Tomb - effigial

The National Monuments Service's description

Located within the chantry chapel attached to the parish church of Stamullin (ME034-001----) which was built by Robert Preston of Gormanston c. 1460 (O'Neill 2002, 28). There is a small crest on the tomb surround. The mid-16th century double effigy tomb has been described by Hunt (1974, 1, 215, No. 207) as:

Tomb of a Preston knight and his wife c. 1540. A double slab of an altar tomb bears the effigies of a knight and his lady, carved in high relief. Their heads rest on cushions upheld by angels. The knight who is on the dexter is armed in a harness of peculiar type. This is one of the few ‘white armours’ in the foreign style in Ireland. The very peculiar style and proportions and features unrepresented elsewhere make the precise dating of this armour a matter of some difficulty. It shows traces of gothic influence, but most closely resembles several late English armours shown on brasses in the exaggeration of some of the pieces. The head-piece is most unusual and so formalized by the artist that the details are confused. It appears to consist of a basinet, perhaps with a fluted pointed skull and visor, after the fashion of that shown on the Fitzwilliam brass at Sprotborough, about 1474 or even a travesty of that on the Hastings brass of 1347. It seems to have decorated jewelled cheeks or side-pieces.
The breast is slightly keeled. The pauldrons have large rectangular extensions defending the armpit, rerebraces. The bevor has a high lisiere d’arret of angular form with a bold turnover, and seems to be bordered with something which may represent the top edge of the mail habergeon. The cowters are of pentagonal form with marked borders and decoration of a stud in the centre. Attached to the crescents in chief. Attached to the lower edge of the breast is a fauld of lames, the lowest arched in tasses attaché at mid-fauld, as at Norbury, 1473 and Elford, 1525. The cuisses have extra plates at engrailed form. A dagger rests on the right hip. It has a short cross and simple ‘T’ pommel, and the type is found at an early date but continues into the sixteenth century.
The lady wears a reticulated crown-like jewelled cap with large wings or veil. Around the neck she has a collar. This gown has large wing-like returned cuffs, tight bodice and arms, and is encircled by a belt passing through a buckle. The full skirt is folded back in the centre front, showing the straight folds of the kirtle with a deep fluted border. The shoes, resting on a dog, have blunt points and only cover the toe, like pantoufles. Despite some puzzling earlier features, the monument must be dated to the first half of the sixteenth century, possibly around 1540.

See the attached image of the couple (005) and the small crest (010).

Date of upload: 11 February, 2015

References

Hunt, J. 1974 Irish medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish University Press.

O'Neill, M. 2002 The medieval parish churches in County Meath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 132, 1-56.