The collection of sixteen Hatchments in St Leonards (described and illustrated below)is one of the finest in Britain and spans a period between 1673 and 1865. We are lucky they have survived - in many churches they have been removed when repairs to the church were required, never been replaced and have now dissapeared! The likely explanation being the costs of keeping them in good repair or the lack of understanding of their importance. This is a shame as they are not only decorative, but also contain much of interest to local historians, geneaoligists and those interested in heraldry. Further down this page all the hatchments are illustrated, with details of their origins, as far as we are aware. The church is also lucky in having many other wall hangings and panels of note and elsewhere in this website they will eventually be dealt with.

In the panel below is a series of hatchments which illustrate how the background colour to the hatchment is of great significance and enables even a casual observer to tell the marital status of the deceased. single people had only one coat of arms on the hatchment,  where a male death, a helm surmounts the arms, for a female death it is either a ribbon or left unadorned. This is also the case when the wife pre deceases the husband.  Where married both parties arms are shown, male are always on the left, and the surviving partners are on a light background, for the second death the whole background is black. Where more than one marriage has occured previous spouses are shown in  various ways (see1, 2, 3 and 4) I believe the example for a Bishop(showing mitre and stole) below to be incorrect in that the colours of the halves should be reversed if he is pre-deceasing his wife or both parts should be black if his is the second death. The example for the Peer shows the extra adornments by way of supporting animals, that went with rank.

The Hatchments of St Leonards Deal

 Research on the identity of the Hatchments (or achievements) has mostly been by reference to a transcript of the burial register by Dr A C Gray, together with the descriptions in “Hatchments in Britain” where information is generally accurate, but the personal details were less complete.  UPDATE: The identification of several of the hatchments has recently been confirmed or updated and we are now as certain as one can be, that we have the correct names and dates attributed to the collection -  Thanks go to Dr Gray for his continued research and also to Sue Buckman, member of the FOSL's committee, whose ongoing research into the lives of the various families commemorated (soon to be published on this website), has enabled the correct identification of the hatchment relating to the wife of Sr Francis Samuel Drake as Sarah Gardner/Gardiner.

It is interesting that many are for sailors or members of maritime families. That the duty of burying seafarers of all ranks, often anonymously, fell to the church during the time that Deal was a major port, is evident from the burial register, and at certain periods a number of them are Dutch, reflecting the amount of trade the port saw at various times.

 This accounts for perhaps the most extraordinary one in the collection, hanging over the doorway in the tower. The style of this is entirely Dutch, not English. It has a Latin dated inscription (though sadly no name), a continental-style helm and the clincher is the little eave over the upper edges of the frame.

Detective work reveals the likely person: If  one assumes that the date of death, 20 March 1696, is Gregorian, not Julian, then this is Julian 10 March 1695/6. On 13 March 1695/6 St Leonard's buried Captain Matheus Steyn of the Amsterdam,(now confirmed - see details below) surely a ship of some significance? The hatchment (or Dutch roiiwbord) is a fine piece of work, and would surely have been brought in from Holland, though too late for the funeral. 

The two Baker hatchments present some curiosity. They are so similar and evidently of the same period, yet details of the two coats of arms in them are different in detail. Probably they are intended to represent members of the same couple, and the differences are mistakes. If so, no.2 is for the wife, predeceasing the husband, and no 3 is her widower. We cannot say for certain what the wife's maiden name is, but possible candidates are Hoy or Hoey, Shergold, Skarlet, Pocock and Blackbom. (Dr Grays recent research has been able to clarify the identity of these hatchments - see below)

Below is a series of photographs of the hatchments with details of their origin as know so far....

The pictures below are shown as you might find them as you tour the church: The first two are in the west porch of the tower. As you enter the main body of the church, turn to your left and you will see the 3^rd. If you continue down the aisle and round the back of the church and then down the other side you will pass the rest of the hatchments in the order shown here.