2. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Lady Chapel, from southeast, 1450-96.
3. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Lady Chapel, east end, 1496. Parish churches saw secular individuals, who had made their money in the wool trade, begin to claim positions of "eternal" prominence by having themselves represented as donors in windows or even having their mottoes written as decorative banding around the entire exterior of the church.
4. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Lady Chapel, east end, detail of exterior inscription in flint against stone asking for prayers. Pray for ye sowle of John Hyll, and for ye sowle of John Clopton esqwyer, and pray for ye sowle of Richard Loveday, boteler with John Clopton [......... ] 1496
5. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Lady Chapel, interior, looking west, 1496.
6. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Lady Chapel, interior, detail, roof.
7. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, nave,
1450-1500.
John Clopton(+ 1494) allocated a considerable amount of the wealth
that he acquired through the textile trade to rebuilding the church and
donating vestments, altarpieces, and alabaster sculpture.
8. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, north
aisle, with Clopton chapel, 1450-1500.
The rebuilding of the church and especially the Clopton chapel and
Chancels show the transition between the power of the landed aristocrat
and the individual, such as Clopton, who has acquired wealth through commerce.
9. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, south aisle with Martin chapel, 1450-1500.
10. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton chapel, Kentwell aisle, detail, memorial brasses.
11. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton
Chantry, John Clopton’s tomb seen from chancel.
Clopton was among other weathy lay donors who managed to have their
tombs set next to the high altar of their church, with a chapel to one
side. The tomb sat under an open arch between the central and side
altars, and was used for the Passion week ritual of the Easter Sepulcher.
The ceremony involved "burying" the host on Good Friday by putting it in
a special place and bringing it out for the "Resurrection" on Easter Sunday.
Nightly vigils continued for the faithful from the time of the host's disappearance
to its retrieval. By designing a personal tomb that would also function
as the Easter Sepulcher the donor achieved the additional strategy of focusing
attention to his or her gift, and also insuring that the most poignant
and intense prayers connected with the belief in the Resurrection would
"wash over" the tomb itself.
12. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton Chantry, detail, squint in back, chancel seen through opening over Clopton’s tomb, 1450-1500.
13. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton Chantry, detail, upper windows and wall, 1450-1500.
14. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton Chantry, detail, details of Clopton arms sable a bend argent between two cotises dancetty or impaled with those of families tied by marriage alliances.
15. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton Chantry, detail, upper level, 1450-1500.
16. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton
Chantry, detail, inscription below west windows with of verses of
John Lydgate on Vine of Life Scroll.
Lydgate
(+ c. 1450) was a monk at Bury St. Edmunds. O Jesus Mercy, with support
of Thy grace. . . . Remember our complaint. During our life
with many great trespass, by many wrong path where we have miswent.
Another poem: O Man, set up thine eye and see what mortal pain I suffered
for thy trespass.
17. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, detail of squint as seen from the Clopton chapel. The Double Squints allowed viewing through chantry from exterior to high altar.
18. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, Clopton Chantry, detail, view through squint. Viewer’s gaze transverses the Clopton Chantry to encompass sight of the chancel.
19. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, interior, c 1350 alabaster relief of the Virgin in Childbed with the Adoration of the Magi now set into north aisle. Probably part of an alabaster altar once in church and destroyed during the Reformation.
STAINED GLASS
20. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, window. Elizabeth
Talbot, Duchess of Norfolk and Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey, surmounted
by coat of arms of the Mowbrey family.
Elizabeth Talbot was artist’s (John Tenniel) model for the Duchess
in Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Wonderland. The stained glass is very
important in the church, although none of the fragments or figures are
in their original place. The grouping of the figures is also a modern
arrangement. Most of the windows in the north aisle, as here,
were originally in the clerestory of the nave.
21. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Sir Thomas Clopton Family window. Elizabeth Pigot (daughter-in-law of Sir Thomas Clopton), Sir Thomas Clopton + 1383 (grandfather of John Clopton: first Clopton to occupy Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, having married Catherine Mylde, heiress of the hall) Catherine Mylde (wife of Sir Thomas Clopton).
22. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Sir Thomas Clopton Family window,
detail, Catherine Mylde (wife of Thomas Clopton).
In the heraldic dress of the women, their bodies impale both their
family’s and their husband’s arms. Clopton, sable a bend argent
between two cotises dancetty or, is on the male (dexter), or viewer’s
left side. Mylde, argent a lion rampant sable, a fess checky azure
and or, is on the female (sinister), or viewer’s right side .
23. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Window #8, Thomas Peyton, sable a cross engrailed or differenced with a mullet argent at dexter chief. Men display their heraldic charges when they are in armor. When in secular dress, they show their professions (such as a judge).
24. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Window #3, Three judges (in judges robes), Sir William Howard (Chief Justice), Richard Pigot Sergeant of Law to Edward IV, and John Haugh. Clopton was executor to many leading personages, several of whom are represented in the windows.
25. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Window #3, detail, Sir William Howard-Chief Justice.
26. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Window #4, Virgin of Pity with Dead Christ in her Arms and images of the Trinity. To the sides are St. Dominic, to the left and St. Peter Martyr, to the right.
27. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Window #4, detail, Virgin of Pity.
28. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, Virgin of Pity and donor, detail, Trinity symbol of three rabbits, all sharing the same set of ears.
29. Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, detail, Virgin
of Pity, and sign of Trinity: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each are
(est) God, written on spokes to center. But each person, Son,
Father, Holy Spirit, is not (non est) the other, written on circumference.