Monumental brasses have for over 700 years been a popular form of marking an individual’s grave or commemorating the life of that person. Originally widespread in northwestern Europe, the most surviving examples are to be found in England’s churches. These incised metal plates, sometimes with a simple inscription but often including the figure of the person commemorated, are not only objects of beauty but they also open a window on the past and illuminate our understanding of our island history. The earliest are medieval but they continued into the modern world, and examples range from Sir Simon Felbrigge, 1416, at Felbrigg, Norfolk, Banner Bearer to King Richard II at Agincourt; Sir Thomas Bullen, 1538, at Hever, Kent, the father of the ill-fated Anne Boleyn; and Robert Stephenson, 1859, in Westminster Abbey, one of the greatest civil engineers of the nineteenth century.Bold as Brass: The History of England in 50 Monumental Brasses highlights 50 memorial brasses from across the country. These brasses have a unique ability to bring history to life, focussing on the personal as well as on national themes. Readers will find this book is an attractive and compelling ‘witness in brass’ to the sweep of English history over seven centuries.
