The Monumental Brass of Henry Sever (c1420-1471) in Merton College at Oxford University -- (Not So) Wordless Wednesday #935

 This is a priceless (to me) image in my computer file folders from the Seaver family collection:

This photograph was taken in August 1993 in beautiful Oxford, England.  

Linda and I took a leisurely three-week trip to tour England on our own, depending on the train service, taxi rides, and a few friends. On the trip, we stayed overnight in London, York, Edinburgh, Derby, Oxford, Ashton-Keynes (Wiltshire), Bath, and back to London in hotels and B&Bs.  I pursued my genealogy research and we did a lot of sightseeing. 

In the photograph above, I am standing in the chapel of Merton College in Oxford University in Oxford, England. I wanted to see the grave of Dr. Henry Sever (c1420-1471), a Warden of Mertion College from 1455 to 1471.  I asked the student on duty at the entrance to the college to see the brass, and he knew where it was in the chapel, and had to turn the side of a large carpet to uncover it.

A monumental brass covers the grave of Henry, and is described by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as:

"Rubbing of the brass effigy of Henry Sever, S.T.P, warden, depicted in a cope and postioned beneath a triple canopy. The effigy is accompanied by 2 shields and an inscription with 3 Latin verses."

Here is an image of the rubbing:

I have no indication that Dr. Henry Sever is my ancestor or relative, but I found the reference to him in a book way back in about 1989, and wanted to see it.  I just spent 20 minutes looking for mthe papers that I have about him and cannot find them -- they are probably buried in an obscure notebook or folder somewhere in my 60 feet of paper archives. 

We had only a film camera back in 1993, so the top image is not wonderful - I think Linda's hand or fingers is shown in the photograph too. 

NOTE:  I used the MyHeritage photo tools to sharpen and enhance this image.

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