Over 8 years have elapsed since the current record of Monumental Inscriptions in Malmesbury Abbey Churchyard was made. It was always the intention to follow that survey with a similar one coverings the Church Interior, but it was a letter from the Vicar drawing attention to a recent press report highlighting the serious deterioration of historical inscriptions generally throughout the country, that provided me with the impetus to proceed with this second part of the exercise.
It was fortunate that Jean Lynch had also foreseen the requirement and had already drawn up an initial draft of the inscriptions in the Abbey interior, as well as an alphabetical index and a floor plan. Consequently. my own contribution has been limited to verification and presentation, thanks to Jean's earlier efforts. I must also express my gratitude to Derek Tilney for providing details from the 1914-18 War Memorial, together with additional information about each serviceman named, which will be of particular interest to many local families.
As well as preserving the basic information on the monuments for future generations, the survey has another, and equally important function in that it serves as a finding-aid for parishioners and other visitors to the Abbey. No attempt has been made to record other than the primary identifying details about each individual commemorated - for additional information, such as character, decorations, occupations etc., personal inspection is recommended.
In all there are about 100 monuments recorded in this survey. including some where not all the original details are readable and there are a few which are completely illegible. There are two memorials displaying numerous names; these are the War Memorial at the Entrance and the Warneford Memorial on the West Wall of the North Aisle, which are recorded in detail in the data bases below:
