Easter Sepulchre
Easter Sepulchre
As you can see it is an arched recess in the North wall of the Chancel by the Altar (right). It was built at the same time as this part of the Church and is therefore 14th Century. In fact it was definitely there in 1377, for we know that John Mott, of Froyle, died in this year, and left among other things in his Will, discovered at Lambeth Palace in 1929, “Money for candles to burn in the Easter Sepulchre”. So what function did an Easter Sepulchre fulfil?
GH Cook, author of “The English Mediaeval Church” wrote:-

“Of the many rites and observances of the mediaeval church, the ceremony of the easter sepulchre...was universal in parish churches. It was in the nature of a liturgical drama, symbolising the Entombment and the Resurrection of Our Lord. On Good Friday, amid solemn ceremonial, the Blessed Sacrament, placed in a small receptacle, was laid in the Easter Sepulchre, a tomb-like structure which was erected to the north of the high altar. Watched day and night, it remained there until the early hours of Easter Sunday when it was transferred to the high altar.”

Although Froyle’s was a fairly simple affair, many such sepulchres are adorned with carved panels depicting the closing scenes in the life of Our Lord, the Burial and the Resurrection.Until 1995 the Church was also in possession of this striking, and very unusual, Portable Easter Sepulchre.
Portable Easter Sepulchre
Italian in origin, this was most probably brought back to Froyle by Sir Hubert Miller as well as the vestments and statues for which the village is famed. Sadly in that year it was one of several items stolen from the Church and never recovered, so we are fortunate that a complete survey of the Church had been conducted by the Farnham branch of NADFAS (The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies) between 1991 and 1993.