St. Wilfrid's Church in Hickleton - Part 2

 

The tomb of the 1st Viscount Halifax and his wife Mary

During my very quick look around the interior of St. Wilfrid’s church in Hickleton, I noted numerous monuments of various shapes and sizes but, with Father Schaefer sitting in the nave and waiting to lock up, I only took a few photos of these and didn’t even look at the stained glass windows.

The guide to the monuments, art and stained glass

The Church sits in the Grounds of Hickleton Hall, the site of the ancestral home of the Lords of the Manor of Hickleton since Saxon times. It was purchased by Sir Francis Wood in 1828, who was created Viscount Halifax in 1866 and it his descendants and associated family members that are mainly commemorated here.

 

The monument of William Reginald Courtney

 

On the north wall of the Lady Chapel is a large classical style alabaster monument, with a painted bust of William Reginald Courtenay (d.1881) - the 11th Earl of Devon - who was the father-in-law of Charles Wood, the 2nd Viscount Halifax.

 

The bust of G. F. Bodley

Adjacent to the arcade to the Lady Chapel, there is a painted alabaster bust of the renowned Victorian architect G.F. Bodley. Between 1876 and 1888, he was responsible for the rebuilding of the north aisle, the addition of the vestry and the complete restoration of the church, which included the internal fittings.

 

The tomb of Lady Agnes Lindley Wood

Moving through the chancel into the Halifax Memorial Chapel, the large chest tomb, made with various marbles and with an alabaster effigy, is in the style of the later mediaeval period. Lady Agnes Lindley Wood, the wife of the 2nd Viscount Halifax, lies with her hands together in prayer and with a dog at her feet.

 

A detail of the tomb of Lady Agnes Lindley Wood

The chest tomb of Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax, and his wife Mary is equally grand, again with their alabaster effigies resting their heads on pillows and their hands together in prayer, but this time with lions at their feet.

 

The tomb of Charles Wood and his wife Mary

I didn’t spend any time looking at either of these chest tombs to try and determine the decorative stones from which they are made, but both are decorated with various family crests that have been brightly painted. No date is given, but the Historic England description states that at the time of the resurvey, the monuments and sculpture had been taken away for conservation.

 

Painted crests on the tomb of Charles Wood

 

At either end of the east window, there are white Italian Carrara marble busts of Charles and Agnes Lindley Wood, the 2nd Viscount and Viscountess of Halifax, which were presumably included in the sculptures that had been removed from the church for cleaning.

 

Busts of Charles and Lady Agnes Lindley Wood

Other family members are commemorated by relatively simple marble wall monuments, including Sir Francis Wood and Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, a senior Conservative Party politician who was closely involved in government foreign policy during the lead up to WWII in the late 1930’s.

 

Memeorials to Sir Francis Wood and Edward Frederick Lindley Wood

 

I noticed various mediaeval grave slabs set in the floor, which are not mentioned in either of the church guides and other reference material that I had obtained, but the most noteworthy one is that of the Lord of the Manor Robert Haringel, dated to the C14, which was discovered beneath the church during the Victorian restoration.

 

The grave slab of Robert Haringel