Church Monuments ~ Arkesden

Heare lyeth Richard Cutte Esquier Sonne and heire to Peter Cutte Esquier Sonne and heire to John Cutte Esquier Sonne and heire to Richard Cutte Esquier which Richard was brother to Sir John Cutte of horram hall in thaxted treasurer of themost honorable houshould of the mighty king henrie the 8 this Richard died the 16 day of Auguste ann di 1592. Here lyeth also Marye Cutte late wife of this Richard and daughier of Edward Ellington of thoyden boys in Essix chiefe butler of England to the most renouned king Edward the 6 this Marye died the 20 of januari ann di 1594 6 Queene Marye and Queene Elyzabethe

As ye are nowe, so once weare we, As we nowe are so shall ye be

When ye remember us forget not your selues 

The small village church of Arkesden, Essex, is home to the amazing tomb of the Cutte family. Both Richard and Mary died in 1692 and are buried in this extraordinary monument inside St Mary's the Virgin, its sheer size dominates one half of the front of the Church.

Depicted around the base of the tomb are the Cutte's six children, all kneeling in prayer, however all four boys have been 'beheaded' and Oliver Cromwell's men have been blamed for this. 

Richard Cutte's estate Wood Hall, is where the manor house of the village stood ~ built in 1652 and later altered ~ it stands on the site of a Saxon manor, named Wodehall which is listed in the Domesday Book.

Although there is nothing to indicate Richard Cutte’s role in the spread of Non~conformity to this part of the region, it was here that the first Congregationalists signed their covenant on 22 December 1682, consisting of a group that had spread out from Cambridgeshire. However at that time their meetings were illegal and so they met clandestinely at first, presumably with the blessing of Richard and Mary Cutte.

The Cutte family are more famed for their part in the Battle of Blenheim, when John Cutte, born in Arkesden in 1661, led Marlborough’s attack, earning him the nickname ‘The Salamander’ for his bravery.

On the floor next to the Cutte monument is a brass memorial to the Knight Richard Fox 1439.