Introduction

There are a number of monuments in St. Mary's dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century and varying in style from the elaborate canopied Jesop memorial, with carvings of the two brothers commemorated, and the Dirdoe monument where Frances and two of her sisters are represented as the three graces, to simple tablets. Some tell us much about the people commemorated with lengthy inscriptions, some no more than name, date of death and age. Most are in English, but a couple are in Latin. And if you are wish to read them at first hand, for some you will need to come equipped with a pair of binoculars!

On this page you can / will find the location of a monument, a transcription and information about the person / family or a link to another page where this can be found - this is still in progress. All pictures can be clicked on to see larger versions - where possible photos are included with the inscriptions legible.

The information about the families and individuals given here is accurate to the best of our knowledge but some names were held by several individuals in the town at the same time and disentangling can be difficult. No guarantee can be made that no erroneous assumptions have been made.

Elizabeth and William Read (1833 / 4)

in the south porch

Erected to the memory of
Elizabeth Wife of
William Read
who died November 26th 1833
aged 31 years

Watch therefore for ye know not
what hour your Lord doth come
Also to the memory of
William Son of the above who
died May 13th 1834 Aged 5 Months

From the age of baby William, his mother must have died in or shortly after childbirth (Elizabeth's funeral and baby William's baptism were both on the same day, 29th November).

From the registers we learn that William, a blacksmith, had married Elizabeth Lambert on 17th June 1830, their first child, a daughter, Ellen, being baptised at St. Mary's on 13th February the following year.

What became of William and Ellen is not known - it has not been possible to identify either of them with any certainty in the census returns (the large number of Read families in Gillingham at this time does not help).

Mary Read (1764)

on the south wall of the south aisle, towards the western end

Near this Place
Lieth the Body
of M.^rs Mary Read
whose benevolent Disposition
and exemplary Life
will (we trust) render
this Memorial of Her
the less Necessary

She died Jan. the 6^th
in the Year
of our Lord
1764
Aged 59 Years.

William Oliphant Down (1917)

in the tower, on the north wall

In loving memory of
William Oliphant Down M.C.
Captain 4th Batt Royal Berkshire Reg^t
Younger son of Evan and Alice Down
who died of wounds in France
on the 23rd May 1917, aged 31 years.

"He died the noblest death a man may die
fighting for God and right and liberty.
Requiescat in pace."

Charles Cox Bealing (1907)

on the north side of the tower arch

To the memory of Charles Cox Bealing Sexton of Gillingham Parish Church 1870-1907 Born Dec 22^nd 1840 + Died Jan 23^rd 1907 This tablet is erected with the sincere Respect and affection of many friends "He had served his generation by the will of God" "Jesu mercy"

John Tinney (1728)

above the tower arch, facing east (south side). Used to be near the altar rails according to Hutchins.

Edward Davenant (1679)

above the tower arch, facing east (north side).

Mary Goddard (1750)

on the wall of the north aisle ro the right of the west-most window

John and Rachel Harris (1791 / 1812)

On the wall in the north porch:

Ambrose and Rachel Heal

Also on the wall in the north porch:

n.b. the nave and the porches were rebuilt after the date on this monument, so this is not the original position of the monument - we cannot be sure the description of where Ambrose remains lie is now accurate.

Ambrose and Rachel had married by licence in St. Mary's on Boxing Day in 1771 and their son, named after Rachel's father, John Harris Hele was baptised here on 16^th September 1772. (The registers contain no other records of any other children of theirs baptised here.)

Edward Sly (1795) and family (1805 - 1837)

Henry Deane (1882)

on the pillar, facing west, near the pulpit

John and Hester Matthews (1820 / 29)

on the wall of the north aisle, near the choir vestry

Jesop

In St. Catherine's Chapel (now the choir vestry)

The tomb monument in the St Catherine Chapel at St Mary’s houses the remains of one of Gillingham’s longest serving vicars and his brother. John and Thomas Jesop were sons of John Jesop, Rector of Chickerell and Upwey near Weymouth. John was vicar from 1579 to 1625, while his brother, Thomas, was a physician and cared for the sick in Gillingham prior to his death in 1615. John, a Master of Arts, Bachelor of Divinity and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, was also a prebend of Salisbury Cathedral and had another living at Upwey. Thomas, a Master of Arts, Doctor of Medicine and former scholar of Merton College, Oxford, was also a county Justice of the Peace.

