The Latin inscription on the back of the memorial © PE Blanche 2001 My thanks to Harold from the Kent family History Society for the Latin translation from this memorial.

In the Lady Chapel on the South side of the Church is the very splendid looking tomb of Sir Edwin Sandys, a one-time resident of Northbourne and very important person in the history of the United States. Unfortunately, I rather doubt that his name is as well known as any of the Fathers of Confederation. The fact of the matter is that this gentleman and Knight of the Realm was stirring up trouble with and for the British Government close on 150 years prior to the War of Independence. Edwin Sandys was knighted in 1603 by James I who actually hated and distrusted him. He wrote and obtained Royal Assent for a Constitution which incorporated a freely elected government which eventually became the model for the present Constitution of The United States. He helped to start the East India Company, was involved in establishing the State of Virginia in 1607 and spent some time in the Tower of London because he was suspected of wanting to turn Virginia into a Republic. Sir Edwin built nearby Northbourne Court in the grounds of land originally owned by St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury but his building was demolished in about 1750. The grounds of the old Northbourne Court are still there and as I understand it, the present Northbourne Court was built on the site of, or expanded from, a large farmhouse. The carved memorial plaque (pictured left) was added in 1830 by a decendant, also named Edwin Sandys who was at the time the Rector of Greater Hardres with Stelling. The transcription of the plaque is as follows: "Entombed within lies Edwin Sandys, of Northbourne Court, Knight, second son of Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York, not unworthy of such a Father. A man most adorned with gifts of the spirit, outstanding in letters, he wrote 'EUROPÆ SPECULUM' (A Mirror of Europe, 1599). In the Senate (Parliament) he stood out as a most keen supporter of true liberty (not then having the freedom to travel). This marble tablet he had placed for himself and his family and it has remained until now. He departed from the living (world) AD 1629, aged 68. The epitaph having been lacking for two centuries, Edwin Sandys the heir of the family and name (known by the name Lumsdaine of Lumsdaine in Berwickshire in right of his wife) Rector of Great Hardres with Stelling in this county,inscribed and restored the monument in the year of human salvation, 1830" Nowhere on this tomb or in the Church is mention of the name of Lady Sandys.

© P.E. Blanche 2002

On the West wall of the Lady Chapel is a plaque paced there in 1957 which reads as follows: In grateful memory of Sir Edwin Sandys, 1561 - 1629. Treasurer of the Virginia Company. Member of Parliament, who is buried nearby. He obtained the royal assent to a constitution, which later served as a model for the constitutions of other American colonies, whereby the people of Virginia should only be governed and taxed with their own consent and should have an Assembly modelled on the House of Commons to regulate the internal affairs of the colony. This Assembly first met at Jamestown in 1619 and was the earliest example of a domestic parliament which was afterwards cherished throughout America as the dearest birthright of free men. Erected by the American and British Commonwealth Association of the United States in 1957, the three hundred and fiftieth year since the founding of Virginia. The unfortunate thing for visiting Americans who might want to see this memorial is that this Church is normally locked because of the risk of vandalism, a growing problem and a terrible shame. However, there are regular Sunday morning services and I would encourage any tourist or visitors wishing to see inside the Church to visit for this Service. If you receive as warm a welcome as I did from the Rector and the members of the congregation it will be worth the trip. My special thanks to Brian, one of the present churchwardens, for allowing me into the Church to take these pictures.