Memorial Type:

Memorial - Other

Does the monument still exist?

Yes

Installation Date:

Post 1500

Inscription:

Not applicable

Allegiance:

Lancastrian

Condition:

Good

Condition Description:

Slightly difficult to see the features described.

Memorial Notes:

The arms have traditionally been identified as a peace of Lancastrian propaganda, made - it is alleged - under the order of Margaret of Anjou to mark the royal pretensions and disgrace of Richard, duke of York after his death at Wakefield in 1460. It is a good story, but highly unlikely. The arms were discovered in 1840 when workmen carrying out repairs to St Bartholomew’s Church, Ashperton, Herefordshire were collecting stones from the ruins of a nearby manor house. It was then mounted in the church. Rather than being contemporary to the Wars of the Roses, the artistic style of the carvings suggest that they date from the late 16th or early 17th century, although the provenance of the piece remains obscure. See https://murreyandblue.wordpress.com/2021/02/02/the-traitors-arms/ for an interesting discussion of this memorial.