Page:Devon and Cornwall Queries Vol 9 1917.djvu/137

 Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries. 103 be used for any but distinguished and wealthy personages. It is also noteworthy that they are found singly ; perhaps only at Crediton are two such stones to be found in the one church. In the chantry chapel built by Thomas de Bytton (Bishop of Exeter 1292-1307), over the remains of his an- cestors in the parish church of his native place, Bytton, in Somerset, midway between Bristol and Bath, are not only the tombs of the Bishop's parents, Walter and Matilda de Bitton, but also what are considered to be two of the finest mediaeval sepulchral slabs in the country. They are of Purbeck marble, and are thought to cover Robert de Bitton (grandfather of the Bishop), represented by the full length effigy of a crusader bearing on a shield the arms of De Bytton ; and adjoining, another slab, similar in design to those we are considering, exactly like the broken one in Crediton Church, but fortunately with an inscription record- ing the name Emmota de Hastings, probably grandparent of Bishop Bytton. In the latter connection some antiquaries seem to find difficulty, but until the first decades of the thirteenth century, if not later, it was customary for dames of noble birth to retain their father's title even after marriage. We have, therefore, in this instance, distinct evidence that these Purbeck stone slabs with full length cross formed the tomb covers of women of importance, and, having regard to the restricted period during which this form of monument was used, I suggest the following explanation : — In 1228 Bishop William Briwere of Exeter accompanied Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, on crusade to the Holy Land, and was absent from his diocese for nearly five years. He was doubtless accompanied by representatives of some of the best families in the county, many of whom would lose their lives in the enterprise. This special design of tomb cover, I suggest, marks the last resting place of the wives, more especially the widows of those knights who lost their lives when on crusade. In the case of Ashton I suggest that Robert, son of Herveius de Helion, who was in possession of Ashton on the 21st June, 1220 {Devon Feet of Fines, No. 128), accompanied Bishop Briwere on crusade in 1228 and did not return in 1233. On the gth May, and again on 12th June, 1244, we