Sir John Monson
Sir John Mo[u]nson was born in c1546, and was the second son of Sir John Monson (d. 1552) and Mary Hussey. Sir John was Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1577 and was knighted on 24th June 1586. He married Jane Dighton before 1570/1; together they had 13 children four of whom died in infancy. John died aged 47 on 20th December 1593 and was buried on January 12th 1594. John’s character is captured in a chancery proceeding which notes he “…deceased a man who was very well known to all the presence here sitting to bee a gent of much worship integritie and reputation and to carry himself and good regarde in all his courses and actions”. The preamble of his will reflects Protestant beliefs, and asks to be buried in the “parrishe Churche of Sowth Carlton aforesaide amongest my Ancesters there” leaving 20 shillings to the church for repairs. He is generous to his servants, and forgives any debts or rent arrears that were owed to him. The medieval manor house at South Carlton, where Sir John lived with Jane and their family, was rebuilt and expanded in later centuries. However, his will provides an insight into the fixtures and fittings of the property. He left Lady Jane with a good house, with plenty of livestock and the wherewithal to brew and bake for the first year of her widowhood; after that period the farm would produce for her. The house comprised a hall, parlour, a brewhouse and a bakehouse. The walls of the house were panelled (“seeling”). All the lead pipes and cisterns (a valuable commodity), glass and furniture in the hall and parlour were to be kept including table frames (with a board on top), and forms and stools for seating; he makes no mention of chairs. He leaves her his best basin, a ewer of silver, his best gilt salt, a nest of great gilt goblets which had been his cousin “Tirwhittes”, a nest of “my best silver tunnes”, a dozen of silver spoones called Apostles, a “Coople of my best silver stoupes or Livery pottes parcel gilte and my suger boxe of silver parcell gilte.” He leaves to his eldest son Thomas a “Cupp of silver Double gilte”, his second best salt, one dozen silver spoons and a nest of gilt bowls, lead and copper vessels. The contents and manor house of South Carlton was to remain to Thomas’s descendants (living at South Carlton) as heirlooms. Thomas had already been given conveyances covering the greater part of Sir John’s land which was to pass down through his “lawfully begotten” male heirs. The four younger sons, William, John, Robert and Anthony had land conveyed to each of them. The usual age to inherit was 21, but it is stipulated that Anthony had to wait until he was 30 for his land in Fiskerton and Repham. The reasons for this are unclear. All were left an annuity to be paid by Thomas out of lands in South Carlton, Owresbye, Keelbye and Witton; if he didn’t pay them then he was to lose those lands, ensuring that Thomas honoured the bequest.
Sir Thomas Monson
Following the death of Jane, Lady Monson, Sir Thomas (her oldest surviving son) commissioned Nicholas Stone to erect the family monument – as per the instructions in Lady Jane’s will. However, Sir Thomas appears to have been more generous with the funding than had been instructed. The notebook of Nicholas Stone records he was paid £200 for the work – Lady Jane’s instructions had limited the amount to £150. Even despite all the damage caused in the intervening years, there’s no denying that Sir Thomas spared no expense on the family monument. Sir Thomas appears to have added his own influence to the monument – having himself and his wife cast as the chief mourners, originally placed at the foot of the bed, flanking a prayer book. This may well explain why he spent £50 more than was set aside in his mother’s will for the project. Sir Thomas Monson’s early career was quite promising – he became a member of parliament initially for Castle Rising (Norfolk), under the guidance of the influential Howards. Additionally, Monson became a well-known figure at the court of King James I, becoming the king’s master falconer and holding a number of other positions too. He led quite a colourful and, at times, a controversial life prior to the monument’s commission. Perhaps most notably, in 1615, he became embroiled in a murder enquiry following the mysterious death of Sir Thomas Overbury. Although Monson was never charged and put on trial, the accusations against him were – for a time – enough to see him briefly incarcerated at the Tower of London. A great rogue of history, but without him we would not have got the funeral monument. Monson’s political career was brought to an end by his alleged involvement in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury. It was claimed that, to oblige the future countess of Somerset and the earl of Northampton, he had procured the appointment of Richard Weston, who administered the poison, as under-keeper at the Tower. Moreover, in his speech beneath the gallows, Sir Gervase Elwes, the lieutenant of the Tower, implicated Monson in the plot, and evidence from other sources indicated that some of the poisoned food had certainly passed through his house. He was arrested and arraigned at the Guildhall on 4 Dec. 1615, where Sir Edward Coke accused him of atheism, and hinted at the existence of as yet unrevealed crimes and plots against the state. Monson pleaded for Suffolk, now lord treasurer, to be present at his trial to answer two questions, but Suffolk claimed he could neither help nor hinder the case. The trial was deferred, and Monson, protesting his innocence, was stripped of office and remanded to the Tower, where he remained for a year. Coke had agreed to the delay because he hoped to obtain evidence from Monson to prove that Overbury’s murder was an attempt to hide the existence of a pro-Spanish, pro-Catholic plot involving Somerset. The reported view of James that the evidence against Monson was weak, coupled with Coke’s fall from favour, eventually led to Monson’s release on bail and then to his pardon in January 1617.[1] Rumours continued to circulate, however, that the failure to bring him to trial was part of a cover-up for some wider conspiracy involving eminent men.[2] [1] State Trials ed. T.B. Howell, ii. 950-1; Chamberlain Letters, ii. 6, 10, 26, 54, 313; CSP Dom. 1611-18, pp. 307-12. [2] Letters of Philip Gawdy ed. I.H. Jeayes, 179-80.
