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Church
Monuments Society Essay Prize - Winning
Entry
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The CMS Essay Prize Jury has now reached a decision
and all entrants have now been informed of the outcome.
Six entries were received for this, the first ever Church
Monuments Society essay prize. The field was of a high
standard and the jury was delighted to award the prize
to Dr Douglas Brine for his essay entitled 'Image,
Text and Prayer: the indulgence memorial tablet of Jean
de Libourc (d. 1470), canon of Saint-Omer.' Dr
Brine is currently an A W Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow
at the Centre for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts
in Washington. It is hoped that the prize winning essay
will appear in vol. 23 of the Society's Journal Church
Monuments in 2009.
Please see blow for details
of the next submission day.
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| Monuments
In
The News
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If you
find any articles on or related to church monuments,
be they information, interesting, amusing or even down
right wrong, in newspapers, magazines, radio, television
etc, please send me information at churchmonumentssociety@aol.com
April
2008 BBC History Magazine. In this month's
magazine there is a photograph of the chapel and tomb
of Prince Arthur (eldest son of Henry VII) illustrating
a short article on page 6. On page 26 there is another
of the gilt-bronze effigy of Edward the Black Prince
in Canterbury Cathedral, illustrating an article on
the Middle Ages. There is a photograph on page 35 of
the head of the alabaster effigy of King Edward II from
Worcester Cathedral, illustrating a short article on
the monument. There is nothing new here but it's good
to see monuments used to illustrate articles and even
a short article about an actual monument.
For
earlier articles, please click here.
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Church
Monuments Society Essay Prize
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1
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There shall
be a biennial prize of £250 called
The church Monuments Society Essay Prize,
to be awarded together with a certificate
for the best essay submitted in the relevant
year. The prize will only be awarded if
the essay is considered by the judges to
be of sufficiently high standard to merit
publication in the Society's journal, Church
Monuments
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2
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The subject of the essay must be
concerned with an aspect
of church monuments of any period in the British Isles or abroad.
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3
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The length (including end
notes) shall not
exceed 10,000 words with no more than 10 illustrations.
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4.
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The essay
should be accompanied by a short abstract
of about 100-150 words. Authors' names and
affiliations should be included on a separate
sheet, as the essays will be judged anonymously.
Entrants should add a brief biographical
note of no more than 50 words for the inclusion
in the journal in the case of the winning
entry.
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5
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The essay
and its end notes should be word-processed
and employ the house style of the journal
Church Monuments. A copy of the style
sheet is available by clicking here
or on application to the Editor (see below)
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6
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Four copies
of each entry, including four paper copies
of any illustrations, should be submitted,
together with the original text on a CD
or floppy disc. Original photographs should
be retained by the author at this stage,
but will be needed for entries accepted
for publication.
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7
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Entries
should be sent to the Editor of Church
Monuments (see
below) and should be sent with a covering
letter stating that this is an entry for
the Church Monuments Society Essay Prize.
Dr Sophie
Oosterwijk MA MA PhD FSA
Acting
Director, Centre for the Study of the Country
House
Hon
Journal Editor, Church Monuments
Department
of the History of Art & Film
University
of Leicester
University
Road
Leicester
LE1 7RH
e-mail: so4@leicester.ac.uk
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8
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The closing date for entries shall be 1
January 2010.
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9
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The competition shall be open to any
person who has not previously published an article in Church Monuments.
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10
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There shall
be a panel of three judges appointed by
the Council of the Church Monuments Society.
The chairman shall be a member of the editorial
panel for Church
Monuments and
shall serve for not more than six consecutive
years. The other two judges shall be members
of the Society and shall serve for no more
than four consecutive years.
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11
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The decision of the judges shall be final.
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12
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The Church Monuments Society cannot be held
responsible for the loss of any material submitted for this prize
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What
Are Ledgerstones: Their History
Ledgerstones - described by Dr Roger Bowdler as "the
ugly duckling of church memorials" - form a distinct class
of English funerary monuments whose ancestry can be traced back
to the Middle Ages, from the 11th century carved lids of stone coffins
through to the incised stones of the 14th and early 15th centuries.
Relatively cheap and easy to fashion, ledgerstones were favoured
by the middling sort as grave markers.
The ledger of polished
black or white stone, reciting the name, age at death and, in instances,
the social quality and occupation of the deceased was a popular
form of commemoration between about 1625 and 1850, when intramural
burial ceased as a result of the 1852 Burial Act. Almost always
aligned to the east, they were considered by many as monuments in
their own right, though during the 18th century they were frequently
laid in association with neighbouring mural monuments. The traditional
brevity of the information given allowed for a number of commemorative
inscriptions on each stone. Frequently chipped around the edges,
indicating their uplifting to facilitate further deposits, they
remain as silent witnesses to village and town society at the close
of Early Modern England through to the beginning of Queen Victoria's
reign.
Since c1850 memorial stones have continued to be set into
church floors as a form of commemoration detached from the actual
place of burial, though in more recent years cremated remains have
sometimes been deposited beneath them. A wide variety of materials
have been used , and many stones bear important examples of the
letter cutter's art up to the present day.
