© P.Blanche 1998

THE HALES MEMORIAL

The Hales Memorial was constructed in 1592, the same year in which Dame Alice Hales died, by her second husband and widower, Richard Lee. At the top of the monument, the burial at sea of Dame Alice's first husband, Sir James Hales is depicted, while Richard Lee, like Dame Alice, is shown kneeling at the bottom of the monument. The epitaph also commemorates, Cheyney Hales, Dame Alice's son from her first marriage who is said not to have reached maturity.

Dame Alice Hales - detail ©P.E.Blanche 1998

I have provided detail here of the figure of Dame Alice mainly because of the painting that appears in front of her. There is a rather strange story that revolves around this picture and also leads me to a conclusion that the plate by the side of the monument for visitor information and set in place by the Cathedral, is actually incorrect is its description.

It is said that one of the reasons for the painting is to commemorate a further member of the Hales family, Sir James Hales, the Uncle of the first husband of Dame Alice. Sir James Hales (the Uncle) was at one time a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas at the time of our old friend Henry VIII. Shortly after the death of Henry, Sir James, depite being a Protestant, refused to subscibe to the King's Will which among other things, stated that Mary and Elizabeth were to be disinherited. To cut a long story short, this led him into further trouble and he eventually ended up in the Tower where he tried to commit suicide. He was eventually released and returned to his home in Canterbury, Tonford Manor, where, unfortunately, the poor old boy went completely mad which eventually caused him to throw himself in the nearby River Stour where he drowned. Suicide was, of course, in those days a terrible sin but in a twist of fate upon which hung the tenure of the family property, the 16th Century Courts ruled in effect, in what might be termed in the Courts these days, that he actually drowned himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed. The fact that the event is depicted on this monument was probably an attempt by the family at absolution for the sin of suicide.

Detail of the painting The red circle shows what I believe to be St. Nicholas' Church. Down in the bottom left-hand corner of the painting is quite clearly a wall, (highlighted with a red line), which I also believe to be the Canterbury City wall. If this is the case, St. Mildred's Church is inside the City wall and cannot be the Church on the painting.

However, returning to the details of the picture, the plate placed next to the monument in the North Chancel by the Cathedral, states that the picture represents St. Mildred's Church, infomation probably taken from an excellent book about "The History of Canterbury Cathedral" by Collinson, Ramsey and Sparks¹. However, as can be seen from the picture behind Dame Alice of the Church next to the River Stour, the Church that is shown has a square tower at its side and being almost opposite the family home of Tonford. Although St. Mildred's does not have a tower now, it did once have one but it was demolished in 1836. From some investigation I have done about St. Mildred's Church, its tower was built over the Chancel and not by the side of the Church as is shown in the picture. Also, St. Mildred's is within the City Walls of Canterbury about a mile away from the former family home of Tonford Manor. If a map of the area is consulted, right opposite Tonford Manor and close to the banks of the River Stour where there was once a ford is the small Church of St. Nicholas, Thanington which, as can be seen from the picture below has a square tower at the side of its nave. Although, St, Nicholas Church was heavily restored in Victorian times, I firmly believe that this is the Church shown on the painting and not St. Mildred's. In addition to this, St. Nicholas Church also had, before they were stolen, 17th Century brasses commemorating later members of the Hales family. There is no doubt that the Hales family used this as their Parish Church. The fact that the Church in the picture is St. Nicholas is fully described in an investigation of the picture by "Cross and Hall" and detailed in their 1882 publication, "Rambles Round Old Canterbury".

The Tower of St. Nicholas Church, Thanington ©P.E.Blanche 1998

¹ I do not mean to criticize this Book, "The History of Canterbury Cathedral" by Collinson, Ramsey and Sparks which is written by indivduals that have a great deal more knowledge than I do about the Cathedral. The book, which I can highly recomend can be obtained through the link on this site to: