Sir John Fettiplace (1623-1672), survived the first English Civil War as a Royalist colonel only to die suddenly, aged 49 - allegedly poisoned by his second wife, Susanna. Square format detail of recumbent effigy by sculptor William Byrd or Bird of Oxford on 1686 Baroque Fettiplace monument in sanctuary of St Mary’s Parish Church in the Windrush Valley, Cotswolds, village of Swinbrook, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Swinbrook, Oxfordshire, England, UK: a cloud of suspicion long surrounded the sudden death, at the age of 49, of staunch Royalist Sir John Fettiplace, who served as a colonel under Prince Rupert in the English Civil War army of King Charles I. Sir John, born in 1623, fought in the first English Civil War of 1642-1646 and in 1661, following the Restoration of King Charles II, his loyalty was rewarded with the title of 1st Baronet of Childrey. John’s first wife, Anne, died in 1668, but in June 1672, he married again, to the widow Susanna Cooke. Only a few weeks later, on 24 September, John died very suddenly - leading to speculation and unproven allegations that Susanna had poisoned him. Sir John was buried with his Fettiplace ancestors in the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin at Swinbrook, and is commemorated on a Baroque triple-tiered family monument of 1686 on the north sanctuary wall, sculpted by William Bird or Byrd of Oxford (1624-c. 1691), official mason to Oxford University. His recumbent effigy has long curly hair and wears Carolean armour and a lace cravat as it rests on a woven woollen shroud on the middle shelf. Below Sir John lies an effigy of his uncle, the Royalist High Sheriff of Berkshire and Member of the Long Parliament, John Fettiplace (1583-1658), while on the top shelf is the man who commissioned the monument, Sir Edmund Fettiplace (died 1686). The lavish memorial contrasts with a more austere triple-decker Fettiplace monument of 1613 against the same wall, where Alexander, William and an earlier Sir Edmund Fettiplace lie stiffly on shelves wearing Tudor and early Jacobean armour. The Fettiplaces, lords of the manor of Swinbrook in the 17th century, were among the wealthiest and most powerful families in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, owning estates in 15 counties. Their vast mansion at Swinbrook, in the picturesque Windrush Valley, was demolished after the last member of the dynasty died in 1805.
Size: 2827px × 2827px
Location: Swinbrook, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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