Initiation of the
Survey
The
idea of creating a database of the legerstones came about as the
initiative of our President, Dr Julian Litten, when, at the Society's
AGM in 2001, he introduced the project as the Society's millennium
exercise.
Objectives of the Survey
The Ledgerstone
Survey is seen as the logical progression from the recording of
memorial brasses and has the support of the Ancient Monuments Society,
the Cathedral Fabrics Commission for England, the Church Conservation
Trust, the Council for British Archaeology, the Council for the
Care of Churches, the Ecclesiological Society, English Heritage,
the Federation of Family History Societies, the Friends of Friendless
Churches, the Heraldry Society, ICOMOS UK, the Monumental Brass
Society, NADFAS, the Scouting Association, the Society of Antiquaries
of London, the Society of Genealogists and the SPAB. The objective
of the Survey are as follows:
 to record and survey every Ledgerstone within places of worship
in England and Wales
to expand the nation's interest in funerary monuments within churches
to involve, as recorders, volunteers from 'stakeholder' organisations
to offer as a means of fulfilling the National Curriculum History,
Local History and Heritage modules in primary
and secondary
education
to offer recording as History, Local History and Heritage modules
for the University of the Third Age
to offer recording as a means for the Scouting Association's Heritage
and History badges
Progress of the Survey
The steering
group includes Paula Griffiths (Head, Cathedrals and Churches Division,
Archbishops' Council), Dr Roger Bowdler (English Heritage), Stephen
Bowler (Council for the Care of Churches), Dr John Brown (Church
Monuments Society), Jane Fawcett MBE (ICOMOC UK) , Mrs Judith Loades (Ecclesiological Society) with Dr Julian Litten as its Chairmen. The
methodology of recording has been formulated and the guidance notes
written. The network of county co-ordinators and teams to plan,
measure, photograph and record the legend, history and condition
of every Ledgerstone in England and Wales is currently being established.
The information will be collated and stored at Church House, Westminster
and will be available on the web from the receipt of the first inscription.
The steering committee met initially on June 15th and plan to meet
again at the end of July to agree the letter and other enclosures
that will be sent out to those who responded to the announcement
of the survey. The pilot packs, which have been sent out by the
Council for the Care of Churches, have worked will and will be offered
to all who apply. The first newsletter will be distributed and a
website will be set up. We will link to this website and avoid dupication
of material.
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This
section is reserved to advertise meetings, excursions, visits, courses
and the like which are not by the Church Monuments but by
similar, related, non-commercial organisations.
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'In
Despight of the Devouring Flames':
The
Temple Church in London
9.45am
- 6.15 pm Saturday 14th June 2008
Kenneth
Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute
of Art
Somerset House, Strand, London
WC2R 0RN
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The
main church of the Knights Templars in England
- the New Temple, London - survived the
suppression of the Order in 1312, the Great
Fire of London in 1666, only to be ravaged
by fire during the blitz in 1941. Nevertheless
it remains one of the most important surviving
medieval monuments in London. Of particular
interest to members of the Church Monuments
Society are, of course, the famous effigies
in the floor of the 'round'.
This conference
is held in association with an exhibition
held at the Temple Church from 31st March
to 15th June this year (for which see www.templechurch.com)
Also see our London
Page.
Speakers include: Dr Helen Nicholson
(University of Cardiff) At the Heart
of Medieval London: the New Temple in the
Middle Ages, Philip Lankester (Royal
Armouries, Leeds - Founder-Member of the
Church Monuments Society) The Thirteenth
Century Military Effigies: Arms, Armour
and Effigial Content and David Park
(Courtauld Institute of Art - Organiser
of the Event): 'Receive Him Like A Brother':
the Medieval Monuments in the Temple Church.
To
book a place: £15 (£10 concessions
and Courtauld staff and students). Please
send a cheque made payable to 'Courtauld
Institute of Art' to: Research Forum Events
Coordinator & Administrator, Courtauld
Institute of Art Research Forum, Somerset
House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN, clearly
stating that you wish to book for the 'Temple
Church Conference'. For credit card bookings
call 020 7848 2785/2909. For further information,
send e-mail to ResearchForumEvents@courtauld.ac.uk
 
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PUBLICATIONS
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NOTES
& QUERIES
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ITEMS
FOR SALE OR WANTED
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Recent
Publications
These
entries were compiled by Philip Lankester and others.
This is an ongoing list of articles from journals as
well as books.
Last
Update: 19-11-07
See
also the books page for old and new books on church
monuments.
See
also Items for Sale and Wanted (to the right) for occasional
publications.
Robert
Gunnis's Dictionary of British Sculptors
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If
you have have any queries about church monuments or
related subjects or about the Church Monuments Society,
can help with any queries or have any comments, or if
you know any curiosities or interesting information,
please e-mail the
Society.
Questions
will be passed on to various experts in the field.
Please
note that notices will normally be removed after 6 months
Last
Update:9-12-07
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This
page lists items such as books or journals - in print
or out-of-print - for sale or wanted, drawings and etchings
of monuments. and other miscellaneous items.
Please
e-mail
the
Publicity Officer with any items for or from this page
Please
click on the title to access further information
Last
Update: 9-12-07
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Copyright (c) 2002 CMS. All rights reserved.
churchmonuments@aol.com
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