The effigy lies on a squared stone bed. St John Hope dug down about 3 feet, removed several large rough slabs, found bed of clay covering a wooden coffin, made of oak, sound and perfect except where the lid had given in along the centre groove due to the weight. It contained the skull and larger bones of a small man, buried without relics but with leaves, much like the common privet, green and pliant although buried over 500 years before. They were mixed with mud and clay. The coffin was 5'9" long, 1'8" wide at the head, 1'2" at the foot and 11½" deep. It was made of 1" thick boards, the bottom and the lid being of 2 pieces tongued and grooved. He replaced the lid and filled up the grave (HOPE, WARD).
It is the work of the same artist who created the North transept effigy (H79).
It is a fine early 13th effigy of an ecclesiastic (C43).
The figure is wearing a cassock and rochet (WARD, H80) i.e. not monastic habit.
Hope consulted an expert called Bloxam, who said the effigy represented
*1. a lector or exorcist (H79).
When he saw a sketch of the effigy, he said it was
*2. an abbot.
A modern Premonstratensian canon regular (Revd F.M. Geudens of
Crowle, Doncaster) said it was
*3. a cantor with a service book.
Hope said it was not a lector because that office was appointed weekly, not a cantor because he was not important enough to have an effigy in the Chapter House and not an abbot because he. carries no pastoral staff, as on the seals of Coverham, Newhouse, Alnwick, Torre etc. and on slabs at Dale, Welbeck, Blanchland etc. (H80). He concluded it was
*4. a claustral prior (i.e. 2nd in command of the abbey - as opposed to a conventual
prior, i/c priory, who would have carried a staff too) (H80, WARD).
Hope latterly changed his mind and plumped for
*5. an archdeacon (C43, quoting St John Hope in Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries N S xv, 1893, p. 34)
Trueman published a plate of the chapter house with the effigy at ground level (TRUEMAN1899)
Fred’s current plinth clearly post-dates the invention of polythene as he now has the protection of a polythene damp proof membrane, for which he is duly grateful, particularly on cold winter nights. Polythene started to be widely used around the mid-1950’s so the plinth presumably dates from the mid 50’s or later. Fred also appears to have been painted white at some stage in is career.