An Elegant Sprawl

One of my Christmas presents was a night at one of my favourite places: Lower Slaughter—not on its streets, nice though they are, but at at even nicer inn. 

I love the name, Lower Slaughter which suggests one of the many bloody battles in the War of the Roses. Just up the road is Upper Slaughter where, presumably, a better class of people met their end. The origin of the word is more mundane*

We explored those Cotswold villages we hadn’t been to before; the three villages in the Wychwood area were neat and prosperous but with little more to them. Chipping Campden was much more interesting, with the wonderful gardens of Hidcote within walking distance—if you’re that way inclined. But the real joy lay in exploring lanes that led to nowhere, and driving across green but desolate uplands offering vast skies and panoramic views. 

It was on our way home that we came across the magical Swinbrook and the church of  St Mary the Virgin. 

I've never seen this type of grave before, or know whether it is peculiar to the locality

But I find it fascinating that three of the four  Mitford sisters (Nancy, Unity, and Diana) are buried so neatly together. Pamela, for some reason,  is buried northwest of the church tower. Their brother Tom who died in Burma during World War II has a plaque inside the church.

The church itself  is thought to have C11th origins because of is Romanesque central arches, but most of it is C12th and C13th. An interesting addition is the tower built in six weeks in 1822. Puts our procrastinating culture to shame.

The choir stalls are C17th along with the wooden pulpit, which rests on a modern stone base.

But what makes the church unique is in its devotion, not to the Lord but the once powerful Fettiplace family that dominated the area and owned estates in 15 counties. 

As you walk on and around the altar area you’re aware of the corpses lying beneath you—that is if you can wrest your gaze away from the magnificent Fettiplace memorials.

I envy their elegant sprawl and hope, when my time comes, for a tomb as  richly ornate. 

This is the earliest tomb which dates from 1613, the oldest Fettiplace at the bottom wearing an Elizabethan ruff. The middle one is his son Alexander, and at the top is William Fettiplace

The tomb below was built in 1686 and is even more ornate. At the top is Sir Edward Fettiplace d. 1686. Under him is Sir John Fettiplace d. 1672 and on the bottom is John Fettiplace d. 1657

The first recorded Fettiplace is Adam who was one of seven townsmen imprisoned in 1272 for injuring clerks of the university of Oxford in a 'town and gown' incident.. It did him no harm, as in later life he became Mayor of Oxford for eleven terms between 1245 and 1268. From that point on, their prosperity grew through marriage and luck. They even impacted America. In 1607, two Fettiplace brothers, William and Michael,  are recorded in Jamestown  with Captain John Smith, though their relationship with Pocahontas is unknown.

There is also a Hampshire branch of the Fettiplace family who settled in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 16771,

Overcome by a surfeit of Fettiplaces, we repaired to The Swan Inn a little farther down the road and mulled their place in history over a pint and a bag of vinegary crisps. 

*Saxon for a very muddy place. Slõhtre, It has an onomatopoeic sound to it, I think