Holy Trinity Church, Bosbury (Morton Chapel)

The Morton Chapel is a former Chantry Chapel, endowed by Sir Rowland MORTON after the death of his wife in 1528. It has a fine fan-vaulted ceiling and Perpendicular window looking out onto the south side of the Churchyard. Pevsner calls the fan-vaulting “plain”, but I think it's quite spectacular to find it in this small, unassuming country village.

One of the pendants of the fan vaulting, seen here just to the left of centre of the archway, is carved with a ‘rebus’ (a pictorial representation) of the Morton family name - a letter ‘M’ engraved on a ‘tun’, or barrel - Mor-ton. Apparently Cardinal John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury (1482-1500) used the same motif in Canterbury Cathedral, and Thomas Morton (Sir Rowland's brother) continued the theme of fan-vaulting in the Stanbury Chapel in the Cathedral at Hereford. It is believed the brothers were kinsmen of Archbishop Morton - nothing like keeping the designs in the family, eh?

On the wall underneath the right hand window is a pretty framed tapestry of ‘The Last Supper’.

And there is a close-up of the Morton “Rebus” below.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)