St Mary's Warwick history and heritage

St Mary's Warwick history and heritage Welcome to the page for St Mary's Warwick's history, art, and anything cultural

Here we have four representations of feathers. But which is the odd one out?
14/06/2026

Here we have four representations of feathers. But which is the odd one out?

Today is the anniversary of the death of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), burned as a heretic at Rouen in 1431. Richard Beauc...
30/05/2026

Today is the anniversary of the death of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), burned as a heretic at Rouen in 1431. Richard Beauchamp gets a bad press as being responsible for her murder (thanks in large part to George Bernard Shaw) but that is not entirely fair. He was keeper of the castle in which she was held, so he was 'her gaoler', and there is no doubt that he wanted to see her tried and convicted. However, most of the English court were at Rouen at that time, including the king's uncle, the Duke of Bedford who, of course, outranked Richard, and Jeanne was convicted, not by English, but Burgundian judges. OK, it was a set up job, and Richard played his part, but it was not his decision alone, far from it.

Image from a 15th century illustration, sourced from https://citeroyaleloches.fr/en/donjon-de-loches/characters/jeanne-darc

Our posts about the lives of people memorialised at St Mary's are always popular, but this one took a bit of unpicking -...
24/05/2026

Our posts about the lives of people memorialised at St Mary's are always popular, but this one took a bit of unpicking - the usual problems of sorting out family members with the same name and, perhaps, this error being made on the memorial itself ... or was it???

Here we have an unusual memorial to members of the Standert family, which is remarkably well preserved given that it frequently gets walked over, as it is placed in the north transept, just before the entrance to the vestry area. It commemorates Osborne (died 1816), Elizabeth and Caroline (both said to have died in 1829), and Marianne (died 1849). Standert is not a name associated with Warwick, so why are they here?

The connection is the Stauntons of Longbridge (on the outskirts of Warwick, where J15 of the M40 now is), who are recorded there as early as 1450 and were probably the most important family in the vicinity of Warwick other than the Grevilles at the castle. William Staunton had married Elizabeth Standert, the daughter of Osborne. Osborne was a wealthy 'esquire' who lived in London, so of independent means, but he is buried at St Mary's - presumably he was at Longbridge when he died. Caroline and Marianne were Elizabeth's sisters; again, both are buried at St Mary's.

But it's not as straightforward as that. A book written in the 1840s records that a memorial was on the floor in the north transept, where it still is, to Osborne and Elizabeth, the latter having died on 30 April 1839. There is no mention of Caroline or Marianne, and the latter would still have been alive when the book was published. So, it seems as though the original memorial was replaced after Marianne's death, adding her and Caroline. But the 'new' memorial records Elizabeth's death as 22 September 1829. It looks as though they may have got the wrong Elizabeth; the 1829 date refers not to William's wife, but to his wife's mother, who (of course) was also called Elizabeth. Or, if you want a conspiracy theory, was it deliberate? The elder Elizabeth is also buried at St Mary's, her age at death being recorded as 75.

Just one more of those St Mary's mysteries that we don't know the answer to!

Sometimes it's nice just to pause and take in the magnificence of the east window and the statues and carvings around it...
07/05/2026

Sometimes it's nice just to pause and take in the magnificence of the east window and the statues and carvings around it (all original). Much, but by no means all, of the glass is fragments recovered from the side windows after their destruction in 1643: the upper parts and the four saints -Thomas Becket, Alban, Winifred and John of Bridlington - survived. The most serious loss is the image that would have been in the centre of the window - either the Assumption of the Virgin, or her Coronation. We don't know which it was, but we think that the Assumption is the more likely.

For St George's Day, we are featuring one of the roundels on the hearse above Richard Beauchamp's effigy. The cross of S...
23/04/2026

For St George's Day, we are featuring one of the roundels on the hearse above Richard Beauchamp's effigy. The cross of St George features at the west end of the central pole, flanked by Richard's personal arms. The saint was, of course, England's patron saint and intimately connected with the Order of the Garter, so its appearance in the chapel is a symbol of honour and of loyalty to the Crown. Indeed, the royal arms are shown in the roundel at the opposite end of the central pole, again flanked by Richard's arms.

It's been some time since we delved into the story behind one of the burials at St Mary's, and this is a fascinating one...
12/04/2026

It's been some time since we delved into the story behind one of the burials at St Mary's, and this is a fascinating one. In front of the chancel sanctuary rail is very grand ledger stone marking the grave of Robert Gibson Howkins, who died on 25 April 1836. Tragically he was only one year old, but even worse he is described as the third son, yet in the 1841 census the eldest child was only four years old: Robert's elder brothers both died young as well.

A real puzzle is how a child so young came to be buried in such a prestigious location, and was memorialised with an expensive, full size stone with a splendid coat of arms. What is even more remarkable is that his parents, Theophilus and Marian, had only recently moved to Warwick, with little Robert having been born in Clapham, Surrey (now in SW London). The 1836 burial register records Theophilus as being a gentleman, living in Market Place. He was still at Market Square in 1838 when a daughter, Marian, was baptised at St Mary's, and in that register he is described as a banker. By 1841 the family had moved to Harbury, near Warwick. Quite why the family moved to Warwick is a mystery.

Theophilus moved around the country, eventually settling in Devon, where he died aged 80. No other members of the family are buried at St Mary's.

The family were clearly wealthy, at least they were when they came to Warwick, and their little boy's memorial may have been a statement of how important they saw themselves. Yet Warwick at that time was not an obvious place to attract a rich banker, and it would be interesting to learn more about Theophilus's business activities here.

***EXCITING NEWS!***We need to raise money to help preserve the Beauchamp chapel, and to help us do that we are delighte...
01/04/2026

***EXCITING NEWS!***

We need to raise money to help preserve the Beauchamp chapel, and to help us do that we are delighted to announce that Richard Beauchamp is going on tour!

To raise awareness of the chapel and to raise funds, we have decided to allow Richard's effigy to go on display at suitable venues across the country during 2027 - cathedrals, larger churches and museums. If you know of any places near to you that you think might be interested (mainland UK only, sorry), then please get in touch.

So look out for 'Richard on tour' next year!

Address

Old Square
Warwick
CV344RA

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 12pm - 4pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when St Mary's Warwick history and heritage posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to St Mary's Warwick history and heritage:

Shortcuts

Share

Category