The Waller Tomb at Stoke Charity, Hampshire: Conservative Monument or a Late Pre-Renaissance, Perpendicular Work?

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Waller tomb monument that has an inscription which ostensibly dates it to 1525. The exceptional quality of the work, and its architectural sophistication, suggests close connections to work created in Winchester cathedral, through the patronage of bishop Richard Fox. Through comparative work, this paper proposes the attribution of the Waller monument to Thomas Bertie, the bishop of Winchester’s master mason from c. 1515, and makes a case for a revision of the dating of this tomb and the tomb’s place in the development of decorative architectural styles in the region.