What is recorded here

Graveslab in Gowran lies slightly injured in the north aisle of St Mary, preserving the name of Margret Butler and her death in 1685. She was the wife of William Butler and daughter of John Bradstreett, yet her life has faded from memory while her stones remain. The chapel still holds her marker, waiting for someone to read the chipped letters and imagine the woman they buried.

In the 13th-century church of St Mary, Gowran (KK020-060006-). Described by Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 405) as a, 'slightly injured floor-slab, with an inscription, in Roman capitals, thus: HERE LIETH [THE] BODY OF MARGRE[T] WIFE TO WILLIAM BVTLER, GENT. AND DAUGHTER TO JOHN BRADSTREETT, WHO DIED YE TH[IRD] DAY OF MAY, 1685'. He gives the location as, 'the third division of the north aisle' (ibid.). This graveslab may be among the slabs and architectural fragments currently stored in the 17th-century mortuary chapel adjoining the external S wall of the nave. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 18 September 2019

Medieval Christian tomb slab, 13th century. Significantly, it is one of the few surviving early medieval gravestones with a Latin inscription in Roman capitals, reflecting the establishment of Christian burial practices in the region during the medieval period.

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