SIR HUMPHREY SALWEY  1411 - 1493

Being born in 1411 Sir Humphrey would have attained  his majority (then 21 years old) in 1432, towards the  end of the Hundred Years War. He married Joyce  Strelley, born in 1450 in Gloucestershire. Around  the tomb kneel his children – 7 sons in armour and 3 daughters in prayer.

When William the conqueror took the English Throne in 1066 he retained the French  title Duke of Normandy.  Subsequent kings also retained their French Dukedoms. In France dukes owed feudal homage to the King of France and therefore the English Kings owed homage to the Kings of France. In 1337 Edward III refused to pay homage so his land in Aquitaine was confiscated. He retaliated by claiming the French throne because he  was the son of Isabella of France, daughter of Philip IV and sister of Charles IV. Thus started the Hundred Years’ War, 1337 to 1453, which included the Battles of Crecy 1346 (Edward III), Poitiers 1356 (Edward, the Black Prince), Agincourt 1415 (Henry V) Castillon 1453 ( John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (Henry VI)  and the Siege of Orleans 1429 ( Joan of Arc) (Henry VI).

To gain a Knighthood in Medieval times was a long and arduous task. It had to be earned! Sons of nobles  were sent to their liege lord at the age of seven to  be trained as a page by the women of the house, who instructed him in correct behaviour, courtesy, cleanliness and religion. At the age of fourteen a  page became a squire, a personal attendant to a Knight. From the Knight he learned riding and all the  skills of war, as well as hunting, hawking and other  sports. When he was judged ready, usually between the ages of 18 and 21 the squire was knighted in a religious ceremony after spending the night guarding  his armour before a church altar.

The Knights would practise their skills in tournaments  with jousting, archery and hand to hand combat  using swords and other weapons. The object of a joust was to unhorse your opponent, though often the fighting was so fierce that men were killed. The armour worn in jousting was different from battle  gear being very heavy and padded inside. It was very cumbersome.

Armour was tailor made to fit the knight exactly.  There was a risk that ill-fitting armour would hamper  him in battle. The Warhorse, often a destrier (charger), was favoured by a knight on a horse. The warhorses also wore armour.

The monumneter restoration was supported by Heritage Lottery Fund