Introducing the fabulous Carolean monument to members of the Merry family at St Mary’s in Walthamstow Village, London Borough of Waltham Forest.
The monument is of course the work of Sir Nicholas Stone and features busts of Sir Thomas and Dame Mary within oval niches, surmounted by an entablature and pediment with ‘loosely’ robed ladies either side, as well as carvings below the niches depicting their offspring. It’s also believed that the eulogy inscription for Dame Mary was written by Sir William Davenant, godson to William Shakespeare, if you notice too the inscription slate for Sir Thomas is still blank.
Sir Thomas himself was a prosperous landowner in Walthamstow having entered the royal household of James I as Clerk of the Privy Kitchen before working his way up to a Chief Controller position overseeing the finances of the royal household itself.
Unsurprisingly, he was staunch Royalist during the English Civil War, for which he was ‘compounded’ severely for his allegiance. In fact, following a financial assessment in 1643, he was brought up in custody to pay £500 though unable to do so at the time led to his goods being seized and promptly sold off. Eventually, he paid £108 for the redemption of his goods though was forced to part with £70 worth of his horses and £24 worth of plate, gadzooks!
