St Rumbald
Stoke Doyle, Northamptonshire
In 1722 a fine early Georgian church was erected to the design of Thomas Eayre of Kettering (1691-1757), surveyor, clock maker, and bell founder (the bells here are by him as well).
The latter was largely demolished in 1825 but its chancel was maintained as it had been the burial place of the Montagu family in the 16th and early 17th century. Indeed the Montagu Earls of Sandwich continued to be buried here into the 19th century.
What remains of the church stands on a grassy knoll at the far end of the village. Here there is a series of monuments which are well worth exploring. The earliest is to Dame Lettice Montagu (who died in 1611). It’s a huge architectural tour de force with dragons, the Montagu crest, flanking an obelisk at its apex.
Nearby is a monument to her son Henry who was drowned in the moat at Barnwell Castle when only three. Another obelisk, this time free standing with arcades and a succession of curious inscriptions, is nearby. Opposite is that to Dorothy Creed uniquely designed by her mother in law Elizabeth Creed, a relative of Samuel Pepys.
The handsome early 18th century panelling which lines the chancel was installed by 2nd Duke of Montagu in 1740.