The brothers’ education and status guaranteed that they were two of Gillingham’s most prominent townspeople at a time when the town’s population was no more than around a hundred households. John is considered to have been the builder of the old vicarage which was pulled down in 1883, for the names of the brothers were found carved on woodwork in the house. In Lent, when the population were not allowed to eat meat, Thomas would issue a licence endorsed by John exempting invalids from this rule; for instance in 1594 to

‘Elizabeth Trenchard … through infirmative and sickness of her body to us appearing, cannot eat fish without harm or danger of her health and body …(we) licence the said Elizabeth Trenchard to eat flesh limited by the statute during this time of Lent only.’

The two men were highly respected in the town, since John’s memorial tablet describes him as a ‘man of highest virtue and known among his peers for his generosity’, while Thomas’s tablet, now disappeared, referred to him as ‘father to brothers, friend to the honest, benefactor to the poor’.

The monument itself is characteristic of table-tombs of the Reformation period. The ‘table’, with its ‘strapwork’ or banded decoration along the sides, supports the effigies of the two brothers lying side-by-side, their faces turned to heaven in the medieval attitude of devotion and supplication. However, by this time it was becoming common to show the deceased as in life rather than death and to celebrate his worldly achievements, not just suggest his searching for a place in the world to come. This led to a greater emphasis on secular ornamentation and decoration in the monuments of the time compared with previous centuries.

We can see this in the representations of the two brothers. Both men are depicted in academic dress as in the prime years of life, with John, the vicar and nearer figure, clutching a book, presumably the Bible or prayer-book, a reminder of his vocation. He lies beneath a decoratively painted arch which has a marble tablet giving details (in carefully carved Latin) of his life and work, the tablet being set within a decorative scrolled border. Thomas, the physician, lies behind his brother in his own round-headed recess with its panelled back wall, flanked by the shields of arms of the Jesops, reminding us that he came from a family ranked alongside gentry and landowners.

We may be particularly struck by the poor state of repair of the monument - the Church's priority rightly has to be caring for the living, not preserving monuments to the dead. So over the years several items of ornamentation have become broken or lost. These include the four stone pinnacles, the tablet with the arms of John Jesop, and the figure of an angel with a scythe. This last was appropriately set over the effigy of Thomas, representing his concern with the frailty of human life. A drawing of the monument in its earlier, complete state can be found in the volumes of Hutchins History of Dorset, which can be seen in Gillingham library, as well as in County Archive Office in Dorchester.

Edward (1779), Sarah (1788) and William Read (1798) and Mary Bell nee Read (1795)

in St. Catherine's Chapel, between the Jesop and Frances Dirdoe monuments

In
Memory of
Edward Read Gent.
of this Parish, who died Feb.4, 1779. Aged 70 Years
Sarah his Wife, who died Nov. 2 1788. Aged 70 Years
Mary his Daughter, by a former Wife, who married
James Bell Gent. died Jan. 26, 1795. Aged 51 years.
And Also of
William Read Esq.
their Son, who died March 12, 1798. Aged 44 Years
Who for his may acts of benevolence
to the Poor of this Parish
will be held in lasting
remembrance

He bequeathed by his Last Will and Testament the
sum of fifty Pounds to be laid out in Bread, and distributed
within one Year after his decease
Also the sum of four thousand Pounds to be
invested in the Three per cent Consolidated Bank Annuities
the interest of which (under the direction of Ten Trustees)
is to be given as follows
twenty Pounds annually to be distributed in Bread on
St. Thomas's Day; the remainder in sums of five Shillings
weekly to such Poor Men and Women of the age of Sixty
Years and upwards as appear deserving this bounty: with a
condition that those who misbehave, or become immoral, are
at any time removable at the discretion of the Trustees.

Hutchins records "1823. By a decree in Chancery, the sum of three thousand one hundred and sixty pounds six shillings and seven pence was apportioned to this charity, having regard to the statue of Mortmain; producing a yearly interest of one hundred and eight pounds nineteen shillings."

Frances Dirdoe

in St. Catherine's Chapel, next to (east of) the Read monument

Frances was the eldest of Sir Henry’s daughters, and the first to die (but after the death of all of her brothers). In this massive marble monument, 18 feet high, she and two of her sisters are depicted as the "Three Graces", who in Greek mythology personified grace, beauty and charm.

The Dirdoe family lived at the Mansion House in Milton-on-Stour, now known as The Old House. They are remembered at St. Mary's in a wall plaque in the sanctuary to Henry and his wife, a marble monument nearby in St. Catherine's Chapel to one of his daughters and a hatchment of theirs hangs in the North aisle.

