CASTLE HISTORY: Lords of Clavering

The first known lord of Clavering, Robert Fitz Wymarc , a Frenchman who owned Clavering at Domesday, was one of Edward the Confessor's closest aides, so much so that he is pictured in the death scene on the Bayeux Tapestry at Edward's head as the king lay dying.

Robert fitzWymarc, lord of Clavering, pictured (far right) holding up Edward the Confessor on his deathbed. Illustration from Bayeux Tapestry.

Possibly there is another lord of Clavering represented in the stone effigy in the east end of the north aisle of the church: his armour shows he is older than the present church.

Knight's effigy in Clavering Church. Drawing by Lynette Merrick.

Could it be a medieval lord of Clavering in the stone coffin  found in 1923:  'A coffin of stone, weighing about a ton, and containing the well-preserved skeleton of a man, has been discovered at Clavering. Workmen engaged in erecting  a fence around the churchyard at a depth of two feet, came upon the solid slab of stone which formed the lid of the coffin. When unearthed it was found to be seven feet in length and two feet wide. The lid, walls and base of the coffin were six inches thick and were cut out of solid sandstone. The skull was that of an intellectual head, and the teeth were perfect. The discovery was made on the edge of a moat which formerly surrounded Clavering Castle, and probably on the site of an ancient chapel attached to the castle. The castle has long since disappeared and only the mound now remains.  It was evident the coffin had been disturbed at some previous date, as one end of the lid was broken… the coffin was reinterred.'

The churchyard fence near where the stone coffin was found in 1923

Photograph: Jacqueline Cooper