CHURCHES of SUSSEX
Brass Rubbings of Sussex
Trotton - Camoys
It has one of the finest interiors in Sussex, 700 years old, with three
impressive monuments. If Sussex had no other treasure-house than this it would
be famous in the story of medieval art. Its three great treasures are nobly
housed, all in its splendid church.
The best of them is one of the most magnificent brasses in England, lying
on a tomb raised high in front of the altar, one of the three fine tombs that
have kept company here for probably 500 years. The central tomb, dominating
the whole church, is that of Thomas de Camoys, one of the barons who gathered
about Richard the Second and must have been with that unhappy king when he
would have given his kingdom for a grave, a little grave, or would be buried
in the king's highway. He was with Henry the Fifth at Agincourt when Shakespeare
makes him say that they who fought with him should be remembered:
And many of our bodies shall no doubt
Find native graves, above the which I trust
Shall witness live in brass to this day's work.
Shakespeare's prophecy has come true, for here at Trotton this Agincourt hero
lives in a splendid brass. It is about nine feet long, and shows Lord Camoys
wearing the Order of the Garter, one of very few Garter brasses. His wife
has a kirtle with decorated trimming, a mantle with cord ornamented by gems,
and a chain hanging from the cord. Their son is at the bottom, looking like
a toy figure on his mother's gown. She was the widow of Hotspur, and is mentioned
curiously by Shakespeare as gentle Kate.
The brass of Lord Camoys (which is dated 1419) is remarkable
in the history of brasses because it has the engraver's signature, an N reversed
in a small ring with mallet, crescent, and star.
The same initial appears on the brass of Lady Creke at Westley Waterless
in Cambridgeshire, and as that brass is dated 1325 it would seem that the
initial must be that of a guild of craftsmen. Magnificently these impressive
figures lie in this fine place, each under a canopy, and clasping hands across
the tomb. Down the steps in the nave is the brass of Margaret Camoys, the
first brass of a woman anywhere.
Her hands are in prayer and her dress is remarkable. Although it has lost
the nine enamelled shields once shining resplendent in her gown, over 30 stars
and other devices are still here. A dog crouches at her feet; he has been
watching since 1310, when the brass was made by a French engraver who put
his initials below the canopy.
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