Description

CASTLE BYTHAM

1762/0/10006 Gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor in chur
09-MAR-11 chyard of St James's Church

GV II
A small, rectangular, upright, gravestone erected in 1678 of moulded limestone ashlar with a recessed shield incorporating the engraved lettering, above which is a central stylised flower motif flanked by scrolls. The inscription reads: 'Here Lieth the Body of ELIZABETH REANOR Who Departed [...] Life AVG: Ye 16 1678'. It is located approximately 4.5 metres south of the chancel.

HISTORY
The gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor is located in the churchyard of the Grade I listed St James's Church which dates to the late C12. The churchyard is laid out on all four sides of the church and contains limestone and slate headstones dating from the C17 to the C20. The parish records have an entry for the death of Elizabeth Reynor, a widow, on 18 August 1678, who is presumably the person commemorated here.

SOURCES
Allsop, N, J,'Castle Bytham Churchyard', unpublished survey (1997)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: it is a pre-Georgian monument, known to date to 1678
* Intactness: its essential form survives with the decorative carving intact and the majority of the inscription legible
* Group Value: it has strong group value with the Grade I listed church and two Grade II listed gravestones dating to the early and mid-C18, also located just south of the chancel, the area considered to be the prime position for burials

Reasons for Listing

The gravestone of Elizabeth Reynor, located in the churchyard of St James's Church, Castle Bytham, is listed for the following principal reasons:
* Date: it is a pre-Georgian monument, known to date to 1678
* Intactness: its essential form survives with the decorative carving intact and the majority of the inscription legible
* Historical interest: it is near two other gravestones dating to the early and mid-C18, also located just south of the chancel, the area considered to be the prime position for burials
* Group Value: it has strong group value with the Grade I listed church

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675369

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)