A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



and known as ' Almayne rivet.' The armour 

 generally is now of a lifeless and uninteresting 

 character, though no doubt that under notice 

 accurately represents a real suit. Chauncy's 

 rufF and heavy gold chains, the articulated 

 tuiles, and the method of suspending the 

 sword are very characteristic of the time, as is 

 also the dress of the lady — French hood, large 

 rufF, pleated stomacher, gold chains and 

 pomander. On the north side and west end 

 of the tomb are coats of arms of Chauncy and 

 Bustard, and round the verge of the tomb an 

 inscription to the effect that William Chauncy, 

 who deceased April 6th, 1585, and Joan 

 Bustard his wife, who died May 7th, 1571, 

 are here intombed. The alabaster tomb and 

 effigy of their son Sir Toby Chauncy, and 

 his two wives, born respectively Shelley and 

 Risley are counterparts of those of the father 

 and mother. Sir Toby died in 1607. 



At Rockingham are the greatly abraded 

 and mutilated effigies of Sir Edward Wat- 

 son died 16 1 6, and Ann his wife, born Digby. 

 It is clear that these were again counterparts 

 of those at Edgccott, and that none of them 

 have any pretension to be portrait statues. 



Sir John Spencer, died 1586, and Dame 

 Katherine his wife. Brington. 



In nearing the end of the sixteenth century, 

 the armour shown by the military effigies and 

 the costume of the ladies gradually tend to 

 deteriorate in artistic quality ; and in the 

 place of the simpler memorials of knights of 

 Gothic times, with their highly interesting 

 harness, in which every detail tells its story, 

 and the graceful or picturesque statues of their 

 dames — we have the ornate and often garish 

 monuments of the Renaissance, conceived 

 indeed in the same pious spirit as the stony 

 records of earlier times, but naturally of less 

 antiquarian import and value. On the other 

 hand many of the memorials in the well- 

 favoured and historic county, now to be briefly 

 considered, have the wider and more human 

 interest as presenting portrait effigies of per- 

 sonages who took considerable positions during 

 the spacious days of Elizabeth, and whose 

 history forms part of that of the country, 

 while Northamptonshire has the honour of 

 holding their monuments in its keeping. 



The tomb and effigies of Sir John Spencer 

 and his wife is a conspicuous and typical 

 example of the memorials just alluded to. 

 He wears a double ruff, and a tabard over 

 trunk hose, the arms and legs being clad in 

 armour decorated throughout with an Italian 

 feeling. It may be a question whether the 

 singular ridged and engrailed cuissarts represent 



portions of an actual suit. The head rests 

 upon a naked helm, with neither mantling or 

 feathers, and the heels upon gauntlets with 

 well-defined details. On the left arm is 

 worn an oval targe — the parma of the Roman 

 soldier, which at this period, in accordance 

 with the Renaissance feeling of the time, 

 again took its place among military equip- 

 ments in England. This example is charged 

 with Spencer quarterings. The lofty altar- 

 tomb is surmounted by a semicircular canopy, 

 entablature and pediment, the whole being 

 replete with manifold coats of Spencer, and 

 quarterings ; the entire monument is of clunch, 

 richly painted. Dame Katherine, daughter 

 of Sir Thomas Kitson of Hengrave, wears a 

 large ruff in nebule folds, a tight bodice, 

 with full puckered sleeves, pleated stomacher, 

 and scarf. A large hood k caleche, reaching 

 below the waist, partly shades the face, and 

 over the lower half of the figure a coverlid is 

 disposed in broad folds, draping the feet. 

 The head rests upon delicately embroidered 

 cushions. Both effigies have the appearance 

 of being faithful portraits. The will directs 

 that the executors should make a tomb such 

 as they think fit. 



The effigy of his son Sir John Spencer, 

 died 1599, and of his wife Mary, only 

 daughter and heir of Sir Robert Catelin, Lord 

 Chief Justice of the King's Bench, lie upon 

 a very stately wide and low altar - tomb, 

 under a lofty canopy, embellished with many 

 coats of arms, and supported by square arab- 

 esque pillars and Corinthian columns — perhaps 

 the design of John Thorpe. The entire 

 monument is in clunch. The knight wears 

 the heraldic tabard, and the armour differs in 

 very slight respect from that of his father, the 

 tabard — the latest example in the county, 

 perhaps the latest in England — being worn 

 over trunk hose and Almayne rivet ; the 

 cuissarts are horizontally articulated, and the 

 genouill^res decorated with arabesques. The 

 head rests upon a finely-proportioned and 

 well-plumed helm and the feet upon gaunt- 

 lets. The costume of Dame Mary is more 

 ornamental, but much the same as that of 

 her predecessor, a fluted hood h caliche of 

 moderate size being worn over the head. Both 

 effigies must be accurate portraits. 



William Cecil Lord Burghley, died 

 1599. Stamford Baron. 



William Cecil, Lord Burghley, is exhibited 

 in his alabaster effigy lying on a noble cano- 

 pied Renaissance tomb of alabaster, ' touch ' 

 and other marbles, and further decorated with 

 the armorial bearings of Cheke, Coke and 

 Cecil. He holds in his right hand the staff 



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