A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



Sir Gerard de L'Isle. Died about 1287. 

 Stowe-ninc-Churches. 



The Purbeck effigy of Sir Gerard de L'Isle, 

 executed in a truly grand style, is one of the 

 finest of its period in the kingdom. The life- 

 less attitude of the figure, cross-legged and 

 with the right hand upon the breast, and the 

 rare feature of closed eyes, is admirably ex- 

 pressed in an intractable material, the flowing 

 folds of the surcote, the details of the mail 

 hood, the long hauberk and the chausses being 

 executed with freedom and careful precision. 

 It is apparent that a subsidiary defence was 

 worn on the head under the mail hood, which 

 is tightened round the temples by an unusu- 

 ally wide fillet. The sword-belt, gigue and 

 cingulum are barred at intervals for the buckle 

 tongues, after the fashion of early effigies, the 

 sword being worn so far behind that the man 

 lies upon it, the chape only being visible, 

 indicating that the use of the weapon was 

 over. The peculiarity of closed eyes and the 

 unusual position of the sword occur again in 

 one of the outer figures in Purbeck marble 

 (unappropriated) on the north side of the 

 Round in the Temple church. Prick spurs 

 are worn, and the effigy is of an earlier time 

 than the assumed date of the death of De 

 L'Isle — 1287. This seems to bear out the 

 view that it was one of a sculptor's stock, 

 made some years before. The slab narrows 

 to the feet and was evidently made with the 

 view of forming the lid of a coffin to be 

 placed level with the pavement. 



Abbot Richard de London. Died 1295. 

 Peterborough Cathedral. 



The fifth abbatical effigy in order of time 

 lies fourth from the west end in the south 

 aisle of the choir. It is executed in full relief 

 upon a greatly mutilated slab of polished Pur- 

 beck marble, and represents an aged man, 

 bearded, bare-headed and with the tonsure. 

 The hair is conventionalized in a series of 

 small curls, the cheeks are sunk and the upper 

 lip has the remains of a moustache. The 

 figure is habited in an alb, stole and chasuble, 

 and about the neck is worn the amice. The 

 pastoral staff, now broken away, was supported 

 at the lower end by foliage. The mutilated 

 left hand carries the Gospels. Over the head 

 is a pointed trefoil canopy enriched above 

 with freely designed Early English foliage, 

 now much abraded. The extremity of the 

 right foot is broken away and the whole of 

 the left. The effigy reposes upon a Purbeck 

 marble tomb to which it does not appear to 

 belong, indeed the heavy quatrefoiled panels 

 which support the figure on the north side 

 are of a later date. The panel at the west 



end of the tomb is filled in with good Early 

 English foliage, and may possibly have formed 

 part of the original monument. 



Sir Nicholas de Cogenhoe. Died 1280. 

 Cogenhoe. 



The freestone cross-legged effigy of Sir 

 Nicholas de Cogenhoe lies upon a plain 

 coeval stone tomb, and the mail-clad figure 

 shows a slight advance in the more capacious 

 hood, the short surcote, and the small size 

 of the shield and its sculptured arms. The 

 head is still supported upon square and 

 lozengy pillows, in this case the lozenge 

 being below, and the coffin-lid shape of the 

 slab has nearly vanished. * 



De Cogenhoe built the nave and aisles of 

 the very interesting and beautiful church of 

 Cogenhoe, his arms occurring four times with 

 four other coats upon the capitals of the piers 

 of the arcade — very rare features for that 

 period. 



Sir John de Verdon. Died 1296. Brix- 

 worth. 



The mutilated and abraded cross-legged 

 effigy in Barnack rag of Sir John de Verdon, 

 in the historic church of Brixworth, was dis- 

 covered about 1868 built into an arched recess 

 in the south wall of the south transept where 

 it now lies. Although the defensive armour 

 represented is the same as has already been 

 noticed, this mail-clad figure presents an im- 

 provement in the treatment of the armour, as 

 well as a freer treatment in the art associated 

 with memorials of this character ; the figure 

 must be of the extreme end of the thirteenth 

 century. The head rests upon the usual two 

 pillows ; the legs from just below the knees 

 have been destroyed. 



With the exception of the figure of De 

 L'Isle, all the preceding military effigies are 

 represented as alert and drawing their swords, 

 and all wear mail mufflers continuous with 

 the sleeves of the hauberk. Out of these the 

 hand could be passed through a hole in the 

 palm, to be laced up in the immemorial way 

 still practised by modern Asiatics. 



SirWilliamdeGoldingham. Died 1296. 

 Rushton. 



The cross-legged effigy of Sir William de 

 Goldingham is the third of the polished Pur- 

 beck statues in the county, and is probably 

 from the same workshop as that of De L'Isle. 

 Thanks to the inflexible material the figure is 

 in the like fine preservation with those of De 

 Esseby and De L'Isle, and though generally 

 exhibiting the same military costume is some- 

 what later in character. The separate mail 



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