The brass showing all three will be found at Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, three miles from Tewkesbury. A church that is well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Sir John is shown in the robes and coif of a judge of this era and was a quite senior member of his profession, appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1389. ‘Baron’ in this sense means ‘Judge‘ and he would have heard cases involving finance and equity, supported by a team of puisne judges. He also served on the Magistrates’ Bench for Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, no doubt as one of the Quorum. (1)
Terri, who lies at Lady Alice’s feet, is said by some sources to be a greyhound. If he was, he was either a small one or drawn out of scale. It is extremely unusual for a named animal to be recorded on a church memorial.
Sir John and his family lived at Wightfield Manor, Apperley, close to Deerhurst. It was not inherited, but bought by John and Alice for £200 in 1382, which may suggest their origins were more modest. The present building is 16th century.
Sir John died in 1400. His descendants retained the property until the 1670s, despite a period during which they were sequestrated as Royalists and Roman Catholics. (2)
(1) Members of the Quorum in a Commission of the Peace were those with (at least) more knowledge of the law than the average magistrate.
murreyandblue 