Sir Thomas Smythe and his tomb

Visitors to St John the Baptist Church in Sutton at Hone will have noticed the large monument to Sir Thomas Smythe, and this monument has recently been restored and conserved.

Sir Thomas Smythe Tomb

The tomb of Sir Thomas Smythe

On Sunday, 30th November 2014, a Service of Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving for the Conservation of the Tomb of Sir Thomas Smythe was held at St. John the Baptist Church.  This service was attended by representatives of the Worshipful Company of Skinners, Tonbridge School, the Japan 400 Project and The Japan 400 Project, whose generous donations had paid for the restoration and conservation of the tomb.

After the Bishop of Rochester blessed the tomb, Dr Karen Hearn gave a brief lecture telling the family history of the Smythe family, and Dr Tessa Murdock followed telling us about Sir Thomas’s time as Ambassasor to the Russian Court.  The carriage that Sir Thomas presented as a gift to the Russian Tzar is on display in the Hermitage Museum in Moscow.

Sir Thomas Smythe retired to Sutton at Hone and he lived at Sutton Place, although the large Tudor house has long gone, and only the boundary wall remains (it runs along Parsonage Lane from the Sutton Corner roundabout).  However he is commemorated in the village as Smythe Place (off Ship Lane) was named after Sir Thomas in the 1920s when Dartford District Rural Council built the houses.

The Sir Thomas Smythe’s Charity was founded by the will of Sir Thomas and provides financial and pastoral support to people in need in twenty six parishes in West Kent.

smythe inscription blog

The inscription on Sir Thomas Smythe’s tomb


The lower inscription alludes to Sir Thomas’s varied career and Sutton at Hone  is referred to as ‘To this obscured VILLAGE he with drewe’.  

SAh Church smythe tomb inscription blog

The lower inscription on Sir Thomas Smythe’s tomb

 

The fine carving of the effigy shows the wealth of Sir Thomas in the richness of his clothes.

smythe arms blog

Sir Thomas Smythe

 

Sir Thomas’s cloak is fur lined, as can be shown in the armholes of the cloak

Smythe fur lined jacket blog

The fur lining to Sir Thomas Smythe’s cloak

 

Sir Thomas’s elegant shoes

Smythe feet blog

Sir Thomas Smythe’s feet

 

If you are interested in more details about Sir Thomas Smythe, there are two good biographies on the Tonbridge History website and on the History of Parliament website.

1 thought on “Sir Thomas Smythe and his tomb

  1. Steve

    Wadmore (Wadmore, J F. Sir Thomas Smythe Knt (A.D. 1558-1625). Archaeologia Cantiana Vol 20, 1893, pp 82-103) https://kentarchaeology.org.uk/arch-cant/vol/20/sir-thomas-smythe-knt-ad-1558-1625 stated that the arms on the monument are Smythe, Judde, Chiche, Criol, Averenches, Crevecour, Chichele, and Stafford. However, I presume that there should be nine coats; that Stafford is an error and is probably Murfyn; and the missing coat is Apulderfield. A close up of the arms, if possible, should be able to resolve this.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.