Toke’s Heraldic Ledger Stones

By Ann Pinder

Churches are an invaluable source of historic material, containing as they do so many memorials, not just on the walls but also underfoot. The practice of brass rubbing is no longer encouraged since the popularity of this hobby meant surface damage of the, largely medieval, latten plates. There is, however, another type of memorial set into church floors, and that is the ledger stone, a flat solid plaque, some three foot by seven, laid over a grave, with the fabric of the church and bearing in many instances a roundel depicting the family coat of arms.

Such stones provide an essential source of reference for historians and those tracing their family tree, time capsules that include information not just on the first person to have been buried beneath each stone, but on other family members interred at a later date.

Ledger stones are not rare, which is maybe why they are somewhat overlooked. The first ledger stones were coffin lids set into the floor, sometimes decorated with a cross. Over the centuries this evolved into a large plaque. Mostly the material is dark in colour, variously described as black or blue marble, but in Kent Bethersden marble (in reality a type of limestone) has occasionally been used, as has iron, though this is more common in places close to where that industry once thrived, such as in the Sussex part of the Weald.

Such materials may have ensured the ledger stone’s longevity, but some have been damaged or destroyed, not only as the result of Victorian restoration, but also by WWII bombing, as well as through natural erosion, having been subjected to generations of passing footsteps. Many stones are no longer above their relevant graves, having been moved to side chapels, or to cloisters (as at Canterbury Cathedral), while others have disappeared, albeit temporarily, beneath carpeting or floorboards, or are half hidden beneath choir stall, dais or reception desk.

One Kentish man who appreciated their importance as a historical record was Nicholas Eyare Toke, a University and army tutor, who, after obtaining a degree at London University, settled in Folkestone, joining the Kent Archaeological Society in 1903.

Nicholas Toke was descended from the Toke family who once owned Godinton Park, at Great Chart near Ashford. The local church is rich in wall memorials recording various members of the family and Toke himself had a special interest in church ‘furniture’. He was to contribute several papers to Archaeologia Cantiana on hatchments and stained glass, but he also enjoyed brass rubbing, a technique he went on to use on the raised surfaces of the heraldic devices which appeared on church ledger stones.

250,000 ledger stones are said to be in existence throughout Britain, dating mainly from around the mid-17th century to the late 18th century when the middle classes sought to emulate the aristocracy in having similar memorials. Toke recorded around three hundred stones (all heraldic), the dates of death on them ranging from 1579 to 1836, with the ledger’s popularity (at least according to Toke’s collection) seeming to peak during the 1730s. It was the Burial Acts of the 1850s that brought about the introduction of cemeteries and a ban on further burials inside the church itself. No longer could the well-heeled aspire to be interred within the family vault, at the foot of the chancel steps, or beside the family pew, with a slab of marble to record the fact.

It was around this time that interest in the past began to grow with an emphasis on genealogy, and antiquarians such as Toke were keen to preserve information on the memorials which had already become a valuable historical resource.

Today, such information can be gleaned by reference to church guides and leaflets, or more especially on site where a simple plan will often pinpoint their positions. And if you do spot a ledger stone at your feet in the chancel or nave, bear in mind that beneath lies not only the reason for its being there, but a fascinating record of a family’s history.

The ruined tower of St George’s Church, St George’s Street, Canterbury

Margaret Greenhill’s ledger stone in St George’s Church

Rubbing of the Greenhill coat of arms.

Greenhill coat of arms.

NOTE: A ‘Ledgerstone Survey of England and Wales’ is now being undertaken, in which anyone can take part, and information on this can be found at www.lsew.org.uk.

The fully text of Ann’s introduction to Toke’s Ledger Stones can be read on the Society’s website.