Barcheston

It was the Shipston Wool Fair today – a good opportunity for a day out, which also included a trip to nearby Barcheston, where several Parrys who are mentioned in the probate abstracts lived. There, in the main aisle of Barcheston church, was a memorial stone to Walter of Fell Mill, which would match to abstract number 609. It read:

In hopes of A Joyful Resurrection in Jesus Christ
Here Lyeth the Body of Walter perrey
Of Felmil A Dyer who departed this life
The first day of October ANNO DOM
1705 Ætatis Suæ 66

Though wee have lost our faithfull friend
In Christ wee hope he made his end
His Body in the Grave doth rest
To rise wee hope forever blest
All you that do this day pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so shalt you be
Therefore prepare to follow me

The surname spelt Perrey is not necessarily a problem, stonemasons did make mistakes and surname spellings often varied in those days anyway.

But there was no coat of arms on the stone either. Which is interesting, given that Walter’s family being entitled to the arms of the Parrys of the Golden Vale is one of the reasons put forward by Boden for considering them as possible ancestors for Sir CHH Parry.

Clearly more research needed to find any evidence for that.

But a booklet about the Barcheston tapestries did at least tell me that a David Parry was paid for catching two otters in the River Stour. Pity none of the abstracts mention a David though!