To see: a whole chapel turned into a funerary gallery by one man, John, Lord Lumley, great collector and neighbour of the vanished palace of Nonsuch. Three monuments of alabaster and polychrome marbles answer one another, bristling with heraldry. Look for: the tomb of Jane FitzAlan (d.1577/78), with reliefs of her three kneeling children; that of Elizabeth Darcy (d.1617), a recumbent effigy set in a niche; and Lumley's own monument. A signal rarity: the preparatory drawings for these tombs, made around 1590, survive in Lumley's "Red Velvet Book" — a unique chance to compare the design on paper with the stone as built. The ensemble, by English and Continental workshops, is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
Did you know?
Few English Renaissance monuments can be set beside their original drawing: Lumley's "Red Velvet Book" makes this chapel a textbook case where the patron's idea can be watched taking shape in alabaster.
Info
- Three monuments: Jane FitzAlan (reliefs of 3 children), Elizabeth Darcy (recumbent in a niche), Lumley.
- Alabaster and polychrome marbles; strong heraldic display.
- Preparatory drawings c.1590 ("Red Velvet Book"); Churches Conservation Trust.