THE 4TH LORD HARRINGTON (HARINGTON) MEMORIAL MOUMENT IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF PORLOCK, SOMERSET, ENGLAND. NOTES BY DAN AND PAT HARRINGTON (WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA) FROM A 1994 VISIT

By Daniel D. Harrington

While on a sabbatical leave to the University of Bristol in Bristol, England in 1994, my wife Pat and I habitually took to the countryside on weekends to explore various villages and trod the ancient public footpaths that crisscross the fields, dales and villages of every English shire. One sunny Saturday afternoon in August we decided to head south out of Bristol to visit Cleeve Abbey and Dunster Castle in Somerset. While checking the guide book, Pat ran across a reference to a memorial monument to John Harington (spelled with a single "r"), Lord of Porlock Manor in the parish church of the village of Porlock not far from Cleeve Abbey.* The following is a summarizes of our visit to the church and monument.

(*NOTE: For those who might wish to visit the church and memorial, I've included directions on how to get to Porlock from Bristol below, with some additional directions to other nearby sites of interest. A map of England marked with the locations of Bristol, Porlock and other interesting places, including 2 different villages named Harrington, and the Harrington Hall [manor] in Lincolnshire, is displayed below.)

CREDITS

This document includes some information on St. Dubricius and the Porlock church itself, since I believe that anyone visiting Lord Harrington's memorial is likely to want some historical background on the memorial's "residence" and its namesake. I claim no credit for original research on materials presented. Essentially all of the information, except for the commentary, was abstracted from a pamphlet supplied by the church. The picture of St. Dubricius's church was digitized from one on the pamphlet's cover (copyright held by Porlock Church).

The 5 other images attached to this document are those I digitized from photos I took during our visit. Two of the images are of the alabaster effigies and the canopy which comprise the memorial and the third is of the reredos over the High Altar. The latter image shows effigies of saints and the crucifixion, as well as of the coats-of-arms of various families associated with the Manor of Porlock. The last 2 are of Cleeve Abbey and Dunster Castle. All of the above are copyrighted by myself. However, you are welcome to use them without restriction for non-publication, educational purposes providing you give credit to myself as their source. If you desire to use them for publication, written permission from myself is required (D.D. Harrington).

Special Credit: An earlier version of this document was placed on the "Harrington " web page maintained by Bryce Harrington (http://genealogy.org/~bryce/harrgene.html). Visit his web site for more information on the Harrington families.

ST. DUBRICIUS

The parish church of Porlock, in which the Harington memorial resides, is dedicated in the name of St. Dubricius (or Dyffig, his Welsh name), a 6th century (500-600) Welsh scholar of great reputation. Dubricius was sent to England by the Celtic Christian Church of Wales to do missionary work. He established a school at Henllan (now Hentland) on the river Wye and a college at Llanfrawthir or Lanfrothir. Dubricius lived during the time of King Arthur (see side-trips to Glastonbury, the Vale of Avalon, etc. below).

It should be noted that while many romantic but fictitious stories have been written about King Arthur, it is generally accepted that Arthur was not a mythical personage but a real man who defeated the invading Saxons at the battle of Badon Hill about 517 A.D. St. Dubricius is thought to have been a friend and adviser of King Arthur, and to have been present at Badon, and later to have been summoned by Arthur to solemnize his marriage to Guinevere. Dubricius died in retirement in 612 A.D. on the Welsh Holy Isle of Bardsey. His remains were moved from the island to the Cathedral of Llabndaff in 1120.

THE PORLOCK PARISH CHURCH

The First Church in Porlock (shown rigth) is believed to have been founded by St. Dubricius or one of his close associates coming by way of Wales or Ireland before St. Augustine came to Kent in 597 A.D. There is a legend that various burned stones previously discovered in a wall of the north porch and in the arch over the north door of the church came from the original building(s) destroyed by Harold, son of the Earl of Wessex, when he came up the Bristol channel in 1052 to sack and burn the village of Porlock. (You may recall that Harold was later killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, during the invasion by "Willam the Conquer", Duke of Normandy.) Much of the present building belongs to the 13th century (1200-1300) and the Early English period of architecture (circa 1180 to 1280). During this period, Sir Simon Fitz-Roges held the Manor of Porlock (see coat-of-arms on reredos below). Reconstruction took place during the 15th century (1400-1500), the period during which the 4th Lord Harington occupied the Manor of Porlock. Further restorations took place between 1888 and 1891.

The reredos behind the High Altar on which the effigies of various saints and the coats-of-arms of important personages and occupiers of the Manor of Porlock , including Lord Harington, was dedicated in 1931 (see reredos below). The exact date of the Harington memorial's alabaster effigies of Lord Harington and his wife are less certain but they were probably sculpted during latter part of the 15th or first half of the 16th century (1475-1550). The effigies have not escaped vandals, as is true of many monuments in England and elsewhere. They are scratched all over with names and initials, some dating as far back as 1690.

