CH48. Bronze plate mounted on wood with coat of arms at the top

Here lyeth buried the bodie of WILLIAM GOMSALL / late Cittizen and Iremonger of London whoe / changed this mortal lyffe the first day of Julie / in the yere of our Lord God 1597, in full and pfect / hope of a joyfull resurrection, and left behinde / him one sonne and two daughters.

Uxbridge Man Receives Huge Honour!

Tucked away in a dark corner by the stairs up to the Grundon Room is the brass memorial to William Gomersall. This is the inscription:

Here lyeth the body of William Gomersall. Late citizen and ironmonger of London who changed this mortal life the first day of July in the year of our Lord 1597. In full and perfect hope of a joyful resurrection and left behind him one son and 2 daughters.

Above this inscription is his coat of arms which was granted in 1568. The primary use of heraldry was to distinguish knights from one another when they were clad in armour. The right to bear a coat of arms was only really for the nobility and it had a definite meaning and social value, so William Gomersall being granted a coat of arms would have been a huge honour for him and his family.

In 1970 a study was made of the brasses at St John’s by Mr H Cameron for the Monumental Brass Society. As well as a full description of each brass, Mr Cameron also researched the lives of those remembered. For William Gomersall, he provides details of the will from the National Archives. According to Mr Cameron, William was a successful merchant and liveryman of the City of London. He owned property on Deptford Strand and Uxbridge. One of the bequests in the will was as follows:

“two tenements under one roof next to the new churchyard at Uxbridge, with their gardens and orchards, as now divided. The one occupied by one Goodden is to be given to Margaret More the wife of John More for her lifetime at annual rent of one peppercorn. Margaret More also received a wool bed with a whole and sound coverlet and 3 pairs of whole and sound flaxen sheets”

I wonder what you might say today at receiving a bequest of someone’s bed and all the bedding!

Christine Bartlett