Skip to main content

Margaret Leyland's Gravestone at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland

Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone

Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone. A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.



A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.

The inscription reads as follows:

HERE•LIETH•INT (here is assumed. That part of the gravestone is damaged.)
ERRED•THE•BODY
OF•MARGARET•THE
WIFE•OF•THVRST
AN•LEYLAND•OF
CLAYTON•WHO:
WAS•BVRIED•THE
5DAY•OF•AVGVST
ADGED 27•1686
AS•YUV•ARE•WA
LKING•SOE•WAS
I•DEATH•DID•ARR
EST•AND•HERE•I
LIE•AND•MVST•RE
MAINE•VNTILL•T
HE•JVDGMENT•DA
Y•VNTILL•THE•TR
VMPET•SOVND•A
ND•CALLS•ME•HE
NCE•A•WAY


Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone. A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.
Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone, of 1686, at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.


A Normalised Transcription

This transcription is how the information would read in modern day English.

Here lieth interred the body of Margaret, the wife of Thurstan Leyland of Clayton, who was buried the 5th day of August, aged 27, 1686.
As you are walking, so was I;
Death did arrest, and here I lie,
And must remain until the Judgment Day,
Until the trumpet sound and calls me hence away.

Context of the verse
The sentiment is very common on 17th- and 18th-century stones. Variants appear across England, for example:

“As you are now, so once was I;
As I am now, so you must be.”

This version is slightly more elaborate, adding the Christian belief in resurrection at the Last Judgment, when the trumpet sounds (a reference to 1 Corinthians 15:52).

  • Historical details in the inscription
  • Margaret Leyland
  • Wife of Thurstan Leyland of Clayton
  • Buried 5 August 1686
  • Age 27

It has an unusual reversed engraved lettering style. I have only ever seen this twice before. This is on gravestones at the Church of St Mary in Penwortham.

Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone. A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.
Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone, of 1686, at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.


Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone. A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.
Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone, of 1686, at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.


Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone. A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.
Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone, of 1686, at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.



It quite closely resembles the style. It's not exactly the same, but I would say that it could have been done by the same hands. The gravestones, one of which is described as a 'Stone Slab', are both Grade II Listed on the National Heritage List for England.

A) Gravestone 2 Metres From South East Corner of Chancel of Church of St Mary (List Entry Number 1073059)

B) Stone Slab 1 Metre North of Chancel of Church of St Mary (List Entry Number 1210839)


I am not aware of the Penwortham inters being particularly significant people, although one is identified as the ferryman.

Surely the Leyland example should be listed too? The top left corner has been damaged. However, to my eyes, it is still a rare example nonetheless.


Similar Gravestones in Penwortham

Gravestone 2 Metres From South East Corner of Chancel of Church of St Mary in Penwortham, as listed on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). 


 
Stone Slab 1 Metre North of Chancel of Church of St Mary in Penwortham, as listed on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). 




Photographs of the two gravestones from Penwortham are included in the post below for a comparison. 


Gravestone 2 Metres From South East Corner of Chancel of Church of St Mary in Penwortham, as listed on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE).
Gravestone Near South East Corner of Church of St Mary in Penwortham, as listed on NHLE



Stone Slab 1 Metre North of Chancel of Church of St Mary in Penwortham, as listed on the National Heritage List for England.
Stone Slab, North of Church of St Mary in Penwortham, as listed on the NHLE



Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone. A late-17th-century English gravestone, situated at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.
Margaret Leyland of Clayton's Gravestone, of 1686, at the Church of St Andrew in Leyland.


~


Death of Margaret wife of Thurstan Leyland


Burials, 1686. (page 243)

Margaret, ye W. of Thurstan Leland, of Clayton \  ... July 29

There is a stone lying to the south-west of the tower of Leyland Church recording the death of Margaret, wife of Thurstan Leyland. It is in an excellent state of preservation, as is generally the case with memorials which have the letters standing up in relief. The marriage of Margaret Nelson, of Ulneswalton, with Thurstan Leyland, of Clayton, took place at Leyland Church on Dec. 6, 1678. She was 27 years old at her death.


