This early twentieth century photograph by the Doncaster photographer and printer E. L. Scrivens shows the upper portion of one
of the Manners tomb in All Saints' Church, Bakewell. Dorothy Manners, nee Vernon, has become almost better known than
her husband thanks to the tale of her supposed flight from Haddon Hall before her marriage. The armour clad figure of
Sir John Manners, second son of Thomas Earl of Rutland, faces his wife across a prayer desk. Dorothy is stylishly dressed
in the robes of an Elizabethan female of consequence, wearing a full skirt with a slashed bodice and slashed sleeves. A
small ruff (a frilled collar) is round her neck and smaller frills decorate her cuffs. Her tight fitting bonnet (cap)
appears to have a long fabric train at the back, a fashion at the time.
The inscription between the kneeling figures can be read below the photograph of the children's effigies.
The children of John and Dorothy Manners are shown underneath their parents.
From the left: Sir George Manners; Sir Roger Manners of Whitwell, d.1650, unm.; John Manners,
d. 15 Jul 1590, bur at Bakewell; Grace, wife of Sir Francis Fortesque of Salden, Bucks [1].
The monument is in the Vernon Chapel that is attached to the south transept and which was built at
the end of the Decorated period in about 1360. Between 1841 and 1852 there were extensive repairs to Bakewell church,
which cost £8,600. According to Cox, the whole of the south transept and the Vernon Chapel were taken down, "but
here also considerable care was taken to reproduce the old features"[1].
Enlargement of the inscription on the tomb of Sir John and Lady Dorothy Manners.
Worth later described the work done in the 1840s as "a
most mischievous" restoration of the church. Numerous
incised slabs and gravestones were found, but many "were
allowed to be carted away by shameless antiquaries to add to
their private collections". Cox does not comment on
this[1] but agreed
that other memorials were placed within the porch (see below).
According to R. N. Worth, "the vandals who did their
best to destroy everything of interest ... repainted much of
the elaborate heraldry of the tombs ... and consequently made
several coats [of arms] unintelligible"[2].
In 1842 Mr. William Flockton presented a paper to the Literary
and Philosophical Society in Sheffield on the antiquities in
Bakewell Church and the exhumation of some of the members of
the Manners and Vernon families of Haddon Hall in October 1841[3].
Flockton had received instructions to make accurate drawings
of the monuments, so they could be replaced[1].
The principal people who had been exhumed were Sir John Manners
and his wife Dorothy, their son Sir George Manners and Dorothy's
father Sir George Vernon together with both his wives[3].
One body, that of Lady Dorothy, was carefully examined and
it was found that her head was partly covered with hair in
which were 6 brass pins[4].
One of these pins was exhibited at the meeting, as well as
a pair of ancient spectacles found in the coffins - although
the glasses were said to be partly decomposed[3].
The spectacles discovery may or may not be true as the allegation
was not repeated in the report to the Duke of Rutland, published
both a week later in the local press and also by Cox in
his "Churches"[1][4].
A copy of this report was sent to Captain Underwood for the
Duke of Rutland to see. It stated that it had been expected
that the bodies would have been enclosed in lead or stone
coffins, but this was not the case. The excavators found the
remains of coffins that had disintegrated[4].
Lead coffins for three small children were also found close by.
Once all the remains were exhumed they were placed in a temporary vault until the Chapel was rebuilt, after which they were carefully
returned, as far as possible, to their former positions[1]. Their re-burial was carried out
according to the wishes of the then Duke.
 |
Late 19th century image of the Vernon Chapel, Bakewell Church,
showing the tomb of Dorothy Vernon's son George Manners,
his wife and their nine children. In the foreground (right) is the large
table-tomb of Sir George Vernon, the King of the Peak,
and his two wives. |
Sir George Manners (d. 1623) and his wife Grace (nee Pierrepoint) are commemorated on the large, costly monument set against the Chapel's north
wall that is shown in the image above. The couple are in Jacobean clothing and are kneeling on either side of a lectern with effigies of their children
below their parents in canopied recesses. J. D. Firth commented on the monument in 1908. "At the top of it all is the splendid
equivocation, which no man in good health has ever honestly repeated—at least with reference to himself—"The day
of a man's death is better than the day of his birth",[5]" He added that the
text around the baby's canopy, on the left under the arches of the top tier, reads: "Mine age is nothing to respect in respect
of thee". Second from the left, so next to the infant, is Sir John Manners who eventually became Earl of Rutland. Grace erected the monument
at her own expense, although her own death is not recorded on it. Grace Lady Manners survived her husband and went on the found a free
school in Bakewell that has survived to the present day[6]. She was buried at Bakewell on 12 Apr 1651.
During the 1841 excavation it was discovered that the top of a large coffin which contained a female had been hacked away at some
stage. A past sexton was assumed to have caused the damage to what would have been the coffin of either Lady Grace or her daughter.
The recumbent effigies of Dorothy Vernon's father, the King of the Peak,
and his two wives rest on the top of a large tomb in the centre
of the Chapel. Sir George is dressed as a knight, wearing plate
armour and a surcoat which has nine quarterings of the arms
of the Vernons. Cox assumes that the arms and all the Vernon
effigies would have been painted in the proper colours, rather
than the later "restoration". The King of the Peak
is shown with straight hair and a long beard. A double chain
is around his neck and there is a sword beside him. His wives, Margaret (Tatlebois) and Mawde (Longford)
are dressed identically in long black robes and with close fitting caps on their heads.
