Nov 1655, buried n.d.
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Interment was not registered in the Titchfield Burial Register
1660 February 26
Interment/Titchfield
Audrey Wriothesley, daughter of 4th Earl of Southampton & Elizabeth Leigh
d. 12 Oct 1660, buried 17 Oct 1660
1667 June 18
Interment/Titchfield
Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton
d. 16 May 1667, London, buried 18 Jun 1667
1680
Interment/Titchfield
Elizabeth Wriothesley Noel (Countess of Gainsborough), daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton and Rachel de Massue. From May 1661, her married name became Noel.
d. 8 Feb 1680
1719
Early Description of the Southampton Chapel by William Pavey
This document includes a detailed description of the church, chapel, and Southampton monument, including the detailed inscriptions.
‘Under the Oratory, which was built (as well as the tomb) by Henry E. of Southampton Son of that Lord Chancellor for a Channtry to sing Requiem for his and his fathers souls is a large Vault where lie the bodyes abovementioned either wrapt up in lead or in leaden coffins purporting by little inscriptive plates who they were and when they dyed.’
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1737 March 19
Interment/Titchfield
Elizabeth Bentinck née Noel, Duchess Dowager of Portland, daughter of Wriothesley Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough and Catherine Noel/Wife of Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland
Buried 19 Mar 1737
1839-1840
Early Paintings of the Southampton & Lady Mary Wriothesley Monuments
Artist R.H.C. Ubsdell sketches the Wriothesley tomb and “acquires a new patron, Sir Frederic Madden [1801-1873] who was intent on the same quest of inspecting the tombs.” Madden was Keeper of the Dept. of MSS at the British Museum and knighted at 32 yrs, in 1833. Between 1840 and 1846 Ubsdell walked the length and breadth of Hampshire. As a by-product he painted over 100 watercolours of the Hampshire churches he passed on his travels. These he sold to the Bishop of Winchester and Sir Frederic Madden.
1848
Testimony on the State of Preservation of the Southampton Monument
‘The tomb is not in a good state of preservation; it is so mutilated and injured as to grieve any one who views it.
‘Four pillars are at the corners, which used to have ornaments gilded at the top - these are now gone; the banner of the Earl used to hang on the south wall of the chapel - this is now gone; the helmet and iron gloves were also there - they have been also removed. The banner was much torn and decayed when I copied it, about twelve years ago, and was hanging in silken rags. The three coronets are also much more damaged than when I made my first drawings of this work. I think some of the crests, black bulls coroneted, which were on litter shafts at the corners, are also missing; they are all loose.
‘Indeed, the whole monument requires restoration, and I assure you it is well worthy of it.’
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Ubsdell, R.H.C., personal correspondence, The Journal of the British Archaeological Association,
Vol. III, 'Proceedings of the Association', p.122, London: Henry Bohn, 1848.
1848
Tomb Opened
‘This tomb has been opened of late years, and the coffins were all there; the hair was on one of the figures exceedingly perfect.’
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The Journal of the British Archaeological Assoc., Vol III, 1848, pp. 122-3
1866
Organ Placed in Chapel
‘The organ (1866) is placed against the south wall of this chapel, which contains the celebrated Southampton Monument and vault.’
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Some Notes on the Church of S. Peter, Titchfield, 1917, Rev. E.C. Matthews, L.Th. Vicar of Titchfield, p. 5
1872
Proper Custody and Preservation: A Parliamentary Directive
‘In accordance with a request preferred by Mr. Layard when First Commissioner of Works, the Society of Antiquaries, through a special committee appointed for the purpose, have caused to be drawn and submitted to Parliament (the return having only recently been printed) “a list of such regal and other historical tombs or monuments existing in cathedrals, churches, and other public places and buildings as, in their opinion, it would be desirable to place under the protection and supervision of the Government, with a view to their proper custody and preservation.”’
Listed among other monuments is:
‘Titchfield, St. Peter’s - Recumbent effigy in alabaster of Sir Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, Lord Chancellor, ob. 1550.’
