The Tombs of St Mary’s Churchyard at Astbury

While wandering around the churchyard of St Mary’s Church in Astbury, Cheshire, the church whose doors were locked, I came across this incredibly amazing canopied tomb.  It really felt odd that the tomb was outside the church and there’s not only one tomb, there are two other tombs with a total of four figures.

I must admit that I have never seen tombs like this in a churchyard before, they have always been inside churches and there was nothing to tell me who they belonged to.

After some investigation I found that these tombs are rather special, more than special they are Grade 2 listed.

The main tomb is known as the 13th century Venables Tomb, the figures are of a male and female with their hands clasped together in prayer.  The male is thought to be part of the Venables family who are mentioned in the Domesday Book.

 Gilbert de Venables known as the hunter in the Domesday Book, held lands from the Earl of Chester, so we could be looking at a relative of the ‘Hunter’  I have read that there is an inscription on one side of the tomb, but I didn’t see it, which says Sir Ralph Brereton 17th century, but it is thought to be a Venable that is interned here.

When they carried out restoration works a few years ago they found a lead lined coffin with male bones beneath the tomb.

To one side of the main tomb is a knight from the Middle Ages and the other side a tomb of a Cleric.

The strange thing is that these tombs would have been inside the church, they were quite a oommon sight in churches and were always for prominent people.  They were a common sight until the Reformation when the Iconoclasts decided that they were a show of wealth, so they destroyed a great many tombs. That makes this one a very rare survival especially as to is currant position.

I also found that the church is grade 1 listed and thought to be one of the finest in the country…….well I can’t tell tell you my view, because there was no one at home.  Although the exterior of the church and the churchyard have gone some way to make up for it not being open, but the more I read about St Mary’s the more I want to see the interior, so I will return and give you my view for what it is worth.  There are still a few more photos of the fantastic gargoyles to come, so not too bad for just a walk around the outside of a church.