Where There’s Muck, There’s Brass…
By Barry Richardson
This week's blog is titled by a phrase many will know, supposedly originating in Yorkshire, and I invite you to take it quite literally because within St Mary Magdalene, Newark currently there’s certainly lots of dust (muck), and there is definitely some nationally significant brass.
I’ve previously explored some of the architectural gems such as the Tudor Chantries which (along with many other elements), makes St Mary’s (and railings) Grade 1 listed. What I hadn’t quite grasped—until recently—is how deeply the continuity of history runs within St Mary’s.
It is not just in the stones and stained glass, and the sheer scale and style of St Mary’s, but in the way change and continuity embeds within the story. We must also remind ourselves I that what we now treasure was once itself quite fresh and new, and possibly frowned upon by some, yet as I will describe, very continental and fashionable too
We might consider the current Re-Awakening as thoughtfully and sensitively enriching St. Marys to meet modern needs,but this is certainly not exclusive to today’s needs as we shall see.
A Quiet Wealth Beneath Our Feet
As a choirboy, I used to very much dislike walking over tombstones and brasses which were set into floors. It felt rude and ignorant — stepping on someone’s memory. Now, I see it differently. These monumental brasses aren’t just memorials but they are gifts and endowments, and very much echoes of lives lived, legacies left, and evidence of continuity too....
St Mary’s has been endowed by many—Magnus, Deering, Markham—all names I’ve mentioned before. But this week, I want to shine a light on a particular group of artefacts that, taken together, form a remarkable thread through English history: the Fleming Brasses.
The Fleming Brasses – A Merchant’s Legacy
Set in the North Choir aisle near the East Window, the Fleming Brasses are representative of a select cohort of medieval commemorative brasses in England. It is a truly monumental brass (approx. 284.5 cm x 170.2 cm) of Alan Fleming (d.1361), a wealthy wool merchant and benefactor.
A rubbing from the Fleming Brasses, taken from - Newark and Nottingham Church History Project online
The brass comprises sixteen smaller panels arranged in three columns. Alan is depicted in civilian dress, with hands clasped in prayer, beneath a canopy adorned with saints, angels, and mourners.
It depicts both medieval art and costume, and one of the four largest “Flemish” brasses in the country.
This brass has moved around the church as various remodels and relocations occurred - once even hanging on the wall in the church before being moved to the current spot in 1951.
Here’s a twist: I’d always assumed “Flemish” referred to the Fleming family, however the term refers to the style and origin of the brass.
These brasses were crafted in Flanders (likely Bruges), and brought to England through the wool trade. Unlike the English style of cutting out a figure and setting it into stone, Flemish brasses are full plates—rich in detail, and layered in meaning.
The Alan Fleming Brass, dating to 1361
Other Hidden Gems
Alan Fleming isn’t alone, as there are two more highly significant brasses:
John Boston (c. 1540) – A draper, depicted in the dress of his time, with a coat of arms showing three tiaras.
William Phyllypott (1557) – Founder of the Bede Almshouses, shown in a fur-lined gown with hanging sleeves.
Add in the two Stone Cage Chantries, and you can see that merchants in the Tudor Age re-immortalised themselves by leaving a legacy in the beating spiritual heart of Newark, our own beloved St. Mary’s..
William Phyllypott (1557) – Founder of the Bede Almshouses, shown in a fur-lined gown with hanging sleeves.
Why Nationally Important?
If you search for the largest medieval Flemish brasses in England (and I have), you’ll find Newark’s Alan Fleming listed among the top four:
Alan Fleming
1361
St Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent
Robert Attelathe
1376 & 1364
St Margaret’s Church, King’s Lynn
Figure of a Priest
c.1370
St Albans Cathedral, Hertfordshire
It feels humbling and incredible that the brass laid in Newark over six centuries ago still holds national significance, richly portraying trade, art, and faith in one picture.
A Living Reminder
The wool trade brought not only wealth but also ideas, artistic influences, cultural exchange, and somehow, through all the upheavals of Newark’s long and often-turbulent history, these brasses have remained, quietly hiding in plain sight beneath our feet, a living reminder of 14th-century fashion, devotion, and taste.
So next time you visit St Mary’s, pause by the North Choir aisle and maybe look down. Hopefully there isn’t any muck - but there is definitely brass, and in that brass, a story waiting to be Re-Awakened too…