File:St Mary's church - stained glass - geograph.org.uk - 730912.jpg

English: Stained glass, St Mary's Church, Baconsthorpe, Norfolk. Arms of Haydon (Quarterly argent and gules, a cross engrailed counter-changed (counter-quartered of the field)) impaling in chief Argent, a pair of windmill sails sable (Loverd, Blomefield: " Sir Richard Heydon, who died in the wars of France, in K. Edward the Third's time, and David Heydon, his eldest son, who by Margaret his wife, had Hugh, his son and heir, who married Alice, daughter and heiress of Loverd, by whom he had the manor of Loverd in Heydon, whose arms, argent, a pair of windmill sails, sable, was quartered by the Heydons") and in base Azure, a garb or (Grosvenor, heiress of Loverd).

Text from: Francis Blomefield, 'Hundred of South Erpingham: Baconsthorp', in An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 6 (London, 1807), pp. 502-513. [1]

The family of the Heydons take their name from the town of Heydon in this hundred of South Erpingham; Thomas de Heydon was a justice itinerant in Norfolk in 1221, from whom descended William Heydon, of Heydon, Esq. whose son William lived at Heydon in the reign of Edward I. Simon Heydon Esq. was his son and heir, who had two sons, Sir Richard Heydon, who died in the wars of France, in K. Edward the Third's time, and David Heydon, his eldest son, who by Margaret his wife, had Hugh, his son and heir, who married Alice, daughter and heiress of Loverd, by whom he had the manor of Loverd in Heydon, whose arms, argent, a pair of windmill sails, sable, was quartered by the Heydons,

By Alice, he had William Heydon, Esq. who by Isabel, daughter of John Moore, of Norwich, Gent: (fn. 12) had Robert Heydon, Esq. of Heydon, who married Cecily, daughter and heiress of Robert Oulton of Oulton in Norfolk, Esq. an eminent lawyer in the reign of Henry IV. whose arms, quarterly, vert and gules, a lion rampant argent, over all, the Heydons quartered.

He was succeeded by his son and heir, William Heydon, Esq. who married Jane, daughter and heiress of John Warren, of Lincolnshire, whose arms, Chequer or and azure, on a canton gules, a lion rampant argent, is also quartered by the Heydons family; he was the first of hi family that settled here, having purchased a moiety of the manor of Woodhall in this town, and was buried in the chapel in the north isle, with this epitaph, now lost,

O Jesu tolle a me quod feci Et remaneat mihi quod tu fecisti, Ne pereat quod sanguine tuo redemisti.

He flourished in the reign of Henry Vth. and was succeeded by his son and heir, John Heydon of Baconsthorp, a lawyer of eminent practice and dignity in the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward the IV. whereby he much advanced the estate and fortunes of his family, being a feoffee and trustee to most of the great estates in this county; in 1431 he was made recorder of Norwich; in 1442 he obtained a patent from King Henry VI. that he should not at any time be called to the degree of a serjeant at law, (fn. 13) (so different were those times from the present,) being in singular favour with that prince for his attachment to the house of Lancaster. In 1447, he was executor to the will of Joan Lady Bardolf, and to that of Sir John Clifton, Knt. of Buckenham castle.

In 1466, he purchased Pateslee manor, and the moieties of the manors of Hedenham and Kelling; and in 1464 appointed by the will of the Lady Isabel Morley, counsellor to her executors; in 1473, Walter Lyhert Bishop of Norwich left him by will, his cup, that he daily used, of silver gilt, with the cover. He married Eleanor, daughter of Edmund Winter of Winter Berningham in Norfolk, Esq. and was buried in a chapel which he built for the burial-place of himself and family, on the south side of the cathedral, joining to the present consistory on the west, now in ruins, to which cathedral he and his family were benefactors, as their arms in many places testified; by his last will he gave to the prior and convent all that they owed him, on condition they erected a tomb over him, and buried him: (fn. 14) he died in 1480, (and his will was proved on June 20th, in the said year) seized of the lordships of Baconsthorp, Losehall, in Hemstede, Bodham, Brache's in Salthouse, Loverds in Heydon, Saxlingham, Oldton-Hall and Leches in Oldton, Thurfford, Walsingham Magna, Bokenham's in Carlton-Rode, Hocham Parva, Laundes in Tibenham, Pensthorp and Hackford cum Repham, called Heydons manor, there.

