(234) SLAUGHAM, St. Mary
13th-century side aisle widened in 1857-60; South chapel (Covert) of 1613 - Nairn & Pevsner (606-7) and Horsfield (Sussex I 258); condition fine in 1724, including the chancels (Ford 152); the parish had 80 families in 1724 and a population of 560 in 1801; 234D-F rivals West Firle as the most important set of Elizabethan monuments in Sussex; the Coverts were related to the Pooles at Ditchling, also tomb patrons (see 77I); for the church and family see W.A. Dengate, Slaugham, a parish in Sussex and M Girouard, 'Renaissance Splendour in Decay, the Ruins of Slaugham' (Country Life 9 Jan 1964 70-73).
234A Mural monument for Rose de BLAQUIERE, d. 1818
- South nave aisle wall, near West end, at head height.
- 32(W) x 38(H)~Fine; faded.
- M.I. (3 lines, engraved, black) on unframed white marble lozenge; rectangular black backplate; above, cherub.
- Rose de Blaquiere, 26 Oct 1813 - 11 Feb 1818.
234B Mural monument for Mary ELLISON, d. 1821
- South nave aisle wall, South-West corner, at head height.
- 43(W) x 59(H)~Fine.
- M.I. (10 lines, engraved, black) on a white marble tablet set portrait-wise in a moulded metal frame; marble corbel below; all set within a cast or stamped tin border with a cherub in a pointed pediment.
- Mary Ellison, d. 9 Apr 1821, aet 24; daughter of Robert Ellison.
234C Mural monument for Dionysius BARTLEE, d. 1773
- North nave aisle wall, West end, high.
- 93(W) x 92(H)~Fine.
- M.I. (5 lines, engraved, black) on a white marble tablet; a modest moulded border; set landscape-wise; above, ambitious moulded entablature; below, base moulding and 2 scrolled corbels.
234D Wall monument for Richard COVERT, d. 1547
- Sanctuary North wall, West of 234E.
- 183(W) x 223(H)~Good; colour lost; local damage (brasses).
- In freestone; straight, crested top; below, a Tudor arch with quatrefoils in the frieze, over a niche; 11 brasses on the back wall (4 escutcheons, 4 figures (Richard Covert & his wives 1-3), 2 M.I.s; 1 Resurrection; below, a chest with more brasses (now blank) and 3 ornamental panels on its front; facetted pillars flank the niche.
- Richard Covert, Esq., d. 7 Jun 1547; his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John and Elizabeth Fagge; his second wife, also Elizabeth, daughter of George Neville, Lord Bergavenny; his third wife, Jane, daughter of William Ashburnham, Esq.; his fourth wife, Blanche, daughter of John Vaughan of Bergavenny, Esq.
234E Wall monument for Jane FETYPLACE (COVERT), d. 1586/7
- Sanctuary North wall, North-East corner, East of 234D.
- 142(W) x 218(H) x 24(D)~Worn; some colour.
- In a range of materials: cretaceous (Petworth marble) Doric columns on base mouldings; decorative alabaster inserts in frieze; pointed pediment with rosettes & an oval lozenge over crisp entablature mouldings; rectangular panels (now blank) in frieze; 2 Doric columns on bases, between which, on the back wall, brass plates - 2 escutcheons & a female kneeling figure, at a prayer-desk and a M.I.; below, a ledger; below that, chest on plinth decorative with crowns.
- Jane Fetyplace, d. 25 Jan 1586/7; daughter of John Covert, of Slaugham; her first husband, Sir Francis Fleming; her second husband, Sir John Fetyplace; also her nephew, William Covert.
234F Wall monument for Richard COVERT, dated 1579
- South aisle, South-East corner, against South wall.
- 320(W) x 356(H) x 35(D)~Fine; no colour.
- An architectural frame around a set of achievements; trophies, skulls and kneelers; entablature with decorated frieze (rosettes, strapwork) on fluted composite columns; high pedestals with decorated panels (strapwork on face; grotesque urns and beasts on returns); arms on back wall; panel with date (engraved) '1579'; below, the name initials of a row of children: 'R, W, W, I, T, M, A, F & A, M, E, A I, E, D, M & C'; children as kneelers, facing East, some at prayer-desks, many with prayer-books.
234G Mural monument for William ELLISON, d. 1817
- South aisle wall, near East end, West of 234F, at head height.
- 82(W) x 91(H)~Very good.
- Against a yellow and grey-veined marble backplate with pointed top, a white marble lamp on a straight cornice; below, M.I. fills an unframed white tablet; drops at bottom edge; signed (lower edge): 'R.SHOUT. London fecit'.
- Captain William Ellison, R.N., d. 29 Jan 1817, aet 52; his brother, Robert.
234H Mural monument for Sarah and Robert ELLISON, d. 1813 and 1808
- South aisle, South wall, West of and alongside 234G.
- 76(W) x 92(H)~Cracked and restored (backplate); local losses.
- Description as for 234G.
- Sarah Ellison, d. 8 Mar 1813, aet 77; widow of Rev. Stanhope Ellison, rector of Wittersham and vicar of Boughton, Kent; also Robert Ellison, d. 2 Jun 1808, aet 6, son of Rev. Robert Ellison, rector of Slaugham, and his wife Sarah.
234I Mural monument for Janette Elizabeth SERGISON, d. 1846
- South choir aisle arcade, near East end, facing South, high.
- c.70(W) x c.160(H)~Good.
- A black backplate in stunted obelisk form, above, a white marble urn, draped; straight cornice breaking forward over an unframed tablet, set landscape-wise; M.I. fills tablet; curved apron; signed (lower right backplate): 'S. MANNING SC / YORK TERR. R[egent's] P[ark]'.
- Janette Elizabeth Sergison, d. 10 May 1846, aet 39; wife of Rev. William Sergison, rector of Slaugham.
