Sir Ralph Fitzherbert (died 1483) was Lord of the manor of Norbury, Derbyshire. His

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

in his suit of armour at Norbury church are reproduced in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, in contemporary armour.

Biography

Fitzherbert was born to Nicholas Fitzherbert and his wife Alice. Ralph's brother was John FitzHerbert of Etwall, King's Remembrancer of the Exchequer. In 1442 Nicholas Fitzherbert and his son and heir, Ralph, gave all their lands at Osmaston and other lands at Foston and

Church Broughton Church Broughton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, to the west of Derby. It has a church (St Michael and All Angel's Church, Church Broughton, Saint Michael and All Angels) and a Methodist chapel (1828). Badway Green is a piece of ...

in exchange for Norbury. The Fitzherberts held it until 1872. Norbury had been rented by Fitzherberts ancestors since 1125 on a yearly rent of 100 shillings. Fitzherbert married Elizabeth Marshall who was an heiress to Upton in Leicestershire. Elizabeth had a number of children: Margaret (who married Reginald Rowe), Dorothy (who married Thomas Comberford), Edith (who married Thomas Babington of Dethick), John (died 1531), Henry (died before 1532), Thomas (died 1532), Richard, William, and Anthony. So many of his sons died young, that it was his sixth son, Anthony, who eventually succeeded him as Lord of the manor of Norbury. The seven sons are shown as figures on the side of Ralph's memorial. They are not shown in the order of their birth. First is shown Richard, who became a knight of Rhodes, and then Thomas, who was the rector of Norbury from 1500 to 1518 and precentor of

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

. The third figure is thought to be John, who was the heir and is thought to have commissioned the memorials for his parents and his grandfather in Nottingham Alabaster. The fourth to be shown is Henry, with a purse, who was a mercer (a cloth and textile dealer) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The final three are thought to include William, prebendary of

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

and

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

and Chancellor of

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

as well as being rector of

Wrington Wrington is a village and a civil parish, civil and ecclesiastical parish on the north slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England. Both include nearby Redhill, Somerset, Redhill. Wrington lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo riv ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, and Anthony, who was the most notable. Anthony and William were boys when their mother's will, dated 14 October 1490, was read. Under the terms of that will, John was required to pay five pounds a year to cover Anthony's studies. This investment led to him being a leading and eminent English judge. White Boar Pendant Norbury Church

Both Ralph's and Elizabeth's wills are still available, and her will states that she "should be buried in the church of Saint Barloke before the image of Saint Nicholas and beside the body of her husband, Ralph Fitzherbert."Forgotten Shrines
by Bede Camm, Published 2004, Gracewing Publishing,

Memorial

The memorial to Fitzherbert in St Mary and St Barlock's Church, Norbury is well regarded, and is thought to have been made at the same time as the matching memorial to Nicholas Fitzherbert from Chellaston alabaster. Ralph's feet rest on a lion; next to it and under Ralph's shoe crouches the small figure of a bedesman. The bearded bedesman is telling his

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

for the souls of the departed. Ralph bears the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, th ...

livery collar A livery collar or chain of office is a collar (jewelry), collar or heavy Link chain, chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. One of the oldest and best- ...

of alternating suns and roses, with the

White Boar The White Boar was the personal device or badge of the English King Richard III of England (1452–1485, reigned from 1483), and is an early instance of the use of boars in heraldry. Use in Richard's coronation Livery badges were important sym ...

livery badge of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

as a pendant. Since the destruction by fire in 1998 of the wooden effigy of Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland (d. 1484) at Brancepeth in County Durham, this is the only surviving representation of a boar pendant, although a number of actual examples have been excavated (See

Dunstable Swan Jewel The Dunstable Swan Jewel is a gold and vitreous enamel, enamel brooch in the form of a swan made in England or France in about 1400 and now in the British Museum, where it is on display in Room 40. The jewel was excavated in 1965 on the site of D ...

). Fitzherbert died two years before Richard III lost his crown and life in the nearby

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...

. The

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

portrayed on the effigy of Ralph Fitzherbert has been reproduced as a fully functional suit of plateGraham Turner who purchased the armour
Retrieved 8 June 2008 The sculptures themselves were copied in the 19th century as plaster casts which are held in the collection of the

in London.

Catholicism

The bedesman in the memorial illustrates Fitzherbert's beliefs and these continued in his family through his descendants at Padley in Derbyshire (see his great-grandson Nicholas Fitzherbert).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzherbert, Ralph Year of birth missing 1483 deaths Fitzherbert, Anthony People from Derbyshire Dales (district) English Roman Catholics

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

15th-century English landowners Knights Bachelor