Sir Henry Heydon, Knt. was his son and heir; he was steward of the house to Cecilia Dutchess of York, widow of Richard Duke of York, father and mother of Edward the IV. King of England, &c. and made by her supervisor of her will, (fn. 15) with orders to see her buried in Fodringhey collegiate church, by her husband; was also chief bailiff of the honour of Eye; in 1497 an exchange was made between him and William Berdwell, jun. Esq. who settled Witchingham manor in Salthouse and Kelling on Sir Henry, and he gave to Berdwell his manor of Drayton-Hall in Scarning and Dillington: was also lord of Dorkettys in Snoring Parva.

He built the hall, or manor-house, at Baconsthorp, a spacious, sumptuous pile, entirely from the ground, except the tower, (which was built by his father,) in the space of 6 years; also the church, and a noble house at West Wickham in Kent, (fn. 16) which place he purchased before the death of his father, and dwelt there, and it continued in the family till the reign of Queen Elizabeth; the church of Salthouse was also built by him, and the causey between Thirsford and Walsingham was made at his expense.

He married Elizabeth (some say Ann) daughter of Sir Jeffrey Boleyn, Knt. Lord Mayor of London, and dying in 1503, was buried by his father in Heydon chapel aforesaid; by his lady he had three sons, Sir John Heydon, and Henry Heydon, Esq.; in 1543, the moiety of Hide manor in Pangborn, Berkshire, the moiety of the manor and advowson of Nutfield in Surrey, the moiety of Shipton Solers manor and advowson in Gloucestershire were settled by John Armstrong, on the said Henry Heydon and Ann his wife, as her inheritance. (fn. 17) William Heydon, 3d son, was slain by the rebels in Kett's insurrection, 1549, and buried in St. Peter's church Mancroft; also 5 daughters; Amy, married to Sir Roger le Strange of Hunstanlon, Knt. Dorothy, to Sir Thomas Brook, son and heir to John Lord Cobham; Elizabeth, to Walter Hobart of Hales-hall, Esq.; Ann to William Gurney, Esq.; and Bridget to Sir William Paston, Knt.

Sir John Heydon, the eldest son and heir, was created Knt. of the Bath at the coronation of King Henry VIII; he was a great courtier, and is said to have lived profusely in his father's time, but afterwards became much reformed; the lordships of West Wickham, Baston, Keston and Southcourt in Kent, forfeited by Sir Robert Belknap, lord chief justice of the Common Pleas, in the reign of King Richard II. he was forced to repurchase of Sir Edward Belknap, who was restored in blood and lands by the parliament in the 7th of Henry VIII. He married Catherine, daughter of Christopher Willoughby, Lord Willoughby of Parham, and died in the 82d year of his age, August 16th, 1550, his lady in her 72d, 1542, and are both buried under an altar tomb, in the north isle of this church, now deprived of its brass plates, but these arms are still remaining,—quarterly, argent and gules, a cross ingrailed counterchanged, Heydon quartering Warren, and Oldton, and impaling Willoughby, or, fretty azure, with the crest of Heydon, a talbot passant ermin, and motto, Regardes Que Suyst, De Vertue Null. Male.

They had four daughters; Elizabeth, married to Thomas Darcy of Tolston Darcy in Essex, Esq.; Eleanor to John Townsend, Esq. son and heir of Sir Roger Townsend of Rainham; Margaret, to Sir Everard Digby of Rutlandshire; Alice, and Ursula, who died single; and several sons; Sir Christopher, the eldest, married Ann, daughter of Sir John Heveningham of Keteringham, and dying before his father, in 1540, he had four children; John, who died young; Catherine the wife of Sir Miles Corbet of Sprouston, and Mary, wife of Roger Windham, Esq. son and heir of Sir Edmund Windham, &c.

Sir Christopher Heydon, his son and heir, who inherited on his grandfather's death, in 1551, cut off the entail that laid on his estate; he was in great esteem and veneration for his many excellent qualities, particularly for his justice, charity, and remarkable hospitality, equal to his ample estate, and is said to have entertained 30 head or master shepherds of his own flocks, at a Christmas-dinner at Baconsthorp; was knighted at the sacking of Cadiz, and was buried in the south isle chapel of this church, and on his tomb is this inscription, (leaving Agnes, his 3d wife, daughter of—Crane of Chilton, in Suffolk, who afterwards married Sir Edward Clere.)

