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 Tomb Chest - St Michael - Whichford, Warwickshire Posted by:  SMacB
N 52° 00.570 W 001° 32.796
30U E 599753 N 5763091
Chest tomb of limestone and black marble to Nicholas Asheton (d,1582) in the chancel of St Michael's church, Whichford.
Waymark Code: WM13GRF
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/12/2020
Views: 0
Tomb chest of Nicholas Asheton (c.1582), an unusual synthesis of Gothic and Renaissance styles in the panelling on the sides, and a black marble slab on top containing a somewhat undersized brass with a shield of arms at each corner of the top. The brass is palimpsest, made from reused Flemish material. Above the tomb chest is an inscription to the deceased, wholly post-medieval in style with a coat of arms and scrollwork in relief.
The tomb has a black top with a brass to Nicholas Asheton. Above is a limestone tablet with Latin inscription, and richly carved with heraldic shield and medallion.
"On the south side of the chancel is another high tomb to Nicholas Asheton, B.D. of Cambridge, also rector and chaplain to the Earl of Derby: he was 'a Lancashire man of Great Lever', formerly vicar at Kendal, and died 30 September 1582. The top slab of grey granite has his brass effigy in a Geneva gown, &c., and at the four corners are brass and lead shields bearing his arms—a roundel with a crescent above a pierced molet, quartering, two bends the upper engrailed. The base has three panels each side and one each end with ogee heads and crocketed canopies over a trefoiled grille, and also has a fluted frieze. On the wall above the tomb is a large stone panel carved in relief with a shield of arms in a wreath with flanking scrolls, and the initials na, and a Latin inscription, all in a moulded frame."
SOURCE - (visit link)
The inscription, translated from the Latin, reads:
A pious man and wise, born of noble stock, both of whose names are
below on this tomb. He studied at Cambridge in the years of his youth,
and developed in the fine arts and all other sorts. It was in the ethereal
art of the muse that he surpassed his fellows, for he was well taught by
the divine spirit. In generosity to many he put hunger to flight with bread,
and was always a host to the wretched poor. When Asheton was dying, he
hastened to the halls above, and expiring uttered these things in a gentle
voice. “O Good Christ, come quickly now, Jesus, Holy Father, receive
my soul into your hands”. A great crowd of men in this church watched
Asheton’s funeral not with dry eyes. The preacher wept for the death of
this distinguished pastor, his theme brought sad tears to his grave.
“Woe is me”, he cried, “how unhappy you leave us Nicholas, at this sad
time, and your English flock needs you”. When it pleased the deity to
sever the threads of the Norns, and to open the gloomy gates of dreadful
death, let Asheton feed his flock with heavenly grain, let him nourish his
tender sheep with his accustomed speech. The firm will of this hierophant,
this father of a son, is what governs everything with it’s proper spirit, to
deliver him from the dark throat of the wide world, and he can ascend
the citadel of the sky in snow-white raiment. Therefore his spirit is well
and lives in the starry heavens, enjoying the constant sight of God.
His body and his bones may rest softly in this tomb, and his limbs will
not be injured by any evil.
Whoever you are who come to this sepulchral monument give thanks to
to God and say farewell to Nicholas.
Approximate Age of Artefact: 1582
Relevant Website: Not listed
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