The magnificent tombs of Sir Ralph Sadleir (1507-1587), his eldest son Thomas and the latter’s wife Gertrude are a part of the rich heritage of St Mary’s. Described on his memorial as ‘’faithful to the state and beloved of his countrie’’, Sir Ralph served three monarchs, Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I as courtier, soldier and statesman. The passage of over 400 years had left the memorials sorely in need of cleaning, repair and refurbishment and his return to public notice as a result of the acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, in which he features prominently, acted as a spur to get the work started.

In late 2020 an appeal was launched for funds to undertake the work. Generous donations came from descendants of Sir Ralph and from people with a connection to Standon. We received grants from the Leche Trust, the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Historic Churches Trust and ChurchCare supported by the Pilgrim Trust. With these funds secured Sally Strachey Historic Conservation started work on the cleaning and repair in August 2021 and finished within eight weeks.

The final part of the refurbishment was the re-gilding of the tombs. Michelle Pepper began this in October 2022 and it was completed on 4th November. The monuments now look resplendent and stand once again as a fitting tribute to this great man and his family. If you are in the village do visit the church and take a look at them.

Please click the link below to view the Sadleir Tombs Refurbishment Project Photo Album

You can also view more pictures here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1unydo9Ngon7Yz71bVcLPqNwwfvkHvKiN?usp=sharing

Thank you to the many people who have either donated to this project or given support in other ways. We couldn’t have done this without you.

The Project Committee was sad to hear of the recent death of Dame Hilary Mantel. She kindly agreed to act as patron for the project. Her name, her books and her benevolent interest added impetus and made the task of fundraising considerably easier. It is a sad irony that her death occurred just a day after we placed the contract for the gilding. She will never see his tomb, but she will be remembered in Standon as the person who brought Sir Ralph Sadleir back to life.