Jane, Lady Monson
Little is known about Jane, Lady Monson (nee Dighton) who, like many women throughout history, is referred to largely in terms of her relationship to her father, husband and sons. Jane was born around the year 1543 and lived at Little Sturton, near Horncastle in Lincolnshire on an estate which had been inherited from her paternal grandfather, Robert Dighton (d. 1523). Jane went on to marry Sir John Monson, having thirteen children and dying in her 80s. She commissioned the tomb to herself and her husband, which was overseen by their son Sir Thomas Monson. After the death of her husband, Lady Jane did not remarry. She was the matriarch of the Monson family and tasked with ensuring her unmarried daughters made suitable marriages. As stipulated by Sir John, if they married without “thassent of my saide wyfe” they would lose the benefits provided for them in his will. The concern for female heirs to make suitable matches is a possible explanation for Lady Jane’s revoking a bequest to her granddaughter, Bridget (b. 1597 in Hackney). Bridget was the daughter of Anne and Sir Edward Dymoke (m. 1594, St Michael on the Mount Lincoln). Both the Monsons and Dymokes were notable and wealthy families; Bridget is left a “Chaine of goulde besett with pearle upon pillors” by her uncle Charles Dymoke in 1610/11. Her mother dies bef. 1610, when her father marries for the third time. Sir Edward himself dies at Westminster on the 1 August 1624, a few months before her grandmother Lady Jane also dies. Bridget would have been 25 years old when Lady Jane made her will in 1622; there is no firm evidence that Bridget married between then and 1624 but it is a possibility that she had done so without the consent of her family. Despite these trials and tribulations, Lady Jane lived to at least 80 – a considerable age for the day; she outlived all her Dighton siblings and survived giving birth to 13 children. At the time of her death in 1624 she was living at North Carlton and was a great-grandmother.
Nicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone, Sr. (born 1585/88, Woodbury, Devon, England—died August 24, 1647, Winchester, Hampshire) was the most important English mason-sculptor of the early 17th century. Stone studied under Hendrick de Keyser in Amsterdam (1606–13) and was the master mason under Inigo Jones in the construction of the Banqueting House at Whitehall (1619–22). As a tomb sculptor, Stone was well established in London by 1622, and he became master mason to the crown in 1632. His style evolved from a naturalistic approach to a more classical one, as in the Francis Holles Monument (1622) in Westminster Abbey, which also demonstrates the influence on Stone of Michelangelo’s tomb of Giuliano de Medici. Stone was first and foremost an innovator, and his use of the circular base was unusual in the early 17th century. The North Gate of the Botanical Garden (1632) at Oxford reflects Renaissance ideas of garden architecture. He executed some of the sculptural decoration on the work, but additions were made at a later time. The Sir Charles Morison Monument (1619) at St. Mary’s Church in Watford, Hertfordshire, exemplifies his naturalistic style. Another classical work is the Lyttelton Monument (1634) at Magdalene College, Oxford. The Monson Monument (sculpted in 1625) was one of Stone’s defining works – his depiction of the Sir John and Lady Jane Monson broke the convention of the period by showing his subjects lying in their finery, rather than just a funeral shroud. Stone's sculpture has, therefore, been judged largely by the memorials he made. These are of great variety and, at their best, of extremely high quality. He conformed to traditional types when nothing more was required of him but he was also capable of giving creative expression to his patrons' personal interests. He was highly responsive to new artistic influences from the continent of Europe. Nicholas Stone’s Notebook – contains detailed descriptions about his works (material used, costs/payments etc). It does not give us a great insight into his personal life, but for the Monson Monument it does reveal that Sir Thomas Monson paid significantly more for the monument than Lady Jane had set aside in her will, and his determination to see the project through and make his own additions to the final design: “Beng the greet seknes year I mad a tomb for Ser Thomas Monsons father and mother and it was sett up that year in August, 2 miles beyond Lencon for the which I had 200£.” The monument to Sir John and Lady Monson was erected in the chancel of the church, in a specially constructed family chapel for the purpose. All eleven children were depicted on it as kneeling figures on the sill, Sir Thomas is believed to be represented as the figure facing the prayer desk. Sir Thomas paid cash in hand to pay for the tomb for which, it seems, he paid £200 not the £150 allowed by Jane’s will. The tomb characterises the new style/fashion of funeral monuments, which Stone was at the forefront of (arguably invented/pioneered it). Sir John and Lady Jane Monson are dressed in their finest outfits, rather than just in simple burial clothes or shrouds. There is also elaborate artwork around the ‘altar’ including figures of all of the Monson children in acts of mourning. In all the Monsons had thirteen children, though four (two sons and two daughters) died during infancy, and were originally represented by the figurines on the monument sil. The end result is striking as, even if one viewed the monument without the knowledge that the figurines represent their children, Sir John and Lady Jane are surrounded by a crowd of mourners which emphasise the popularity and influence the Monsons had. In an age where image and public perception were crucial elements to a family’s attempt to climb the social ladder, the implications showcased through the monument. Stone’s finishing touch to the design was the neo-classical style canopy, complete with a detailed dedication to the monument’s two eternal residents. Again, by placing the inscription high above the main ‘altar’, Stone had broken the standard convention set by his contemporaries and forerunners.