Underneath find images of twelve wall-mounted memorials,
relating mainly to members of the Medlycott and Beresford families.
Lord William de la Poer Beresford, V.C., of the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers
in the British army, was the third son of Lord John Beresford, 4th
Marquis of Waterford and his wife, Christina Leslie.
While a captain at the age of 31 during the Zulu war, he was
awarded the Victoria Cross . . . the most celebrated decoration which could
be awarded for gallantry . . . following the rescue of a Sergeant Fitzmaurice from advancing Zulu warriors. He refused to
accept the award from Queen Victoria unless a colleague, Sergeant O’Toole, who
had rendered invaluable assistance during the incident, received the same decoration, which wish was
granted. O’Toole was even more deserving
of the award, Captain Beresford said.
He later rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Lord
William is buried at Clonagam cemetery.
The inscription on the above black and white marble memorial was extremely difficult to read,
and runs as follows:
Sacred
to the memory
of Mary, wife of the
Rev. J. T.(?) Medlycott of
Rocketts Castle, and daughter
of the late
AMBROSE CONGREVE
of Mount Congreve, Esq., who departed this
life on the xx (?) Oct. 1843. Aged 47 years.
followed by words from Ecclesiastes, too illegible to transcribe!
The memorial was also inscribed: Kennedy Waterford.
William Clayton Clayton, whose memorial is shown above, was killed on Christmas Day 1876 while playing Polo at Delhi, India. He was a Captain in the 9th Royal Lancers, aka The Delhi Spearmen, a British Army regiment. He is mentioned in the book - 'The Evolution of Polo' - by Horace A Laffaye.
.......................................................
The image underneath, positioned directly over the inside of the front door, depicts
the Royal Coat of Arms of the U.K.
This coat of arms was first adopted by Kind Edward III of England, who lived from 1312 to 1377.
It is extremely large and in a very dark situation, necessitating the use of a torch once more,
with the kind assistance of my friend, Jack Kelly.
....................................................................................................................
This concludes part II of the church interior. Further text will be added, if and when available.
Part III in this series will follow later.
This concludes part II of the church interior. Further text will be added, if and when available.
Part III in this series will follow later.
Place cursor over image. One left click will show an enlarged copy on black!