Reasons for Designation
The five C18 chest tombs to Thomas and Anne Page, John Tipper, George Higgon, John Page and another, in St Mary's churchyard, are recommended for designation in Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Architecture and design: the five tombs are of good quality in design and execution, showing good use of architectural forms, carving and inscription
* Historic: an illustration of the wealth of the inhabitants of Poulton in the C18, and of the continued use of a former Gilbertine priory site, of which this churchyard is the only extant element
* Group value: with each other, and with three other groups of tombs in the same churchyard also recommended for designation in Grade II
Details
POULTON
1064/0/10023 OLD CHURCH LANE
18-AUG-10 GROUP OF FIVE CHEST TOMBS TO THOMAS AN
D ANNE PAGE, JOHN TIPPER, GEORGE HIGGO
N, JOHN PAGE AND ANOTHER; IN THE CENTR
E OF ST MARY'S CHURCHYARD
GV II
A group of five chest tombs, dating from the C18, one perhaps earlier, constructed from local limestone ashlar. The five tombs form a group towards the centre of the churchyard, together with a sixth, table-top tomb which is not of special interest.
1. A chest tomb to THOMAS AND ANNE PAGE, c1779: constructed from oolitic Cotswold limestone, the monument is set on a moulded plinth, and has architrave and cornice, with a deeply-moulded capstone rising above and terminating in a narrow roll. The sides have moulded panels, those to the long sides flanked by similar, narrow panels. The inscription to the south includes the names Thomas and Anne Page and the date 1779, but is otherwise heavily weathered and illegible.
2. A chest tomb to JOHN TIPPER, c1756, with additional inscription of 1785. Constructed from oolitic Cotswold limestone, the tomb is set on a plain chamfered plinth, with panel stones to the long sides having inset margins and moulded central fields; the top is flat with a cyma recta moulding all round. The ends have raised and fielded panels. The inscription to the south reads IN MEMORY OF / JOHN TIPPER WHO DIED / FEBRUARY YE 28 1756 AGED 55 / ALSO OF ELIZABETH HIS WIFE / WHO DIED MARCH YE 12 1785 AGED 71.
3. A chest tomb to GEORGE HIGGON, RICHARD PERSON, WILLIAM LANE and others, c1770 with various later inscriptions. The tomb, of oolitic Cotswold limestone, is formed from six separate upright panels, each with moulded edges and raised fields, topped by a heavy cyma recta moulded cornice to the flat top. All six panels are inscribed, though all the inscriptions are weathered and parts are illegible. To the south, IN MEMORY OF / WILLIAM LANE / WHO DIED JULY YE / ... AGED 70 YEARS / ALSO HIS CHILDREN / WILLIAM LANE / JOHN LANE / ... LANE; the second panel reads: NEAR THIS PLACE LIETH / THE BODY OF GEORGE HIGGON DIED / ... 1777. To the north and west, weathered inscriptions to members of the Lane family. To the east end, IN MEMORY OF / RICHARD YE / SON OF THOMAS & / MARY PERSON / WHO DIED JUNE / YE 8TH 1770 / AGED 32 YEARS.
4. A chest tomb to JOHN PAGE, c1736: constructed from oolitic Cotswold limestone , the monument has simply-panelled sides with insets to the long sides and moulded edged to the panels, topped by a flat, cyma recta moulded slab. The north side carries an inscription to John Page who died in 1736.
5. A low chest tomb of the C18 or earlier: constructed from sandstone on a limestone base, the tomb has low, plain ashlar walls with a chamfered capping stone having a flat top. The west end carries a weathered inscription which is no longer legible.
HISTORY: The parish of Poulton was an outlying part of Wiltshire until 1844, when it was transferred to Gloucestershire. The parish church of St Michael was in existence from the C12. In 1337, Sir Thomas Seymour, who was then lord of the manor of Poulton, founded and endowed a chantry in the parish church, and in 1348 constructed a chapel for five chaplains. In 1350, an agreement between Seymour and the king saw the majority of the manor and the advowson of Poulton granted to the Priors and Canons of Sempringham (the Gilbertines). They founded the Priory of St Mary, a priory for canons only, adopting the chapel of 1348 as the priory church, dedicated to St Mary. In 1387, the priory took over the earlier chantry in the parish church. In 1389, Alice Seymour was granted licence to remove the remains of her ancestors from the parish church to the priory church, indicating that the parish church may have been going out of use at this time.
There are few records of the priory after this time until the Dissolution. The priory was surrendered by the Bishop of Llandaff, at the time head of the order, and Thomas, Prior of Poulton, on 16 January 1539. The house at this point consisted only of the prior and two canons, each of whom received a pension at the surrender.
The priory church, which remained dedicated to St Mary, was used as the parish church from the Dissolution until it was replaced by a new church, dedicated to St Michael, built further to the north, within the new centre of the village, in 1873. The priory churchyard of St Mary, which contains a large collection of chest tombs and headstones dating from the later C17 to c1873, was left in situ, and a new burial ground created adjacent to the new church. The large number of grave markers and headstones was removed to the edges of the churchyard in the later C20, leaving only the larger tombs in situ.
SOURCES
A History of the County of Wiltshire (Victoria County History), Volume 3 (1953), 319
D Verey and A Brooks, The Buildings of England Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds (2002), 565
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The five C18 chest tombs to Thomas and Anne Page, John Tipper, George Higgon, John Page and another, in St Mary's churchyard, are designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Architecture and design: the five tombs are of high quality in design and execution, showing good use of architectural forms, funerary symbolism, carving and inscription
* Historic: an illustration of the wealth of the inhabitants of Poulton in the C18, and of the continued use of a former Gilbertine priory site, of which this churchyard is the only extant element
* Group value: with each other, and with three other groups of tombs in the same churchyard also listed at Grade II.
