Today, many of us would refrain from over-focusing on thoughts of our own mortality. Yet our medieval counterparts would have begged to differ – with the prolificacy of famine, disease and war, they would have encountered death upfront much more frequently.

Because of this, it makes sense that the topic of death’s inevitability and universality cropped up in many artworks of the period – this imagery was known as ‘memento mori’ (Latin: ‘remember death’).

Cadaver Effigy in the Crypt

In a solitary corner in the north-east end of the crypt of the Priory Church of the Order of St John lies the decomposing skeletal effigy of Sir William Weston. Depicting a sunken, rotting body unveiled beneath a funerary shroud, the effigy is a classic example of English cadaver tombs of the period. It would have originally been coated in gesso (a type of white paint mixture) and painted with vivid colours to further depict the cadaver’s decay.

By presenting the deceased person to the viewer in such a gruesome stage of decomposition, the tomb acted as a reminder that death was unavoidable for everyone regardless of status, and that the afterlife should be a central motive for one’s earthly deeds.

Originating in late-fourteenth-century France, the artform had swept across Northern Europe as the concept of purgatory increasingly encouraged the living to provide gifts and prayers for the dead. Such elements were, however, officially recognised by the Church at the Council of Trent (1545-63). These conferences were held by Catholic clergy in response to the Protestant Reformation across Europe, aiming to rectify abuses in the Church and establish counter-reformative goals. So, the more elaborate and grotesque the decomposing figure on the tomb, the more it motivated viewers to pray for the dead so that they may lessen their time in purgatory.

Who was Sir William Weston?

Sir William Weston was born in around 1470 and had the misfortune of being the head of the Order of St John in England during a tumultuous period of religious reformation. Growing in status throughout the early sixteenth century, he had been granted the position of Grand Prior of England in 1527 on the death of Prior Thomas Docwra (c. 1458 – 1527).

Weston’s early years as prior were spent reclaiming former possessions of the Order and abiding by government policies. He had supported the Letters Patent in 1538 which ruled that all members of the Order in England were to be controlled by the monarchy.

As the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII gained momentum, however, Weston’s influence dwindled as head of a Catholic Order. A final blow to his status arrived in May 1540 when the Priory of the Order of St John was dissolved and surrendered to the Crown. He died that very day, reputedly from a broken heart. It was likely, however, that his death was a result of the stress created by such a momentous change of fortune.

What Happened to Weston’s Tomb?

The seizure of the Order of St John’s English Priory in 1540 rendered the site unsuitable as Weston’s resting place, and his body was consequently interred in the nearby parish church of St James. However, this church was demolished in 1788 and Weston’s tomb was removed.

Contemporary drawings depict his monument as far more elaborate than as it exists today, consisting of a canopy above the cadaver effigy that bore five stone shields. Such pieces were lost during its demolition and, in 1882, Colonel Gould Hunter-Weston paid for Weston’s effigy to be re-erected on a plinth inside  the new church of St James.

Following the revival of the Church of St John to Order use, Weston’s effigy was relocated to its crypt, where it remains today, and in 1943 its damaged arms were restored during conservation work.

Can I See the Effigy for Myself?

If you are interested in viewing Sir William Weston’s tomb up close, the Museum hosts a 45-minute guided tour, The Lost Priory of the Medieval Order of St John, which takes visitors into its fascinating Norman crypt and Priory Church. It explores the history of the Order of St John from its origins in holy Jerusalem to dissolution at the hands of King Henry VIII.

Bibliography

• Church Conservation Trust. English and Welsh Carved Cadavers: An Overview with Dr Christina Welch. Available at: https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/blog/english-and-welsh-carved-cadavers-an-overview-with-dr-christina-welch.html (Accessed: 7 June 2024).
• Whittemore, P. (2014). ‘Sir William Weston, Last Prior of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, d 1540 and his Monument’, Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, 2, pp. 271-296. doi: https://doi.org/10.5284/1088054.
• Skinner, M. (1788). ‘Particulars of St James, Clerkenwell, and Prior Weston’, Gentleman’s Magazine, 58, p. 501.