Here under this tombe lyeth ingraved the bodies of the Ladie Anne Heydon, daughter of Sir William Drury Knyghte, sometyme wyfe of Syr Christopher Heydon, of Baconsthorp in the county of Norfolk, Knt. which Ladie Anne deceased the vth. day of Sept. Ao. 1561, and the said Christopher, the 10th. day of Dec. 1579, and also the Ladie Temperance Heydon, secund wyfe of the said Sir Christopher, daughter of Sir Wymunde Carewe, Knt. which Ladie Temperance deceased the nynthe, day of October, in Ao. Dni 1577.

HEYDON Miles, eram, jam factus vile cadaver, Et citò pulvis erit, quæso, memento mori. O Cæla! O Lacrimas! O Mortis dira potestas! Insignis Miles mortuus ecce jacet.

On the tomb are the effigies of Sir Christopher, his two wives and children, with the quartered coat of Heydon, and the arms of Drury, and or, three lions passant in pale sable, Carew.

He died possessed of the manors of Baconsthorp Hall, and Woodhall, and the park in Bachonsthorp, Lound Hall and Michel Hall in Saxthorp, Nowers alias Estes in Saxlingham, Salthouse, Thorp's and Ests in Repham, Thursford, Letheringset, Booles and Walcots, alias Snoring Parva, Netherhall, and Loosehall in Hemstede, Loverds in Heydon, with Cockford's Averbeck's, Creping, and Lewes in Saxthorp, Leches and Olton-Hall in Oldton, Bodman, Kelling, Cley, Holt, (fn. 18) Hackford-Hall in Repham, Gunners in Cromere, Wiveton, Blakeney, Waborn, Corpusty, Threxton, the reversion of La Viles in Letheringset; Waborn and East Beckham rectories, the site of Waborn priory, with the advowsons of East Beckham, Waborn, Holt, Cley, Kelling, Salthouse, Bodham, Snoring Parva and Magna, St. Dunstans free chapel in Saxthorp, in Norfolk. The manors of West Wickham, Baston, Keston and Southcourt in Kent. By his 2d lady he had no issue; by the 3d a daughter Ann, married to Sir Theophilus Finch; by the 1st, 3 sons, Sir William Hedon, Henry, and Christopher, and 4 daughters; Mary, married to Thomas Bleverhasset of Barsham, Esq. Elizabeth, to John Wentworth of Mounteneys in Essex, Esq.; Ursula, to Roger Townsend, Esq. and Jane.

Sir William Heydon, son and heir, by engaging in several projects with certain citizens of London, contracted a large debt, and sold much of his paternal estate, was one of the deputy lieutenants of Norfolk, a justice of the peace, admiral of the admiralty jurisdiction, and high sheriff of the county; he died in 1593, March 19th, and was buried in the south isle chapel, where, on a mural monument, is the effigies of him and his lady, kneeling at a desk, with the quartered coat of Heydon, and the arms of Wodehouse of Hickling, quarterly ermine, in the first and fourth, and azure, a leopard's face, or, in the second and third, and thus inscribed over his head,

Vixit Annos Quinquaginta tres, Menses quatuor, Obt. 19 Die Mensis Martii, Ao. Dni. 1593, and under him,

HEYDONOS inter Patres Gulielmus, Avosq. Hic Ille est Procerum, Religionis Amor; Norfolciœ fidus Patriæ, Terrâq; Mariq; Officiis Belli claruit, atq. Togæ.

Finitimos Armis decorans, et Legibus armans, Munera Pacis obit, Munera Pacis habet.

Under his lady,

D. G. H. Militi Generosissimo Norff. admirallio quondam et summo Vice Comiti Legato Consulari, et Irenarchœ, D. Anna H. Uxor D. G. Woodhous Militis filia, Suspirans et Sperans, Conjugale hoc Monumentum Sacro Sancti Amoris ergo Vivens posuit.

