THE LOST HERBERT TOMBS

 

 

Gwladys Ddu and her husband,

William, were buried in Abergavenny Priory

but their son and grandson

(also called William)were laid to rest

in Tintern. Helen Morgan reports:

 

                 

 

 

 A 17th-century manuscript, known as the Herbertorum Prosapia, contains drawings purporting to be the tombs of William Herbert, first Earl of Pembroke, his son, Earl of Huntingdon and their wives. William senior was a personal friend of Edward IV and a leading power-broker during the early Yorkist period. So, when Warwick the Kingmaker turned against Edward IV in 1469, William was the obvious person to resolve matters. It did not work out as planned: the battle was a disaster for the Yorkists. William and his brother Richard were captured and executed.

William had already made his will. In the first version, he asked for burial in Abergavenny, near his parents. He then added a codicil asking instead for burial at the Cistercian abbey of Tintern. His final will, made on the morning of his execution, reverted to burial at Abergavenny but his body made it only as far as Tintern. William junior’s political profile was lower than his father’s but he was well-connected.  Despite his Yorkist contacts, he readily made peace with Henry VII (they had after all been brought up together at Raglan Castle). In his will, made shortly after his first wife’s death, he asked for burial with her at Tintern.

Sir Thomas Herbert, presumed author of the Prosapia, owned land in Tintern. This was the title he took when he obtained his baronetcy in 1662, but he spent little time in Wales. Some of his drawings are clearly fiction. Yet some are perfectly accurate, says Professor Madeleine Gray. “One tomb is unlike any of his other drawings. The costume and armour are clearly inaccurate. The whole appearance is 17th century. The text beneath cannot be from the original tomb as it makes no reference to prayer for the dead. And what about the weepers? Kneeling weepers are unusual in the 15th century. The other tomb that Herbert describes was that of William junior and Mary Wydeville. It is even more of a puzzle —  the only example where Herbert has drawn railings around a tomb, possibly reflecting something he saw for himself or had heard about. Yet the description of the Tintern tombs as defaced and ruined does imply that there was still something there.”

Professor Gray’s talk in the Borough Theatre on May 13th starts after the AGM at 7.30pm

 It is free to members of Abergavenny Local History Society. Non-members may join on the night. For details see the Membership page. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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