Erected at the cost of £300.

Henry (1724) and Dorothy Dirdoe (1727)

on the north side of the sanctuary

In Latin which translated reads:

Here lies what is left of Henry Dirdoe, esquire, the last male descendant of his family, highly respected and long resident in this parish; who took in marriage, Dorothy, the only daughter and heiress of Roger White, a rich merchant and gentleman of Sherborne in this county and by her he begat five sons, Henry, John, Christopher, James and Edward, the last died in infancy, the rest, apart from John, all bachelors, died before their father without offspring and are buried near him except John whose remains the City of London received; and ten daughters, Dorothy, Sarah, Mary, Ann, Elizabeth, Catherine, Rebecca, Jane, Rachel and Frances who suvived him.
Departed this life on the 18^th May, 1724. Aged 77. Then his wife succumbed to fate on Oct. 21^st 1727, aged 70, and is also buried here.
This memorial tablet was erected by their daughters Mary and Catherine who their mother had appointed executors of her will.

the son of John and Martha

In the sanctuary is a well worn stone on the floor, only partly legible:

H S I

? well y^e 3^d sone of John
? & Martha his wife who
? maiely came by this death
(? at the) Free Scool who dyed Aprill
year of his age 1702

It may be possible to work out who this commemorated from the Parish Registers.

John, Andrew and Catherine Pern

on the north side of the chancel, between the chancel arches

Now I know that my Redeemer liveth, And that I shall rise again at the last day, By the wholesome strength of his right hand

In Memory
Of the Reverend John Pern A.M.
(Descended from an Antient family
at West Wratting in the County of Cambridge)
who was 27 years Vicar of this place
And Prebendary of the Prebend
of Chisingbury and Chute in the Church of Salisbury
He Died much lamented
The 6^th day of April, in the Year of our Lord 1770
In the 64^th Year of his Age

Also In Memory
Of the Reverend Andrew Pern
Son of the said John Pern
who Died the 15^th day of Aug^st in the Year of our Lord 1771
In the 27^th Year of his Age.

In the same Vault
are interred the mortal Remains
of Catherine his wife
Daugher of Humphrey Fishe Esq^re
of Ickwell in the County of Bedford and
Granddaughter of Dr. Edward Stillingfleet
Bishop of Worcester
who died January 14th 1784
Aged 77 Years.

Anne Whieldon

on the north side of the chancel, just east of the pulpit

In Memory of
Anne, the beloved wife of
George Whieldon
of Wyke Hall in this Parish
who departed this life
May 13, 1861
Aged 45 Years.
Deeply and sincerely regretted
by all
who had the happiness
of knowing her.

Jane and Benjamin Dawson (1812, 1820)

James Shappard (1895)

To the glory of God
and in loving memory of
James Sheppard
Who died April 1^st 1895,
aged 76 years.
He was for 21 years Headmaster
of the Endowed School, Gillingham
and subsequently a Governor of the same.
For nearly 50 years
he was Clerk of this Parish Church,
near his accustomed seat,
in which his Friends and Pupils
have placed this Memorial
as a testimony to his worth.

Broome / Helme / Cox

Reginald Carlton Cross ()

on the north pillar of the archway leading into the Good Shepherd Chapel

Emily Cross ()

on the east side of the south pillar of the archm in the Good Shepherd Chapel

Thomas and Sarah Godwin (1814)

on the wall of the south aisle, close to the entrance to the Good Shepherd Chapel

In Memory of Thomas Godwin
who departed this life
March 28^th 1814 Aged 65 Years
Also Sarah daughter of the above Thomas Godwin
who departed this life
February 23^rd 1814 Aged 31 Years

Farewell vain world, what good is in thee found,
Where sickness, sorrow, sin and shame abound,
Where tedious pains and anxious troubles dwell,
And cares and fears perplex. Vain world farewell.

George Frederic Long

On the floor of the chancel, gone by 1869

In memory of
George Frederic Long, son
of Joseph and Ann Long, who
died May 29, 1798
aged 4 years.

Sweet Innocency's form lies here,
Lamented by his parents dear;
Who hope at last, in endless joy,
To meet again their lovely Boy.

Francis Devenish

There was a large gravestone near the Frances Dirdoe monument, gone by 1869

Here lieth the body of Francis Devenish the elder, of this parish, gent, one of the judges of this court, who died the 10th of May, 1689, in the 77th year of his age, who left five sons, and two daughters: Francis, Henry, Joseph, Benjamin, Nicholas, Mary and Margaret. Requiescat in pace.