The tomb of John Wootton
Painting of a bishop, possibly Archbishop Courtenay
St Catherine showing the wheel on which she was martyred
Detail from the Wootton Tomb showing sword damage on the picture of the Archangel Gabriel
All Saints Heritage Trail
The St Thomas Beckett Chapel and the John Wootton Tomb
This side chapel, sometimes known as the Arundel Chapel, is dedicated to St. Thomas a Beckett and originally contained an altar to this Saint. The main feature in the Chapel, opposite the Priests Door, is the large tomb of the first Master of the College of Priests, John Wootton, who died in 1417. This tomb, which is of national importance because of its medieval paintings, would have originally been an altar tomb with a clear view across it to the Sanctuary. The back wall of the tomb was built at a later date when the Sedilia was built. The tomb is richly painted with a scene from the Annunciation, showing Mary and the Archangel Gabriel. This painting attracted the attention of anti-religious solders at the Battle of Maidstone in 1648. Note the mutilation of the painted faces and the sword slashes across it. Over the canopy are the shields of the College, Archbishops Courtenay and Arundel, and Christ Church, Canterbury.
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The tomb of John Wootton
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Painting of a bishop, possibly Archbishop Courtenay |
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St Catherine showing the wheel on which she was martyred
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Detail from the Wootton Tomb showing sword damage on the picture of the Archangel Gabriel
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The Beale Memorial
To the right of the Wootton tomb is a large engraved copper plate called The Beale Memorial. This dates from 1593 and is in memory of Thomas Beale, who was twice Mayor of Maidstone, and his two wives who bore him 21 children. The memorial is a piece of copper plate 75 cm long and 45 cm wide and contains the genealogy of six generations of the family back to the year 1399. It is divided into six spaces vertically, each space representing a generation. Each space is then divided into three compartments horizontally. The central one contains the figures of the parents, the left one represents the sons and the right one the daughters, all kneeling.
The Beale Memorial
The John Day Memorial
On the wall opposite to the Wootton Tomb is another striking memorial to John Day which contains a graphic sculpture of him and his wife with hands clasped over a skull.
The John Day Memorial
We now move along this chapel back towards the Nave.
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