THE HARINGTON AND OTHER MEMORIALS

The church contains many interesting, ancient, and medieval artifacts as well as two memorial monuments. One memorial, the effigy of a knight in chain armor, lies in a low-arched recess in the wall of the south aisle. It is traditionally said to represent Sir Simon Fitz-Roges whose family held the Manor of Porlock during 13th century and who died in July of 1306. (See Fitz-Roges coat-of-arms). The other memorial is dedicated to Lord Harington.

Under the most easterly arch of the arcade stands the Harington memorial in alabaster. It is said to be one of the finest of its kind in England (details below). At the end of the 14th century (1300-1400), the Manor of Porlock came into the possession of Isabella Loring after the death of her father Sir Robert Loring. Isabella married, as her second husband, Sir Robert Harington, 3rd Lord Harington of Aldingham in the County of Lancashire. Their elder son, John, succeeded his father as the 4th Lord Harington, and he married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Courtenay, 3rd Earl of Devon* (see reredos image for coat-of-arms) The alabaster memorial commemorates John, the 4th Lord Harington, and his wife Elizabeth Courtenay.

(*NOTE: Devon is immediately south of north Somerset in which Porlock in located).

The two alabaster effigies are considered to be earlier in date than the canopy above them. Only parts of the base and the pillars supporting the canopy, and the effigy of Lord Harington are seen in digitized images (see below). (I regret I did not get a good photograph of Elizabeth Courtenay's effigy which lies immediately to the left of Lord John's effigy). Both the effigies and the canopy were formerly richly ornamented with color and gilding.

The effigy of John is that of a knight in plate armor of the period with his head on a tilting helmet bearing the Harington crest, a lion's head erased. Round the helmet he wears a rich garland of roses and leaves, and his head is supported by angels --- very unusual in the case of a knight. The effigy of Elizabeth has beautifully rounded folds to the lower part of her dress; she has a rich "mitred" head-dress and her head rests on two cushions with delicately wrought tassels. The knight's feet rest against the figure of a lion, a common method of identifying the male head of a household in memorials of the period (see below).

The feet of the lady of the household in such memorials is usually shown resting against the figure of a dog. However, in the case of Elizabeth Courtenay Harrington's effigy, the feet rest upon an a creature thought to represent the Courtenay boar. In years past, Porlock village mothers were wont to awe their children into obedience by threats of the wild boar that would come out of Pool's wood (a local woods) and eat them "like the lady up to the church" ( a reference to the effigy of Elizabeth in the Harrington memorial in St. Dubricius's church).

John, the 4th Lord Harington, was said to be in much favor with King Henry V (1413-1422), and he accompanied the king on his second expedition to France in 1417. Lord Harington took with him a goodly company of 86 archers and 29 lances.

Lord Harington did not return from the expedition to France. However, before he left England, he made his will which is dated as 8th June, 1417 (proved 1418). In it he directed that two priest be appointed "to celebrate divine service and to pray for the souls of my father and mother and all my ancestors." This direction led to the foundation of the Harington Chantry*, but no steps appear to have been undertaken to carry out his wishes until July 1474, about 3 years after the death of his wife Elizabeth. In that year, a royal license was granted by King Henry VI for the foundation of a chantry "at the altar in the Chapel of the Blessed Mary", which was the altar in the south aisle of St. Dubricius Church and which is still called the Lady Chapel. The chantry priests of the Harington Chantry were usually monks connected to the Cleeve Abbey which is located several miles east of Porlock off what is now highway A39. Visitors will have passed the ruins of the Abbey on their way to Porlock if they came from Bristol via the route I describe below. The monks lived in the Chantry cottage by the Churchyard wall.

(*NOTE: A chantry is a church or chapel endowed with lands or other revenue, for the maintenance of one or more priest who daily sing or say mass for the souls of the donor or such as they appoint.)

REREDOS OVER THE HIGH ALTAR

The reredos effigies are, from left to right: (1) St. Dubricius, patron of Porlock Church, (2) St. Petroc, a great Welsh missionary and patron of Timberscombe, a village south-east of Porlock, (3) the Crucifixion, (4) St. Crantoc, another Welsh missionary, connected with Carhampton, another village also south-east of Porlock, and (5) St. George, patron saint of England.

The coats-of-arms on the shields in the reredos are those of families connected with the Manor of Porlock. They are, from left to right: (1) Courtenay, (2) Loring, (3) Harington, (4) Fitz-Roges, (5) Bonville, and (6) Grey. Note the "file" (a horizontal line with 3 vertical lines extending downward) located across the top ("in chief") of the shields of the Courtenay and Grey families (see COMMENTARY below).

