Ledger stones in the Abbey Church

Ledgerstones in the Abbey Church


Two of the ledgerstones in the Abbey Church, one in the nave remembering the Rev William Dodd (left) and the other in the chancel in memory of John and Elizabeth Hurn (right).

Visitors to our churches rarely look down and so usually miss a priceless historical asset that can often be found beneath their feet, flat flagstones embedded in the floors of naves and aisles that were used to seal vaults and graves and which are usually inscribed with a name and date.

These are known as ledgerstones and were widely used to commemorate the lives and deaths of prominent families from the 14th century until the Burial Act of 1852 which forbade further burials inside churches.

Many have been walked on and ignored, rendered illegible, broken or removed in years past, although some can still be found propped up against walls in the churchyard while others have been utilised for other purposes. The Church Monuments Society estimates that there are about 210,000 ledgerstones left in England and in 2003, a survey was planned to record them.

The earliest ledgerstones were made of slate and others of polished limestone or marble and they commemorate the deaths of many famous people such as Lord Nelson and J M W Turner in St Paul’s Cathedral, William Shakespeare in the Holy Trinity Church at Stratford-upon-Avon and Jane Austen in the north aisle of Winchester Cathedral.

The society’s president, Dr Julian Litten, said: “Memorial brasses or funerary monuments have been far more attractive to historians and churchyard headstones captivate the interest of genealogists. Ledgerstones, which are often as important for the calligraphy of the inscriptions as the people they remember, have generally lost out.”

Dr Roger Bowdler, an inspector for English Heritage, says: “Ledgerstones are the most valuable genealogical record after parish records yet they are treated as the ugly ducklings of church memorials. For far too long they have been walked on and ignored.”

There are at least eight in the Abbey Church, five in the nave just in front of the font, and a further three in the chancel, although there may have been more in years past and were probably removed during the major restoration work in 1892 when the twin aisles that had been a feature of the church in centuries past were removed together with the box pews that were much favoured in earlier times. The floor level was also lowered and the church began to take on the appearance that we are familiar with today, and it is most likely that a number of ledgerstones were lifted during this work and never replaced.

Several of the ledgerstones in the Abbey Church are largely indecipherable because the inscriptions have worn away. It would therefore make no sense to reproduce the wording as it appears and so I have given a précis in order to make them easily understood while keeping original spellings where possible.

THE NAVE

1.	Here lyeth the body of the Rev William Dodd, Vicar of Bourn. He died 6th August 1756, aged 54. Also lyeth his wife. She died 23rd May 1755, aged 55.
2.	In memory of Catherine, the wife of the Rev Humphrey Hyde, vicar of this place, and . . . daughter of John Hyde . . . died May . . . aged 36.
3.	In memory of Hannah, the wife of the Rev Joseph Dodsworth, vicar of the parish, died 28th December 1830. Also of Mary Ellen South and Joseph Turner, children of the above who died in their infancy. Also of Edmund Dodsworth Esq., brother of the Rev Joseph Dodsworth, who died on the 17th day of July 1813, aged 44 years.
4.	In memory of Alice Hyde, the wife of John Hyde. She died 26th July 1737, aged 52.
5.	In memory of John Richardson who departed this life 1st January 1873 in the 55th year of his . . . age.

There may be two other ledgerstones here, one to the left of that commemorating William Dodd because it is highly polished and there are marks on the surface but it is impossible to tell if they are the remains of sculpted lettering, and another beneath the fitted carpet that has been laid down the aisle and which also obscures part of that stone dedicated to Hannah Dodsworth.

THE CHANCEL

1.	In memory of John Hurn Dove and Elizabeth Dove, wife of John Dove, died 19th March 1780, aged 60 years.
2.	In memory of Hargate Dove who died 8th July 1810, aged 66.
3.	In memory of John Hurn, Gent, who died 18th March 1757, aged 69 years, and Elizabeth Hurn.

NOTE: Additional source of information from an article by Robin Young
in The Countryman magazine, November 2003.