Re-used Elizabethan Ledger Slab in the Churchyard of Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
RE-USED ELIZABETHAN LEDGER SLAB IN THE CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOWNGATE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1393858
- Date first listed:
- 24-Jun-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Re-used Elizabethan Ledger Slab in the Churchyard of Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Statutory Address:
- RE-USED ELIZABETHAN LEDGER SLAB IN THE CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOWNGATE
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1393858
- Date first listed:
- 24-Jun-2010
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 25-Jun-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Re-used Elizabethan Ledger Slab in the Churchyard of Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Statutory Address 1:
- RE-USED ELIZABETHAN LEDGER SLAB IN THE CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOWNGATE
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:
- RE-USED ELIZABETHAN LEDGER SLAB IN THE CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOWNGATE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Lancashire
- District:
- Chorley (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Eccleston
- National Grid Reference:
- SD 51663 17853
Reasons for Designation
The re-used Elizabethan ledger located on the east side of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Eccleston, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Its origin in the C16 as an effigial slab commemorating William Stopford and his wife, a rare example of this memorial type in Lancashire
* Its secondary history as an unusual example of early C19 re-use of a formerly internal ledger as an external memorial.
Details
1837/0/10019
ECCLESTON
TOWNGATE (Off)
RE-USED ELIZABETHAN LEDGER SLAB IN THE CHURCHYARD OF CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
24-JUN-10
II*
Effigial ledger. 1584 commemorating William Stopford and wife, re-used in 1812 to commemorate John Hodson. Located in churchyard at east end of Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Eccleston. Sandstone.
Large, thick rectangular slab with underside heavily chamfered and set slightly proud of the ground and aligned east-west. Stone has weathered particularly to south-west corner, and lichen and algae have grown on exposed surfaces. Original inscribed design of 2 full-length figures lying side-by-side on their backs with their hands held in an attitude of prayer. Larger, male figure on left. Both figures wear simple draped clothing, the male apparently with a large winged collar, and the female's head is hooded. Around the edge of the stone is a medieval-type border inscription, now largely illegible. A secondary inscription is heavily incised over the figures' torsos. It reads 'JOHN HODSON / WRIGHTINGTON / 1812'.
HISTORY: The original Elizabethan ledger would have been located within the church where its main purpose was to elicit the intercession of the faithful through prayer. The name and date are now illegible, but are recorded in the Victoria County History of 1911. It had an interesting secondary history being later removed to the churchyard, and in the early C19 being appropriated to commemorate one John Hodson of Wrightington, a small village in the parish of Eccleston, who died in 1812.
SOURCES
Wiliam Farrer & J Brownbill (eds), A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (1911), pp 155-62.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The re-used Elizabethan ledger located on the east side of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Eccleston, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Its origin in the C16 as an effigial slab commemorating William Stopford and his wife, a rare example of this memorial type in Lancashire
* Its secondary history as an unusual example of early C19 re-use of a formerly internal ledger showing a continuity of tradition and the desire for perpetual remembrance of an individual by means of a memorial stone
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 507684
- Legacy System:
- LBS
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 06-Jun-2026 at 14:27:23.
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