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Hampshire Advertiser, Local Sepulchral Monuments, 10 July 1872, p. 2
1888
A Description of the Southampton Monument by B.W. Greenfield
'Upon this magnificent tomb, one of the most interesting historical monuments in the country, and - certainly - in this county, “decay’s effacing fingers” and, worse, the wanton hand of the destroyer have set their mark. The golden coronet that encircled the head of the Countess is broken and part of it gone. The four heraldic cognizances at the corner of the slab on which her figure rests are mutilated and loosened on their sockets. The spiked balls that were on the top of the four obelisks are no longer there. The horns of the eight representations of the bull’s head are all gone, with the exception of one, and gold crowns that surrounded the horns either broken or missing. The heraldic tinctures on the four shields in the panels on the flanks of the alter tomb are almost obliterated; so likewise are the tinctures on the four large sculptured shields at the head and foot of the alter tomb, and were it not that the quarterings upon them are sculptured in relief the charges could not be distinguished. The brilliance of the emblazoned shields and the spender of the second Earl’s suit of plate armor have departed. Such is the effect of decay, neglect, and ill-usage. Steps ought to be taken to preserve this historic monument, this gem of sculptor’s art, from further dilapidation. The Dukes of Bedford and Portland, who are direct descendants of the last Earl of Southampton, and are, it is presumed, the inheritors of his vast estates and wealth, would doubtless be ready to incur the cost of restoring it; and were the matter brought to their notice we may reasonably hope that they would not be willing to subject themselves to the reproach of neglect. The Society for the Preservation of Memorials of the Dead, of which the Earl of Northesk is President, might also be brought to use its influence to rescue this superb example of art from the waste of time and the demon of destruction. The craftsmen who wrought it have long since passed away, yet their glorious work remains though disjointed, blurred, and shorn of the majesty of its beauty, but still full of historic interest, and it may be not without its moral teaching.’
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The Wriothesley Tomb, Titchfield HANTS: Its Monumental Effigies and Heraldry, B.W. Greenfield, F.S.A., Barrister-at-Law, p.81
1899
Vault Opened
‘He had an account furnished on undoubted authority - Mr. Gough, formerly a schoolmaster there - of the opening of the tomb, undertaken for family reasons, some years ago, and which it would be interesting to refer to now in connection with “the Druce Mystery”, as the tomb belonged to the Duke of Portland, who was descended from the Wriothesleys in the female line, his son bearing the title of Viscount Titchfield. The coffins were opened, and the bodies were found to be embalmed, the features being distinct. When the authorities were satisfied, the coffins were re-closed and soldered down, the entrance to the tomb was bricked up, and has not been since disturbed.’
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The Hampshire Advertiser, Issue #5522, Hampshire Field Club, Visit to Burlesdon and Titchfield, 13 May 1899, p. 7
1903
Monument Restoration - Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, 1903 - 1906
At a vestry meeting dated 14 April 1903, it is minuted that, ‘The Vicar mentioned in detail the various steps he had been able to take with Lord Montagu of Beaulieu & others, for the restoration of the tomb of the Earls of Southampton, which he hoped to be able to bring to a successful issue. He was instructed by the Vestry to thank Lord Montagu of Beaulieu for the steps he had taken in the matter. At a meeting on 5 April 1904, The restoration of the tomb not having begun the Vicar was instructed to write to Lord Montagu of Beaulieu & ask him to push the matter forward’. On 2 March 1905, ‘it was further unanimously resolved to ask the Vicar to write to Lord Montagu of Beaulieu & thank him for the part he had taken in the restoration of the tomb of the Earls of Southampton and to suggest to him that the restoration should be completed by the recolouring of the figures, and further that the tomb of the child on the South wall should be restored’. It’s not clear whether the recolouring was carried out, but at a meeting on 17 April 1906 the vicar ‘most gratefully thanked all who had in any way assisted in the completion of this work [the construction of the new vestry] and also in the restoration of the Earl of Southampton’s Tomb & Chapel.”
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Vestry Minutes of the Parish Church of St. Peter, Titchfield
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