Publications
Notes on Ifield, by Dr. H. R. Mosse, published 1922 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 63, notes & queries, pp.237-238) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2148] & The Keep [LIB/500281] & S.A.S. library View Online
Ifield in the Seventeenth Century, by H. R. Mosse, M.D., published 1924 (Sussex and Surrey ourier) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Reprinted from the Sussex and Surrey Courier August 7th 1924
The Monumental Effigies of Sussex, 1250 to 1650, by H. R. Mosse, M.D., published 1928 (Lewes: Farncombe & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8296] & West Sussex Libraries
Review in Sussex Notes and Queries, August 1931:This is a very handy little book containing a complete list of Sussex brasses and monumental effigies down to 1650. It contains a very large amount of very useful information in a short form about the persons commemorated. There are diagrams of armour of different dates and of a heraldic shield which should prove most instructive to the wanderer among the churches of Sussex. There is one appendix dealing with civilian costume and priestly vestments and another giving the arms of the families mentioned in the text. Lists of the dates of the various monuments and of their distribution about the county add to the value and completeness of the volume, which is of pocket size.
It may seem thankless to call attention to slips, but there is a curious one on p.7 regarding Elizabeth Wakehurst. She and her sister Margaret were co-heiresses of their grandfather, Richard Wakehurst, and by their marriages to the brothers Richard and Nicholas Culpeper carried the Wakehurst estates into the latter family. The statement that Elizabeth's " father-in-law was the last male heir of the family" is therefore incorrect. Another error on the next page is due in the first place to the pedigree in S.A.C. xlviii which gives the date of Margaret Culpeper's death as 1509. The brass in Ardingly Church gives the date quite clearly as 1504.
We hope that many will avail themselves of this little book. It must have entailed an enormous amount of labour which will be appreciated by those who enjoy the fruit of it.
It may seem thankless to call attention to slips, but there is a curious one on p.7 regarding Elizabeth Wakehurst. She and her sister Margaret were co-heiresses of their grandfather, Richard Wakehurst, and by their marriages to the brothers Richard and Nicholas Culpeper carried the Wakehurst estates into the latter family. The statement that Elizabeth's " father-in-law was the last male heir of the family" is therefore incorrect. Another error on the next page is due in the first place to the pedigree in S.A.C. xlviii which gives the date of Margaret Culpeper's death as 1509. The brass in Ardingly Church gives the date quite clearly as 1504.
We hope that many will avail themselves of this little book. It must have entailed an enormous amount of labour which will be appreciated by those who enjoy the fruit of it.
The Monumental Effigies of Sussex, 1250 to 1650, by H. R. Mosse, M.D., published 1933 (2nd edition, xix + 241 pp., Hove: Combridges) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 50][Lib 11217] & The Keep [LIB/502187] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Review by F. B. S. [F. Bentham Stevens] in Sussex Notes and Queries, May 1933:Dr. Mosse has done for the monumental effigies in Sussex Churches what Mr. Frederick Harrison, F.S.A., has already done for the architectural features of the churches, and Mr. J. E. Couchman, F.S.A., in a different form and on rather different lines, for Church Plate.
In this small volume will be found a catalogue of all the effigies in stone and brass within the limits laid down, namely monuments dated between 1250 and 1650. In passing it may be noted that these limits do not include the fine series of 18th century monuments at Withyham which Mrs. Arundell Esdaile described at last year's summer meeting of the Society.
In each case the author gives the position in the church of the monument, and a full and detailed description of the figure and its armour or other habiliments.
In the case of the brasses the size of the monument is, as it should be, added. There are also in most cases genealogical and historical notes on the persons commemorated, and references to standard works in which the monument is dealt with. The whole forms a most useful book of reference which will be indispensable for those interested in this branch of archaeology : and future students will owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Mosse for his careful work.
In a book which aims at being a complete catalogue rather than a descriptive commentary the author no doubt rightly eschews any attempt to arrange the monuments in order of importance, though he cannot refrain from drawing attention to the noble brass of Thomas Nelond at Cowfold as "not only the largest but the most beautiful in the county." A pardonable pride in Sussex brasses makes one glad that he has noted in the new edition that the fine brass of Margarite de Camoys (1310) in Trotton Church is the earliest representation in England of a woman in brass. The extremely graceful floriated cross in brass at Buxted is another example of which Sussex has every reason to be proud.