 See
their MI in an excerpt from "The Gentleman's Magazine".
The earliest monument to the Vernon family at Bakewell is the small veined alabaster table-tomb, with angels holding shields, of
John Vernon who died on 12 August 1477. The "The Gentleman's Magazine" of 1794 recorded
it as then being in the chancel.
In 1880 a group from the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society were shown round. "Leaving the Vernon Chapel, the
Archdeacon conducted his visitors to the west end of the nave, from which the beautiful altar tomb to John Vernon, 1477, and the magnificent
two-lighted window, and the proportions of the chancel itself were well seen[7]." The
tomb was moved to its present location in the Vernon Chapel, probably between 1891 and 1895[8].
 |
Closest to the camera is the 1477 tomb of John Vernon.
"Angels hold shields at the east and west ends of the tomb, whilst on each
of the sides are two seated figures under canopies with a shield between
them[4]." This postcard dates from about 1902, or a little before. |
The Vernon Chapel is "divided from the south transept by a very beautiful oak screen[7]". It can just be
seen behind the bench on the left hand edge of the above image. The Chapel had been used as a vestry for some years when fundraising began for a
new vestry in 1896. As the then Duke of Rutland commented, "it was not right that the Chapel containing beautiful monuments should be obscured
... by red baize"[9]. The Chapel was the private property of the Duke of Rutland, so it seems a
little surprising that the church had thought a vestry there was appropriate.
A meeting was called by the churchwardens to discuss the issue and an attempt was made to obtain sufficient money to put this right[10].
In early 1897 was finally agreed that the vestry should be built adjoining the north aisle[11],
on the site recommended some years before by Mr. Gilbert Scott, at a cost exceeding £700[12].
Alabaster monument, carved in high relief, of Sir Godfrey Foljambe and
his wife Lady Avena. They are depicted beneath a double crocketed canopy.
Reproduced from Glover[13]. |
Sir Godfrey Foljambe was the founder of the chantry of the Holy
Cross, which had been sited at the east end of the south aisle.
Cox describes Sir Godfrey, who died in 1377 aged 59, as wearing
plate armour. On his head is a conical helmet or bascinet,
with a camail of mail attached to its lower edge. Lady Avena
was wearing a reticulated head-dress or caul. Lady Avena passed
away in 1383. The arms of Foljambe are above the knight's head
and those of Ireland can be seen above the head of his wife.
In 1803 the Derbyshire antiquary Mr. Blore placed an engraved
black marble slab beneath the monument, although it was later
noted that the inscription contained mistakes[1].
A number of engravings of the Foljambe monument have been
done over the years. This one is from Glover, as is the one of the Wendesley
tomb below[13].
They were both executed by O[rlanda/Orlando] Jewitt who was
the son of Thomas O Jewitt, and the brother of Llewellynn Jewitt.
Mr. Jewitt was an engraver on wood; he was born at Attercliffe,
then lived at Duffield and eventually settled at Headington
in Oxfordshire.
Sir Thomas Wendesley of Darley, who was mortally wounded
whilst fighting for the
Lancastrian cause at the Battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403.
The 1841 excavation found his bones underneath his monument. |
As shown above, the Wendesley tomb originally rested on a raised tomb within a plainly arched recess in the east wall of the
south transept but by Cox's time the effigy had been placed on a new table monument away from the wall[1].
Glover described the alabaster effigy as "a knight in plate-armour, mail gorget, and pointed helmet, with a richly
ornamented bandeau, his pillow being supported by angels"[13]. One
of the angels can be seen on the right.
Sir Thomas was by no means perfect or as saintly as the tomb suggests. In 1403 a petition of complaint was taken
out against Wendesley, the Vicar of Hope and others who, in the 23rd year of the reign of King Richard II, had entered the house
of Godfrey Rowland at Mikel Longesdon and despoiled everything they found. They then took him to the Peak Castle where he
was imprisoned for six days without food or drink before bringing him out and cutting off his right hand[15].
Early monumental stones found in and around the church during
the restoration.
Cox provided more information about the sepulchral stones
found in 1841-51, adding that it was regrettable that no
attempt was made to either separate the stones found or
indicate where they were from. Sixty-five stones were in
placed in the south porch, at least 55 were removed to
the Lombardale Museum (Bateman's) and a considerable number
of others were re-used in the masonry. None were of a date
later than 1260 and a considerable number were from before
1100. Mr. Bateman published numerous drawings (woodcuts)
of the stones in his Museum and Dr. Plumptre produced 6
plates for the Archæological
Journal, vol. iv and other works published in 1849[1].
Some were slabs that were laid horizontally on the ground
whilst others were stood at the head or foot of a grave.
There were emblems on the stones, such as shears, key, sword,
axe, bugle and chalice. Figure 7 on the Plate above is a
small coped tomb, with cable moulding running around the
angles, that Cox stated was 3' 4" in length and 15" in
breadth. He described the carving as quaintly capricious,
half-vegetable, half-monster! Figure 1 was supposed to be an
emblem of the Trinity, whilst several figures represent the
head of a cross in various styles[1].
After Bateman's death the stones went to the Weston Park Museum
in Sheffield. In 1899 the museum decided that they were not
in the right place so returned them to the church. They were
placed at the west end of the nave. No mention was made of
the hair pin[5]. |
