Brass Tomb Approximately 4 Metres South of Chancel of Church of St John the Evangelist
BRASS TOMB C.4 METRES SOUTH OF CHANCEL OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, FRONT STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1121438
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jun-1988
- List Entry Name:
- Brass Tomb Approximately 4 Metres South of Chancel of Church of St John the Evangelist
- Statutory Address:
- BRASS TOMB C.4 METRES SOUTH OF CHANCEL OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, FRONT STREET
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Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 1999-08-05
- Reference:
- IOE01/00778/32
- Rights:
- © Mr Brian Wilcockson. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1121438
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jun-1988
- List Entry Name:
- Brass Tomb Approximately 4 Metres South of Chancel of Church of St John the Evangelist
- Statutory Address 1:
- BRASS TOMB C.4 METRES SOUTH OF CHANCEL OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, FRONT STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- BRASS TOMB C.4 METRES SOUTH OF CHANCEL OF CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, FRONT STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- County Durham (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Spennymoor
- National Grid Reference:
- NZ 26239 31457
Details
NZ 23 SE, 6/44 (inset)
SPENNYMOOR FRONT STREET
(North side)
Kirk Merrington
Brass tomb c.4 metres south of chancel of Church of St. John the Evangelist
GV
II
Chest tomb. To 3 children, John, Jane and Elizabeth Brass, murdered 1683;
tomb restored 1789 'by subscription', in reality by George Wood. Sandstone
ashlar; slab with moulded edges on roll-moulded corner slabs, with rusticated
panels in style of coursed masonry. Long inscription records murder by their
father's servant, Andrew Mills, and his execution and hanging in chains, and
ends
Reader remember Sleeping/we were Slain
And here we sleep till we must/rise again
Whoso sheddeth Man's Blood
By Man shall his Blood be shed
Thou shalt do no murder
Word 'executed" scatched out, supposedly by the culprit's family.
Source: W. Fordyce, History and Antiquities of the County Palatinate of
Durham, 1857, Vol. I, p.581.
Note. Fragment of stone inside church bears part of the original inscription.
Listing NGR: NZ2623931457
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 112251
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Fordyce, W, The History and Antiquities of the County Palatinate of Durham, (1857), 581
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 25-Jun-2026 at 04:58:44.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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