Phoenix Exhumation’s team specialises in not just undertaking functional and cost effective crypt restorations, but also in the recording of the occasionally significant historical and archaeological discoveries which occur when dealing with inhumations hundreds of years old.
One such example was during work completed on behalf of the 7th Marquess of Northampton to undertake a thorough restoration of his family crypt, in the course of which our team's work revealed a wealth of historical and archaeological data that would have otherwise remained undiscovered.
Our findings included evidence that the original church had been destroyed by parliament troops in 1645 and it’s subsequent rebuild following the restoration of the estate to the Compton Family (report pending).
Our crypt excavation also uncovered an unexpected sitting tenant in the form of Colonel Henry Compton who, the family history indicated, was buried in East Grinstead until we discovered his coffin in the family crypt along with a depositum plaque which read as follows:
“Expecting the Glorius Resurrrection within this coffin rest the body of Henry Compton of Bramplette Esq: & who came to an untimely end in a single duell provoked by the worst of enemies unconstant an friend, his honor swaying him but malice his adversary his willingness to spare the others life proved his fate so that his life often ventured at home and a Bro in war was now carried to heaven by honor unmixt with malice. May the 10th 1652”
Colonel Henry had been killed in a duel for honour with his best friend over ‘a lady’. The dual was to be stopped at the first sign of blood, however, sadly for Colonel Henry, his initial wound was so fine that the first his ‘second’ knew of it was when Henry dropped down dead.
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