The tomb pictured above and the tomb chest pictured to the left are now far from their Kent home at the Church of St. Mary in Eastwell Park and are exhibits at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The tomb to Sir Moyle Finch (1551 - 1614) and his wife, Elizabeth (1556 - 1634), who became Viscountess of Maidstone in 1623 and subsequently, Countess of Winchilsea in 1628. Originally the monument had eight marble columns supporting a canopy. The bases of those columns can still be seen on the monument although they were removed in 1756, long before the Church became unsafe. The monument was carved by Nicholas Stone who was the most important English sculptor or the early 17th century.

The other tomb chest, also in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is in many respect the more interesting, not because of the size or decoration but because of the person it was made for and the related story. As it states under the picture on the top left, it was made for Sir Thomas Moyle (d. 1560) and his wife Katherine (d. after 1560) who was the Grandfather of Sir Moyle Finch who is depicted on the tomb in the top picture. What is particularly interesting is why Sir Thomas Moyle and his tomb are linked to the rough stone tomb and the person underneath it which still remains at Eastwell, against what would have been the North Chancel wall.

I do not often quote from other books but in this case, the story as told in Arthur Mee's, "Kent", tells the tale perfectly and reads as follows:

"...Sir Thomas Moyle, building his great house here, was much struck by a white bearded man his mates called Richard. There was a mystery about him. In the rest hour, while the others talked or threw dice, this old man would go apart and read a book. Now there were very few working men who could read in 1545, and Sir Thomas on this fine morning did not rest till he had won the confidence of the man and got his story from him.
Richard told Sir Thomas that he was brought up by a schoolmaster. From time to time a gentleman came who paid for his food and schooling and asked many questions to discover if he was well cared for. One day when the boy was in his early teens the gentleman said he was going to take Richard on a visit. It must have been a very exciting journey, made on horseback across 15th century England to an unknown goal. At length they came to a vast camp all a-buzz with knights and bowmen. The boy was brought to a tent, where he saw a stately man in a rich suit of armour.
He put his hands on the boy's shoulders, and, gazing at him, said: "Richard, I am your father, and if I prevail in tomorrow's battle I will provide for you as befits your blood. But it may be that I shall be defeated, killed; that I shall not see you again."
The boy asked, stammering: "Sir, Father! Who are you?"
"I am King of England today," said the man; "but only Heaven knows what I may be tomorrow, for the rebels are strong. If the Earl of Richmond wins the day he will seek out Plantagenets and crush them. Tell no one who you are unless I am victorious."
The next day a man came riding from the battle crying: The King has lost! The reign of the Plantagenets was over. The Tudors had begun. It was the end of the long civil wars. Each time the crown had changed hands there had been wholesale murder among all the boys and men related to the king just dead. So Richard went in terror of rope or axe, poison or dagger. He obeyed his father's bidding. Never did he breathe a word of his birth. He described himself as a poor orphan.
He had been happy. He had been able to earn, by honest toil, enough money to give him lodgings and bread; he had found much consolation from reading; and he had gained truer friends than princes usually have.
Sir Thomas Moyle, listening to this wonderful story, determined that the last Plantagenet should not want in his old age. He had a little house built for him in the park, and instructed his steward to provide for it every day. Richard was able to spend his last years in reading and in walking about the lanes of Eastwell. He is lost in history, but he is in the register of burials here, and a tomb, certainly earlier than his date, which remains among the ruins is pointed out as his burial-place."
[end of quote]

Richard Plantagenet was the illegitimate son of Richard III and after the Battle of Bosworth, fled back to Kent and worked on the Eastwell Estate, supposedly as a carpenter although I have seen another source which says he was a stone mason. I am not sure why the comment should be made in the above quote that the tomb "is earlier than his date" as the stone could well have been reused from another source. This is particularly pertinent because when the tomb of Sir Thomas Moyle was examined at the Victoria and Albert Museum, that too was found to have been constructed from stone that had previously been used elsewhere. Anyway, it would be nice to believe the individual who might have been the last of the Plantagenet line (or possibly a King of England if the Battle of Bosworth had ended differently) lies here peacefully in these beautiful surroundings. (This may, of course, bit a little romantic! In the book, "The Royal Bastards of England" [delicate title] by Wilson and Curteis, Richard III is credited with managing to sire as many as seven bastard children. It is beyond the scope of these pages of who might have succeeded to what position as a result of Richard's little dalliances!)

See also:	The Church of St. Mary, Eastwell
	Eastwell Manor