St Mary's Church
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St Mary's Church

Grafton Regis, South Northamptonshire Borough, Northamptonshire, England

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  • Get directions Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire, England
    Coordinates: 52.11544, -0.89310
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The original building on the site of St Mary the Virgin was built in the Norman times and is recorded as early as 1189. Very little remains of the original building as it has been extended, built up and generally tinkered with through the centuries. Sir John Woodville, great grandfather of Elizabeth Woodville, rose to the rank of Sheriff of Northampton and built the tower at the west end of the church. His altar tomb of freestone is St Mary's most important monument. Deeply incised in the alabaster top is the figure of a man in full armour, his head resting on a crested great helmet supported by two angels, and with his feet against a lion. The marginal inscription to the slab is in Latin and, translated, reads:

"Under the mercy of God, this stone covers under itself John Wydeville, who made the belltower; have mercy. O God, and as you have mercy grant help, O my God, and your Mother as well. Amen."



The adjacent altar tomb, also in the Gothic style, although without any inscription, appears to be of a similar age and is likely to be of another member of the Woodville family. The church contains many monuments erected in memory of the FitzRoys descended from Henry FitzRoy, son of Charles II by his mistress, Barbara Villiers.


The original building on the site of St Mary the Virgin was built in the Norman times and is recorded as early as 1189. Very little remains of the original building as it has been extended, built up and generally tinkered with through the centuries. Sir John Woodville, great grandfather of Elizabeth Woodville, rose to the rank of Sheriff of Northampton and built the tower at the west end of the church. His altar tomb of freestone is St Mary's most important monument. Deeply incised in the alabaster top is the figure of a man in full armour, his head resting on a crested great helmet supported by two angels, and with his feet against a lion. The marginal inscription to the slab is in Latin and, translated, reads:

"Under the mercy of God, this stone covers under itself John Wydeville, who made the belltower; have mercy. O God, and as you have mercy grant help, O my God, and your Mother as well. Amen."



The adjacent altar tomb, also in the Gothic style, although without any inscription, appears to be of a similar age and is likely to be of another member of the Woodville family. The church contains many monuments erected in memory of the FitzRoys descended from Henry FitzRoy, son of Charles II by his mistress, Barbara Villiers.


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  • Added: 10 Mar 2014
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2533135