Hitcham Church has six hatchments dating from the early 1800s, also called mural plaques or achievements. Three are described here and three more on page HATCHMENTS 2.

HATCHMENT 1 (a female) and HATCHMENT 2 (a male)

These two hatchments relate to the Walpole-Hammet family.

Elizabeth Hammet (1772-1815) (hatchment 1), was daughter of Sir Benjamin Hammet and she was married to Richard Walpole (hatchment 2) (1762-1811), a member of the East India Company and a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole Prime Minister.

The two hatchments depict, on the left side, the Walpole family crest and, on the right side, the Hammet family crest, together (in the case of hatchment 2) with a gold lion on green. It is thought this latter is a reference to Amy Robsart daughter of a wealthy Norfolk farmer who married the 1st Earl of Leicester, only to be (allegedly) murdered by a jealous Elizabeth I, this lion featuring in Houghton Hall home of the Walpoles.

WALPOLE: "or on fess between 2 chevrons sable three crosses crosslets of the first”. Motto “Fari Quae Sentiat”-”to say what one feels”.

ROBSART: "vert a lion rampant or, vulned (wounded) in the shoulder"

HAMMET:"impaling party per fess argent and gules, a pale countercharged, surtout a lion rampant or, powdered with comets and in a canton argent five fleur-de-lis 2-1-2

From Lipscomb’s book:

On a mural monument :

"In a vault near this place are deposited the remains of Robert (Richard?) Walpole Esq son of the Hon Robert Walpole and nephew of Horatio 4th Earl of Orford. He died on 15th day of August 1811 age 49 years. Also of Elizabeth Walpole relict of the above and third daughter of Sir Benjamin Hammet MP for Taunton. She died on 19th day of March 1815 aged 43 years.

On a sepulchral slab in the pavement :

"Richard Walpole Esq and Elizabeth, his wife. Also Louisa Hammet, widow"

On a white marble tablet :

"In memory of Louisa Hammet widow of the late Sir Benjamin Hammet MP for Taunton who died in Florence on 16th November 1814 aged 70 years from which place her remains wer conveyed to England for interment in his vault in this church."

HATCHMENT 3

The remaining hatchment features, on the left, the arms of the Robinson/Rokeby family and, on the right, the arms of the Spencer family, and is probably a memorial to Sir John Freind Robinson who died 1832.

ROBINSON OF ROKEBY "vert a chevron or bearing three trefoil vert between three deer or"

SPENCER OF ALTHORP "quarterly argent and gules in the second and third quarters a fret or overall on a bend sable three escallops of the first" .

MOTTO : solo in deo salus - in God alone is our salvation.

Sir John Freind (1754-1832) was a member of the Freind family that owned the manor of Hitcham. His father was William Freind DD dean of Canterbury, and his mother was Grace Robinson of Rokeby. When his uncle the 1st Baron Rokeby died, Sir John succeeded and changed his name to John Freind Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby. In 1786 he married Mary Ann Spencer, daughter of James Spencer of Co Kildare. Although he became archdeacon of Armagh he was for a time renting Welford Park, Newbury. It is not clear whether James Spencer was closely related to the Spencers of Althorp, (the family of the late Princess of Wales) , so the use of the Spencer arms might be opportunistic!