Here are a few more photos from Burford churchyard which you may find interesting. This woolsack tomb is the most elaborate in the yard.
On the same wall as the musket ball dents, there are also several contemporaneous marks made by blows with a bladed instrument such as an axe, or - dare I suggest - a halberd of the kind used by the troops of the day. These, as you would expect, are at a higher level than the musket balls. I wonder...
At a much lower level, there is a larger dent from a small cannon or gate-gun. It is about 1.5 inches in diameter and has hit the wall at a lower angle than the muskets, as you would expect from a little gun mounted on the ground. Maybe they were just making an impressive display for the sake of the 330-something would-be rebels who were forced to witness the execution before being released.
You can see the arrangement of these marks in the main photo of yesterday's post.
Bear in mind that the rows of standing tombstones which face the wall would not have been there in 1649. It would have been clear, flat land in the form of fields.
ReplyDeleteOh, the lovely Cotswolds! I adore old churchyards for the mini architecture of the tombs. I am so glad that the practice seems to be to leave graves in place for all eternity.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all eternity - or until a developer makes a better offer than the family.
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