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The Monuments
THE MONUMENTS were badly damaged, but thanks to the zeal
of the architect, Mr. W. Godfrey, they were mostly saved and
restored. Among those commemorating the great families who
lived in Chelsea and the most notable are:
Dacre
On the South side is the Dacre Monument (1595) to Gregory
Fiennes, Lord Dacre of the south, and his wife Ann Sackville,
who inherited the Chelsea properties of Sir Thomas More and
founded the Emanuel Charity which now supports a boys' Grammar
School in Battersea.
Northumberland
The mutilated tomb (1555) in the S.E. corner of the More Chapel
commemorates Jane Guildford, Duchess of Northumberland, who
was the mother-in-law of Lady Jane Grey, the mother of Queen
Elizabeth's favourite Leicester, and the grandmother of Sir
Philip Sidney.
More
The monument to Sir Thomas More (1532) stands in the Sanctuary
against the South wall. The inscription was composed by Sir
Thomas More himself, commemorating his first wife and expressing
the wish that he and his second wife should be buried in the
same tomb. He was beheaded in 1535; his head is known to be
in Canterbury. Unsubstantiated tradition states that his daughter,
Margaret Roper, brought his body to Chelsea for burial at
the Old Church.
Bray
On the North side of the Chancel in a recess is the tomb of
Sir Edmund, first Lord Bray (1539) and heir to the Sir Reginald
Bray who was Master of Works to Henry VII and in charge of
the building of Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster and St.
George's Chapel at Windsor.
Hungerford
Above is the Hungerford Monument(1581),a family monument very
similar to that of Sir Thomas Lawrence in the North Chapel.
Lawrence
Sir Thomas Lawrence, Goldsmith and Merchant Adventurer of
the City of London, is commemorated (1593) in his chapel.
Colvile
His eldest daughter, Sara Colvile, is also commemorated there
(1632), and is depicted rising in her grave clothes from the
tomb.
Stanley
At the East end of the Lawrence Chapel is the monument (1632)
to Sir Robert Stanley, son-in-law of Sir Arthur Gorges, whose
brass is in the North wall of the More Chapel.
Jervoise
Within the West arched entrance of the Lawrence Chapel is
the triumphal arch (1563) commemorating Richard Jervoise.
Cheyne
On the North side of the Nave is the memorial to Lady Jane
Cheyne (1669), daughter of the Duke of Newcastle, and a great
benefactor to this Church and the village of Chelsea. The
memorial is the work of an Italian artist Bernini.
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