'An Elizabethan attempt at appearing ancient'

So said Pevsner of this unusual effigy in the south aisle of Chew Magna Church. Despite the name it is certainly not Sir John de Hautville whose family name died out two hundred years before this armour was worn.  But it may be a descendant  wearing the armour of Henry V.  It is said to be carved of solid Irish oak, one of less than a hundred found in the country.  It was re-painted in the 1860s 'without any regard to the original work'. The strange position of the lion may be due to the fact that the  effigy was brought to the church from the mother  church/chapel when it was demolished in 1547 and it may have had to occupy a very cramped site in the chapel. (information from a book found in the church)