Rare hatchments displayed

The walls of the Church of Our Lady display six 5ft-square rare funeral hatchments.

A fashion for hatchments - a corruption of the word achievement - began in the 17th Century.

On a the death of a person of status his coat of arms was painted on a board or, as in the case of Seaton, canvas attached to a wooden frame.

These were placed outside the house and later deposited in a church. For those who can read the symbols, the hatchments and their background colours impart information about the deceased.

Three of the hatchments relate to the Delavals and three to their successors, the Astleys.

In 1814 the Delaval male line died out and the Seaton and Hartley estates passed to Rhoda Delaval's son, Sir Jacob Henry Astley, of Melton Constable in Norfolk. In 1998 the hatchments were cleaned and given specialist conservation treatment at Northumbria University.

Page 4: A drunken bet won Holywell Dene a castle in just 24 hours