Description

CASTLE BYTHAM

1762/0/10008 Gravestone of Elizabeth Church in chur
09-MAR-11 chyard of St James's Church

GV II
A small, rectangular, upright, gravestone erected in 1725 of moulded limestone ashlar bordered by carving in the form of fabric falling in multiple drapes with fringed curtain pulls in both corners. At the top is a centrally placed angel's face with a winged collar, flanked by trumpets. The inscription is mostly legible and reads 'HERE Lieth the Body of [...] Elizabeth Church(?) Who Departed this life March the 29th 1725 in the 25th year of her Age'. The gravestone is located approximately 5 metres south of the chancel.

HISTORY
The gravestone of Elizabeth ?Church is located in the churchyard of the Grade I listed St James's Church which dates to the late C12. The churchyard is laid out on all four sides of the church and contains limestone and slate headstones dating from the C17 to the C20.

SOURCES
Allsopp, N, J, 'Castle Bytham Churchyard', unpublished survey (1997)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The gravestone of Elizabeth ?Church is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: it is an early Georgian monument, known to date to 1725
* Intactness: its essential form survives with the decorative carving intact and the majority of the inscription legible
* Artistic interest: its distinctive design which uses the imagery of the draped curtain closing upon the stage of life has a dramatic and artistic quality
* Group Value: it has strong group value with the Grade I listed church and two Grade II listed gravestones dating to the late C17 and mid-C18, also located just south of the chancel, the area considered to be the prime position for burials

Reasons for Listing

The gravestone of Elizabeth ?Church, located in the churchyard of St James's Church, Castle Bytham, is listed for the following principal reasons:
* Date: it is an early Georgian monument, known to date to 1725
* Intactness: its essential form survives with the decorative carving intact and the majority of the inscription legible
* Artistic interest: its distinctive design which uses the imagery of the draped curtain closing upon the stage of life has a dramatic and artistic quality
* Historical interest: it is near two other gravestones dating to the late C17 and the mid-C18, also located just south of the chancel, the area considered to be the prime position for burials
* Group Value: it has strong group value with the Grade I listed church

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675371

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)