A group of memorial tablets are sited, to both sides, high over the west door. From these we learn that several bodies are buried in the church. William Adams, Edwin his second surviving son, William Cole Adams eldest son of William and William’s wife Charlotte were (all) buried in a vault on the north side of the chancel. Presumably this is now under the organ. Richard Williams is buried in the centre of the middle aisle. In the south aisle are buried William Jones, referred to as a ‘common brewer of this town’ and his wife Sarah. Two coffins, discovered during work to the floor of the South Chapel, as part of the Regeneration Project (2021 -3), may be the final resting places of William and Sarah.We also learn that the East window, described earlier, is dedicated to Robert Frost and his wife Penelope both of Belle Vue.
A fascinating puzzle surrounds two memorials. One of these is dedicated to Mary Sikes who died in 1850 and was wife of John Sikes ‘of this Parish’. Her remains are deposited in a vault at Little Cornard. The second links (presumably) brother and sister, Branwhite Oliver, magistrate and Susanna Sikes, widow of John Sikes ‘of London’. As Susannah died in 1820 there must have been two John Sikes. Were they related? The memorials give away no secrets. In the course of flooring work, the final resting place of Branwhite and Susanna was discovered about 4 foot to the east of the south-east tower pillar.
Behind the organ, sadly now hidden is a fine memorial. It celebrates, in fulsome tones, the life and work of Henry Watts Wilkinson, M.A. who was vicar of St. Gregory and St. Peter, Sudbury from 1807 to his death in 1851. The high regard in which he was held is recorded in so far that, “The parishioners have erected this monument as a tribute of affection to the memory of their faithful pastor…”.
He was a man who during his 44 years ministry we learn “ceased not with all meekness yet with earnestness and fidelity to preach and to teach faith in the crucified Redeemer as the alone foundation of the sinner’s hope and the only source of true holiness”. This last resting place of this revered pastor is very simply marked by a plaque set in the floor of the chancel. It reads HWW 1851.
There are three smaller memorials all set into the floor. The first records, on a tablet in the Nave, the death of Rev. Theophilus Lane, Prebendary of Hereford. He died on July 12th as a result of an accident while visiting the town in 1814. Close by is an almost indecipherable memorial to George Revell who died in November, 1823, his wife who died in 1820 and his daughter Ann who died in the same year. By the entrance to the Lady Chapel is a memorial to Richard and Jane Dupont, husband and wife.
These memorial tablets span a short period of 53years, roughly equating to the first half of the 19th century, or looked at another way, the incumbency of Rev. Henry Watts Wilkinson. The first recorded death (Richard Williams) was in 1798. The last (Henry Watts Wilkinson) was in 1851. An investigation of the memorials recording burials in the graveyard to the north of the church reveals a similar pattern of dates from the first half of the nineteenth century.
Roger Green
January 2024
The Friends of St Peter's 