From, The register book of christenings, weddings, and burials, within the parish of Leyland : in the county of Lancaster, 1653 to 1710 (with a few earlier "transcripts", 1622-1641) on the Internet Archive:



Death of Margaret wife of Thurstan Leyland. Burials, 1686. The register book of christenings, weddings, and burials, within the parish of Leyland.
Death of Margaret wife of Thurstan Leyland Parish of Leyland



~



Labels:
Location: Church St, Leyland PR25, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crosby Blitz Beach - Remains from the city of Liverpool before World War II

Crosby Blitz Beach How did I get here?   In January 2023, I discovered the remains of an old building on the banks of the River Ribble in Penwortham.  I was intrigued.  It wasn't until December 2023 that I discovered what it was.  A member of the Preston Past and Present Facebook group posted some pictures with the description, "Preston Town Hall 1862-1947 R.I.P. built by George Gilbert Scott."  I found it fascinating, so I went back for another look in early 2024.  You can read about it here: The Remains of Preston's Third Town Hall - https://www.mylancs.uk/2024/02/the-remains-of-prestons-third-town-hall.html More recently, I was watching YouTube videos, and went on a journey through some recommendations (thanks to the YouTube algorithms).  On this particular evening, I started with a video about building developments around Liverpool City Centre.  It was created by a gentleman called Aidan, who goes by the handle of  AidanEyewitn...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hidden Viaduct of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

The Hidden Viaduct of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Old Railway Line On a personal level, I am familiar with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, or at least the disused sections around Preston and South Ribble.  I used to cross a section near Bamber Bridge on may way to school in the mid nineteen-seventies, and I am sure that there were still a few goods trains pulling loads of oil tankers crossing Brownedge Road (Brownedge Lane) that occasionally stopped us if I'd gone to school on the 113 bus.  Passenger services had long since stopped and when the goods trains had also ceased, the rail company ('British Rail') quite quickly removed the infrastructure.  This was definitely the rails and sleepers, but perhaps not the ballast straight away.  From that point forward, it became the playground of a few of the local children, myself included. Brownedge Level Crossing, Bamber Bridge around 1905 At that point, we often would have adventures in the remains of T...
2 comments
Read more

Abandoned Houses in Ulnes Walton near Leyland in Lancashire - Low House

Abandoned Houses in Ulnes Walton near Leyland in Lancashire - Low House Strictly speaking, I suppose the word in the title should be 'Buildings' as opposed to 'Houses', however, the main place of interest is 'Low House'.  From a historical point of view, that location seems to have been in existence for an number of centuries.  At this stage, it seems unlikely that the abandoned buildings represent the original property.  Web searches are not revealing any great detail at this point. The journey starts when I began watching urban and historical exploration videos on YouTube.  In the past, I had always been interested in exploring, and finding out more information about the places I had visited.  Watching the videos opened up a number of opportunities to find out about new places.  On this occasion, it was more about the tools and methods of finding 'stuff', as opposed to somebody suggesting a location on a video. I had learned about some old maps hosted ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Proud Preston - Preston's Civic Crest. The Coat-of-Arms of the City of Preston.

Proud Preston Well, actually... The letters "P.P." are taken to mean "Princeps Pacis" - The Prince of Peace. I stumbled across an article entitled, "Proud Preston's lamb: The sign is everywhere if you look hard enough" a couple of years ago.  It went on to say, "You know about the symbol of our proud city, but have you noticed just how many there are?" I've always been one for a challenge. I found all the ones that the article had pointed out, and a good few more.  However, I am sure that I have probably missed a lot as well. Proud Preston | Searching for Preston's  Coats-of-Arms Proud Preston | "Princeps Pacis" - The Prince of Peace The lamb on the city shield is a biblical image of Jesus Christ, and the same image that represented seventh century bishop St Wilfrid, the city's patron saint. The " PP " on the city shield stands for " Princeps Pacis " (Prince of Peace), another title for Christ invokin...
Post a Comment
Read more