The Hastings chapel has one unidentified memorial. Revd Arthur Bold, the vicar of the Parish of Stoke Poges, 1803-1831, wrote in a book published in 1824, that the, ‘chapel contains a monument for Dr. Gregory Hascard, Dean of Windsor, who died in 1708; he was one of the most celebrated preachers of his time’.
Dr Hascard lived at Baylis house which was then in the Parish of Stoke Poges. He and his wife are known to be buried under a pavement in the church with the following inscription there on, ‘”Here lieth the Body of Rachel Hascard, Wife of Gregory Hascard, Dean of Windsor, & Registrar of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Daughter of Mildmay Earl of Westmoreland, by Mary his second wife, who departed this life May 20th 1702, aet suae 57; also the body of the above named Gregory Hascard, D.D.”
Yet in the late 20th Century, the Church published a booklet called, ‘A Guide to Stoke Poges Parish Church’ when Revd Cyril Harris was the vicar of the Parish of Stoke Poges, 1968-1998. There is a different explanation in the booklet: ‘A curious mural monument of the taste of the early 18th Century, with cherubs’ heads above and skulls below, but with no inscription to tell whom it was intended to commemorate. Sir Thomas and Sir Walter Clarges, with many of their family, were buried here from A.D. 1667 to 1728, the latter “in a coffin faced with velvet,”, the Register records. No memorial of their graves exists, and this monument may have been intended for them.’
Anne Monck (née Clarges), Duchess of Albemarle by Unknown artist is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. © National Portrait Gallery, London
General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle by Richard Gaywood, circa 1660 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. © National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir Thomas Clarges, was the son of a farrier in London. Anne, his sister had a relationship with General Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, whilst he was locked up in the Tower of London. Upon being released,the General married the pregnant lady. Thereafter, Sir Thomas acted as Agent for General Monck, including being the envoy to deliver the message to Charles II in the Netherlands to return to London to become the King. This act resulted in Sir Thomas being knighted and gaining much wealth and status. He bought Stoke Poges – Rectory Manor in 1661, which included the vicarage and the Patronage:Advowson. The Clarges were never Lords of the Manor of Stoke Poges. The Gayers owned the Manor house, Stoke Park estate and were Lords of the Manor of Stoke Poges during the Clarge’s ownership of the Rectory Manor. His wife from Norwell Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire was buried in St Giles’ and he was subsequently buried with her. Sir Thomas died in 1695.