Monument to Sir Moyle Finch (1551-1614) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1556-1634) thumbnail 1
Monument to Sir Moyle Finch (1551-1614) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1556-1634) thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 24, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries

This object consists of 69 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Monument to Sir Moyle Finch (1551-1614) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1556-1634)

Monument
ca. 1630 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This monument is one of a series commemorating members of the Finch family; it was erected after the death of Sir Moyle Finch, but during the lifetime of Lady Elizabeth Finch, who became Viscountess Maidstone in 1623, and then Countess of Winchilsea in 1628. The names of their twelve children are inscribed round the base; the monument to their fourth son, Heneage, is displayed nearby. Other monuments to members of the Finch family once in St Mary's Church, Eastwell, Kent, are now housed in the V&A. The church sadly fell into disrepair and collapsed in the 1960s, but the monuments were rescued and brought to the Museum at that date. In addition two busts of great-grandsons of Sir Moyle and Lady Finch, Daniel Finch and his brother, Canon Edward Finch, are also displayed in the V&A.

Originally this monument had a canopy with inscriptions and a giant heraldic griffin, supported by eight marble columns; this was taken down in 1756 as it was thought to be in danger of collapsing. The bases of the columns can be seen around the edge of the bier on which the figures lie. A 17th-century drawing showing the canopy exists in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries. A wide base originally extended around the bier, but this is currently not on display.

Nicholas Stone (1586/7-1647) was the foremost British sculptor of his day, and was trained in the Netherlands, where he learned the art of carving marble. With the onset of the Civil War in 1642 he evidently ceased working, and the sculptural tradition in Britain generally was not revived again until the late 17th century. Stone's notebook and account book survive, and are held at Sir John Soane's Museum in London.



Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 69 parts.

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TitleMonument to Sir Moyle Finch (1551-1614) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1556-1634) (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved marble and alabaster
Brief description
Monument to Sir Moyle Finch (1551-1614) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1556-1634), attributed to Sir Nicholas Stone the Elder, from the ruined church of St. Mary, marble and alabaster, Eastwell, Kent, Britain, ca. 1630
Physical description
Monument to Sir Moyle Finch and to Elizabeth Countess of Winchilsea, marble and alabaster. Alabaster tomb-chest standing on a wide pavement of touch and white marble (with two semi-circular lobes on the longer sides), in which can be seen the sockets for a wooden railing which once surrounded the tomb. On top is a bier supporting two recumbent effigies in white Carrara marble. The male effigy is in armour, with a sword (part missing) at his left. He has a square-cut beard, his eyes are closed and his hands rest on his stomach. The female effigy, with open eyes, wears a coif, with a veil, a falling ruff, and a gown over a ssimple dress. The bodice has a row of buttons and tabs at the waist. The head of each effigy rests on a cushion. The tomb chest is decorated with panels of serpentine which have badly deteriorated (not due to exposure after the collapse of the church roof), and on its top, surrounding the effigies, are the bases of eight columns, which formerly supported a canopy. Inscribed with the names of the twelve children of Sir Moyle and Lady Elizabeth Finch around the bier anti-clockwise from the top right.
Dimensions
  • Height: 172cm
  • Length: 469.9cm
  • Width: 464.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
'THEOPHILVS FINCH/HENEAGE FINCH/THOMAS FINCH IOHN FINCH/HENEAGE FINCH FRAVNCIS FINCH/WILLIAM FINCH/ROBERT
Gallery label
Probably by Nicholas Stone the Elder (1586/87–1647) Monument to Sir Moyle Finch (1551–1614) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Finch (1556–1634) About 1615–18 This monument commemorating a couple was made during Lady Finch’s lifetime. She later took the title of Viscountess Maidstone in her own right, and then Countess of Winchilsea. The names of their 12 children are inscribed round the base of the monument. London Marble and alabaster From the ruined church of St Mary, Eastwell, Kent(2021)
Credit line
Given by the Rector and Churchwardens of the Parish of Eastwell with Broughton Aluph
Object history
Removed from the ruined church of St Mary, Eastwell, Kent. Given to the Museum by the Rector and Churchwardens of the Parish of Eastwell with Broughton Aluph in 1969, together with Mus. Nos.: A.184-1969, A.185-1969, A.187-1969 and A.188-1969.
Production
Ascribed to Nicholas Stone
Subjects depicted
Associations
Summary
This monument is one of a series commemorating members of the Finch family; it was erected after the death of Sir Moyle Finch, but during the lifetime of Lady Elizabeth Finch, who became Viscountess Maidstone in 1623, and then Countess of Winchilsea in 1628. The names of their twelve children are inscribed round the base; the monument to their fourth son, Heneage, is displayed nearby. Other monuments to members of the Finch family once in St Mary's Church, Eastwell, Kent, are now housed in the V&A. The church sadly fell into disrepair and collapsed in the 1960s, but the monuments were rescued and brought to the Museum at that date. In addition two busts of great-grandsons of Sir Moyle and Lady Finch, Daniel Finch and his brother, Canon Edward Finch, are also displayed in the V&A.

Originally this monument had a canopy with inscriptions and a giant heraldic griffin, supported by eight marble columns; this was taken down in 1756 as it was thought to be in danger of collapsing. The bases of the columns can be seen around the edge of the bier on which the figures lie. A 17th-century drawing showing the canopy exists in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries. A wide base originally extended around the bier, but this is currently not on display.

Nicholas Stone (1586/7-1647) was the foremost British sculptor of his day, and was trained in the Netherlands, where he learned the art of carving marble. With the onset of the Civil War in 1642 he evidently ceased working, and the sculptural tradition in Britain generally was not revived again until the late 17th century. Stone's notebook and account book survive, and are held at Sir John Soane's Museum in London.

Bibliographic references
  • Williamson, Paul, ed. European Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996. p.191.
  • Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530-1630, (exhibition catalogue), Tate Gallery, London, 1995, pp. 179-80, cat. no. 122.
  • Esdaile, K.A. 'Notes on three monumental drawings from Sir Edward Dering's Collection in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries', Archaeologica Cantian, XLVII, 1935, pp. 219-234.
  • Physick, J., 'Five monuments from Eastwell', in: Victoria & Albert Museum Yearbook, II, 1970, pp. 131-5 and figs. 7, 9-12
  • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470-2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, p.310, cat.no. 16, pp. 14, 15
Collection
Accession number
A.186-1969

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Record createdNovember 19, 2002
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