Sir Edward Stanley (c.1563-1632)

Sir Edward Stanley (c.1563-1632)
© Copyright text based on Tong Church guide by R.M.C. Jeffery , picture R.J.L. Smith, Much Wenlock

Below the monument to Sir Thomas Stanley is the effigy of their son Sir Edward Stanley (c.1563- 1632). Both Sir Thomas and Sir Edward are clad in armour of the late Elizabethan period. The monument was originally beside the high altar, beneath which the Stanleys are buried in lead coffins.

Sir Edward was regarded by the Puritans as a dangerous papist, died in 1632 having sold Tong Castle to Sir Thomas Harries in 1613. He married Lucy Percy (daughter of the 6th Earl of Northumberland) another family well known for Roman Catholic sympathies. Her father was executed by Elizabeth I in 1572 for plotting against her and her grandfather had been executed by Henry VIII.