William de Tracy - 14th-century Tomb at Mortehoe

14th-century Tomb At Mortehoe

There is a tomb in the south transept of the parish church at Mortehoe, 10 miles NW of Barnstaple in Devon, which carries a ledger-line inscription to a certain "Sir William de Tracy". The upper slab of black or dark grey granite or marble is incised with the life-size figure of a priest in full vestments, holding a chalice to his breast. The inscription is much defaced, but was recorded thus by Tristram Risdon (d.1630):

"On whose mangled monument I found this fragment of a French inscription, in this ancient character: 'Syree Williame de Trace-Il enat eeys-Meercy'".

On the north side of the base of the tomb are sculpted in relief three escutcheons, now devoid of any colourings, listed from east to west :

• The first, showing three lions passant in pale, is possibly for Camville. Geoffrey de Camville (d.1308) was the second husband of Maud de Tracy (d.pre-1279), grand-daughter and sole heiress of Henry de Tracy (d.1274), feudal baron of Barnstaple.
• The second, two bars, possibly for FitzMartin. Maud de Tracy's first husband was Nicholas FitzMartin (d.1260), feudal baron of Blagdon, Somerset. Their son William I FitzMartin (d.1324) inherited Barnstaple. The Victorian stained glass shield in the window of the south transept shows this shield as Azure, two bars argent, whilst the arms generally attributed to the Martin family are Gules, two bars argent
• The third, a saltire, charged with five roundels. The Victorian stained glass shield in the window of the south transept shows this shield as Argent, a saltire gules charged with five bezants A further shied is shown in the Victorian window: Or, two bends gules, in a canton an escallop sable, the purported relationship of which to the tomb is unclear.

On the same north side of the base at the west end, beneath plain canopies, are effigies representing possibly St. Catherine with her wheel, and St. Mary Magdalene, with long flowing hair. The south side of the tomb-base is divided into seven compartments, filled with Early Decorated gothic tracery; the Crucifixion forms the subject of the relief sculpture at the west end of the tomb-base, showing Christ on the cross with two standing figures either side. Lord Sudeley insists this is the tomb of William de Tracy (d.1322) who is known to have been the incumbent of St Mary's Parish Church at Mortehoe and who endowed a chantry at Mortehoe in 1307/8 and died in 1322. The priest is described as 'Sir' because this was an oft-used prefix for priests in mediævel times.