Another very interesting and almost unique brass is that at Fletching which commemorates Petrus Denot, Glover. This is not even mentioned by Dr. Mosse presumably because it is not considered technically an "effigy," being merely a pair of gloves in brass. But as it is the only monument of its kind perhaps a note might be added to future editions in order to make the book a complete record of all Sussex brasses (apart from mere inscriptions) and to help keep alive the tradition of a local industry which continued in this part of the county until within living memory.
Exactitude in the transliteration of mediaeval inscriptions is always very difficult of attainment, and probably Dr. Mosse has attained a higher standard than any previous writer on Sussex. There is a slip on p.116 where the dedication of Horsted Keynes is given as St. Michael and All Angels instead of St. Giles, as it is correctly given in the index. Dr. Mosse has fallen into the trap which has caught so many who have dealt with the family of Culpeper, by identifying Sir William Culpeper of Wakehurst with Sir William of Aylesford, who made successful exertions in the reduction of usury (see S.A.C. xlviii, 94, 95).
Whatever may be the minor shortcomings of the book, however, it remains a very notable piece of work and must always be the foundation upon which any future student will work.
In this small volume will be found a catalogue of all the effigies in stone and brass within the limits laid down, namely monuments dated between 1250 and 1650. In passing it may be noted that these limits do not include the fine series of 18th century monuments at Withyham which Mrs. Arundell Esdaile described at last year's summer meeting of the Society.
In each case the author gives the position in the church of the monument, and a full and detailed description of the figure and its armour or other habiliments.
In the case of the brasses the size of the monument is, as it should be, added. There are also in most cases genealogical and historical notes on the persons commemorated, and references to standard works in which the monument is dealt with. The whole forms a most useful book of reference which will be indispensable for those interested in this branch of archaeology : and future students will owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Mosse for his careful work.
In a book which aims at being a complete catalogue rather than a descriptive commentary the author no doubt rightly eschews any attempt to arrange the monuments in order of importance, though he cannot refrain from drawing attention to the noble brass of Thomas Nelond at Cowfold as "not only the largest but the most beautiful in the county." A pardonable pride in Sussex brasses makes one glad that he has noted in the new edition that the fine brass of Margarite de Camoys (1310) in Trotton Church is the earliest representation in England of a woman in brass. The extremely graceful floriated cross in brass at Buxted is another example of which Sussex has every reason to be proud.
Another very interesting and almost unique brass is that at Fletching which commemorates Petrus Denot, Glover. This is not even mentioned by Dr. Mosse presumably because it is not considered technically an "effigy," being merely a pair of gloves in brass. But as it is the only monument of its kind perhaps a note might be added to future editions in order to make the book a complete record of all Sussex brasses (apart from mere inscriptions) and to help keep alive the tradition of a local industry which continued in this part of the county until within living memory.
Exactitude in the transliteration of mediaeval inscriptions is always very difficult of attainment, and probably Dr. Mosse has attained a higher standard than any previous writer on Sussex. There is a slip on p.116 where the dedication of Horsted Keynes is given as St. Michael and All Angels instead of St. Giles, as it is correctly given in the index. Dr. Mosse has fallen into the trap which has caught so many who have dealt with the family of Culpeper, by identifying Sir William Culpeper of Wakehurst with Sir William of Aylesford, who made successful exertions in the reduction of usury (see S.A.C. xlviii, 94, 95).
Whatever may be the minor shortcomings of the book, however, it remains a very notable piece of work and must always be the foundation upon which any future student will work.
Treasures of the Sussex Churches: A List of Ancient Church Accessories to Divine Worship existing up to AD 1800, by H. R. Mosse, M.D., published 1937 (59 pp., Chichester Diocesan Fund) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8297] & East Sussex Libraries
The Chiddingly Wooden Chalice, by Dr. H. R. Mosses, published May 1938 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VII no. 2, reply, pp.60-61) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12536][Lib 8864][Lib 2206] & The Keep [LIB/500209] & S.A.S. library