COMMENTARY ON REREDOS

The file is a heraldry charge-of-cadence which indicates that the coat-of-arms shown belonged to the first son of the Courtenay and Grey families, respectively (see Charge-of-Cadence below). Note also that there is no charge-of-cadence on the Harington coat of arms. This is interpreted to mean that Lord Harington was the legitimate heir of the family name and arms. While various branches of families may use the same coat-of-arms (with the permission of the legitimate heir to the coat-of-arms, of course), the crest, which surmount the shield on which the coat-of-arms are displayed, usually varies depending on the branch of the family. The second son in the Harington family, for example, may have a different crest as well as the "crescent" moon charge-of-cadence of a second son "in chief" on the coat-of-arms. It was noted above in the description of the alabaster effigy of Lord Harington , which dates to the 13th century, that his helmet had a "lion's head erased". This is the recognized crest of the main branch of Harington family line, and further supports his lineage and heir's rights to the coat-of-arms.

Charge-of-Cadence

Below, I have drawn the charges-of-cadence for the 1st through the 9th sons on the Harington coat-of-arms, "Sable a fret argent" (Black field with a silver fret). The "fret" is also referred to in heraldry as the "Harrington knot" (Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry). The charge-of-cadence is placed "in chief" (the center upper 3rd of the shield [used by men], lozenge ["diamond" used by women] or family banner [flag]).

Row 1 (left to right): (1) Harington family coat-of-arms (used by father while alive), (2) "File" (or "Label") - eldest son, (3) "Crescent" - second son, (4) "Mullet" - third son, (5) "Martlet" - fourth son.

Row 2 (left to right): (1) "Annulet" - fifth son, (2) "Fleur-de-Lis" - sixth son, (3) "Rose" - seventh son, (4) "Cross of Moline" - eight son, (5) "Octofoil" - ninth son.

REFERENCES CITED IN PORLOCK CHURCH PAMPHLET

1. A History of the Ancient Church of Porlock and the Patron Saint, St. Dubricius, and his times, by the Rev. Prebendary Walter Hook, M.A., 1893.
2. History of West Somerset, by Sir Charles Chadwyck Healey, Q.C., 1901.
3. The Church of St. Dubricius, Porlock, by Dr. Francis C. Eles, 1935.

DIRECTIONS TO PORLOCK FROM BRISTOL

Get on the M5 (dual carriage-way) on the western side of Bristol at interchange 18 or 19 and head south. Stay on the M5 until you reach exit 23, approximately 30 miles south of Bristol. Here you'll exit and enter a "round-about" (a circular highway interchange common in England ). At the round-about, take highway A38 south toward Bridgewater, about 2 miles down the road. In Bridgewater, you'll encounter 2 additional round-abouts. Continue straight through the first round-about staying on A38 . At the second round-about, you'll need to head west on highway A39. A39 parallels the Bristol channel's southern coast. The village of Porlock is approximately 30 miles west Bridgewater. Once in the village, ask anyone for directions to parish church of Saint Dubricius. You'll recognize it from a distance by its unique "flat-topped" steeple.

SIDE TRIPS: CLEEVE ABBEY, DUNSTER CASTLE, AND THE CITIES OF GLASTONBURY, AND WELLS.

On your way to Porlock via highway A39 out of Bridge water, you'll pass the ruins of partially restored Cleeve Abbey as well as Dunster Castle. Both sites are well worth visiting. However, if you only visit one, visit the abbey. The abbey (below) was the home a Cistercian Order of monks which were assigned to the Harington Chantry at the Porlock church during the 15th century.

Dunster Castle (below) was built in the 13th century and has been the home of the Luttrell family since then. (See also Cameron Newham's web page on the National Trust.) The castle overlooks the medieval village of Dunster not far from the Bristol Channel to the north.

In addition, if you have time, you should take a slightly different route when returning to Bristol from Porlock to visit the medieval cities of Glastonbury and Wells. Follow the A39 out of Porlock to Bridgewater. At the first round-about in Bridgewater, head north (this road is a combined A38 & A39). At the next round-about (still in Bridgewater) bear north-east on the A39 and follow this to all the away to Glastonbury , a distance of only 20 miles. You are now in the Vale (valley) of Avalon, famous from King Arthur's times. The city of Glastonbury is seated near the base of a tiered upside-down boat-shaped hill, the Glastonbury Tor, on which sits the 14th century tower of the chapel of St. Michael. Legend has it that the Holy Grail (Christ's chalice) was buried at the base of the hill by Joseph of Arimathaea. From the top of the hill, one gets a magnificent view of the Vale of Avalon. The Vale is the supposed location of the Arthur's mystic Camelot. From Glastonbury, its a short drive (5 miles) on the A39 north to Wells (the smallest "city" in England) and visit to medieval Wells Cathedral and Bishop's residence ("Palace"). You'll not want to miss seeing the swans swimming in the moat surrounding the Bishop's residence. The swans are famous for ringing a small bell hanging by the window of the moat's gate house to obtain food from the hand of the porter who guards the gate. To return to Bristol, continue on the A39 north out of Wells for 9 miles to its junction with highway A37. Its now a short hop (12 miles) directly north to Bristol, your starting point.