The Hoo Monument is located in the Chapel of St. Nicholas in St Mary’s Church in Horsham, is one of those intriguing medieval creations that manages to be both grand and slightly melancholy, as well as looking perhaps a little out of place now.
It’s a chest tomb of Purbeck marble, built for Thomas Hoo (an ancestor of Anne Boleyn), who evidently wanted to make sure no one forgot him and anyone who warrants all this marble certainly should be remembered. The monument has weathered centuries of polite neglect, losing its inscriptions, brasses and decorative details along the way, but it’s still here at least.
It’s a reminder that Horsham was once wealthy enough to indulge in a bit of ecclesiastical splendour, and that death, in the 15th century, was best met with a marble chest, some vaulted stonework and a strategic position near the altar.
Although it has been knocked about over the years, it is a survivor and it has had to get through the Reformation and Cromwell’s puritan army that went around smashing things up. It’s also just a little bit in the way near the altar, so it’s done well to survive the Victorians faffing about with the building as well. I think Thomas would be rather pleased with the whole arrangement……