Life rich tapestry
A large alabaster tomb stands in the South Chapel of St Martin’s, Barcheston. The effigy is of William Willington and his wife Ann, who bought the manor of Barcheston in 1507. He was a ruthless landlord, responsible for enclosing large areas of land and evicting families from their homes.
William’s seven daughters are depicted in relief on the sides of the tomb. One of these daughters, Mary, married William Sheldon, who set up the earliest tapestry weaving enterprise in England in the Manor House in Barcheston. Master Weaver, Richard Hykes, Head of the Great Wardrobe that maintained the royal tapestries, is also buried in this church.
The workshops in the nearby Manor House, produced many of the magnificent tapestries which form part of major collections in the Victoria & Albert museum, the Burrell Collection and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
A fantastic example of the wonderful craftsmanship of this workshop can be seen in the Sheldon Tapestry Map of Warwickshire, on display at Market Hall Museum, Warwick. It was commissioned in the late 1580s by Ralph Sheldon to decorate his newly built house at Weston, Long Compton. It was one of four tapestry maps showing the counties of Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, which would have hung together to create a panoramic view of England, stretching from London to the Bristol Channel. This map has been chosen by the BBC as one of the 100 objects featured in the Radio 4 series.
It appears that William Willington, who lived to a ripe old age, finally repented of his ways. In his will he left legacies to the poor of 23 local villages.
