I didn’t have the chance to look inside this church, despite being very tempted, as I was on the Stansted Stagger walk so my opportunity for history meanderings were limited. It’s the Grade I listed church which is located to where the manor house Easton Hall was located, sadly one of the country houses demolished in the early twentieth century.
It’s the manor house which is one of the reasons that the church is so decadent. But, going back, the origins of the church date from the early twelfth century and there was likely a Saxon structure here before that.
For centuries, the story of the church was inextricably linked with the Bourchier and Maynard families, the powerful owners of the manor house. The south chapel, often called the Maynard Chapel, is home to a series of magnificent monuments of which one of the most poignant is the tomb of Sir Henry Maynard and his wife, dating to 1610. Below the main statues, their children are depicted in a line; several carry small skulls, a sobering historical shorthand indicating they died before their parents. If I had known about this, I might have quickly rushed in…..
The 19th and early 20th centuries brought a different kind of glamour and social change to the parish, largely driven by Frances Evelyn Maynard, better known as “Darling Daisy” who was the Countess of Warwick. A celebrated Victorian socialite and mistress (one of many) to the future King Edward VII, Daisy was a frequent presence at the church. One more thing that I would have looked out for if I’d have known is that the comedian and actor Mike Reid is buried in the church’s graveyard.
This is the intriguing bit that we noticed when walking by, there’s clearly been some wealth here to end up with so many chapels attached to the church. The central one here is the chancel, with the North and South chapels on either side.
The South Chapel, largely established in the 14th century and later embellished by the Maynard family, is something of a grand ancestral mausoleum filled with elaborate monuments. It houses the stunning 1610 tomb of Sir Henry Maynard and his wife, marking the long-standing influence of the Easton Lodge estate on the parish.
The North Chapel dates back to the 13th century but gained its most modern significance when it was dedicated as a memorial in 1945. It stands as a solemn tribute to the USAAF 386th Bombardment Group, featuring poignant stained-glass windows that commemorate the airmen stationed nearby during the war.