Graveslab

The National Monuments Service's description

From Potterton (2005, App. 13, 397-8, No. 5):
Sixteenth-century slab (John Ward, d. 1509) (Fig . 7.4)
This memorial slab is the southernmost of the three memorials set into the east wall inside the tower of St Patrick's church (ME036-048012-). It was uncovered, face-down, at a depth of 5 feet, during the preparation of the foundations for the present chancel in the nineteenth century (Callary 1899, 35). The slab was then inserted into the floor of the porch and remained there until at least 1906 (this may explain why the surface of the slab is so smooth, almost polished). It is a plain rectangular limestone slab with a marginal gothic inscription that reads HIC JACETI JOHANNES WARDE DECRETORUM DOCTOR QUONDAM ISTIUS ECCLESIAEI RECTOR QU1 OBIIT XX/ VI DIE FEBRUARII ANNO D Mo D VIIIIo). In the inscription, the second part of one letter is regularly used to form the first part of the next. The obituary of John Ward is recorded in the registers of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where it states Ob. Johannes Ward decretorum doctor atque ecclesie parochialis sancti Patricij de Trym quondam rector qui legauit priori et conventui in moneta v. marcas cuius anime propicietur deus amen' (Refaussé and Lennon 1998, 45). The title ‘Decretorum Doctor’ is apparently synonymous with Doctor of Canon Law. [Length: 188cm; Width: 78cm; Thickness: Conwell (1872-3, 401) was able to give the thickness of the slab as 5” [c. 13cm]]. (FitzGerald 1921-5, 219-20)

Date of upload: 16 February, 2015

References

Potterton, M. 2005 Medieval Trim: history and archaeology. Dublin, Four Courts Press

Callary, P. 1899 The tower and church of St Patrick, Trim. Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 5, (Jan.-June) 30-47.

Refaussé, R. and Lennon, C. 1998(eds) The registers of Christ Church cathedral, Dublin. Dublin.

Conwell, E. A. 1873 A ramble round Trim. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 12, 361-430.

FitzGerald, Lord W. 1921-5 Trim: St Patrick's Churchyard. Journal of the Associateion for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland, 11, 71-6; 219-23.