By his lady Anne he had three sons, Christopher, William and John; Christopher, the eldest, had his education in the University of Cambridge, and afterwards travelled into many foreign countries, was high steward of the cathedral church of Norwich, and knighted at the sacking of Cadiz, by Robert Earl of Essex. It appears that this knight, and Sir John Heydon his brother, were concerned with the Earl of Essex, and that they both had a pardon passed in 1601; (fn. 19) when the privy council, in 1620, issued letters to all the nobility and gentry in England, requesting a loan for the recovery of the Palatinate, Sir Christopher (who earnestly solicited it) sent a letter to the privy council, acquainting them that the Papists were as ready to assist the Emperor, as the King was to assist the King of Bohemia, and that they met at the house of Mr. Henry Kervile, at St. Mary's in Mershland, upon which he was sent for up and imprisoned, but soon discharged, and the matter dropped. He was an eminent scholar, and published a defence of Judicial Astrology, printed at Cambridge, in 1603, 4to. a work (as Wood observes (fn. 20) ) of no common reading, and carried on with no mean arguments. He resided as much at Saxlingham as at Baconsthorp, and in the chancel of Saxlingham, buried his first lady Mirabel, daughter and coheiress of Sir Thomas Rivet, Knt. merchant of London, over whom he erected a most curious and sumptuous monument, which takes up almost the whole area, inclosed with iron rails, there being just space enough left to go round the monument, which is raised in form of an Egyptian pyramid, of marble and stone, supported by pillars, and reaching almost to the top of the chancel, having an urn on the summit; in the arch under the pyramid, and which supports it, is the effigies of a lady kneeling on a cushion, with a desk before her, on which lies a Bible opened with these words, — "I am sure that my Redeemer liveth, &c." Over her head, an oval stone projects, so curiously polished, as to reflect her effigies, as from a looking-glass; and at each corner are two children, 4 boys and 4 girls, on their knees; there are four steps to ascend to the effigies of the lady; at each corner of the second step, stands a Dorick pillar; on the top of that which stands south-west, is the statue of a woman veiled, her left foot treading on a tortoise, with a dog by her right foot; on the north-west pillar, a swan charged with stars or estoils; (fn. 21) on the north-east, a centaur in a maze, or labyrinth; and on the south-east pillar, a man in armour kneeling on a cushion.

This pyramid is ornamented with many hieroglyphical figures and representations; on the east side, is a man blowing bladders, &c. Heydon's crest, and Heydon quartering Loverd, Moore, Owlton, Warreu and or, on a chevron gules three swans proper, and azure, three mascles argent in semi of cross croslets or, impaling quarterly in 1st and 4th argent three barrulets, and in chief as many trivets sable, Rivet; and in the 2d and 3d per pale argent and sable on a chevron between three lozenges, as many martlets counterchanged, Rivet, with the crest of Rivet, an arm couped at the elbow, per pale argent and sable, holding a sword proper, and this inscription:

M. H. T. (fn. 22) Rivet Militis et A. Cotton filiæ Fæminæ pientissimæ Christophorus Heydonus, Uxori suæ, de se Optime merenti, Amoris, Virtutisq. causâ Lugens posuit. Also Rivet impaling Cotton with his quarterings.

On the west side, Haydon's crest, and a thunderbolt, Prov. 31, c. v. 28, &c. Filii assurgentes beatam prædicant eam, Maritus ejus similiter laudat eam. Fallax Gratia, et vana pulchritudo, Mulier Reverentiâ Jehovæ prædita, Ipsa laudem comparat sibi. Heus! bone Viator! Fxpolitum quod vides virtute, non fænore partum est, neq; Omnibus decens Monumentum.

The earliest parts of St Mary's church > 318519 date from the 13th century; after the collapse of the tower in 1739 some repairs were carried out but by 1768 the church was described as being in a ruinous and deplorable state but the church was extensively restored during the 19th century. 15th century pew backs were incorporated into the tower screen; the font dates from the 19th century. Some of the south aisle windows have stained glass insets (one seen here) bearing the arms of the Haydon family; these shields were removed from, largely destroyed in 1650, after a long siege by roundhead troops. The window at the east end of the south aisle is completely blocked by the Haydon memorial above the tomb of Sir William Haydon (d. 1523)and his wife, Ann Woodhouse > 730908. A small 14th century wallpainting depicting a cockerel > 730921, Chanticleer - who features in Shakespeare's and Chaucer's writings, is hidden high up on one of the arches of the south arcade. The church is open every day.