Local Aston on Trent History of National Importance Awarded Heritage Fund Grant

Aston on Trent residents are celebrating a grant award of £30,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a major restoration and conservation project. The funding has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players.

Within the Grade 1 listed All Saints’ parish church, lies a rare example of a 15th century alabaster tomb; of cultural significance as a work of art and reference to the social history of England at that period of time.

The Tickhill Tomb is a memorial to Thomas Tickhill an attorney at law to the Duchy of Lancaster, carved from Chellaston alabaster by Master sculptors Prentys and Sutton, noted for their work for royalty and the nobility. Thomas Tickhill and his family were living in Aston on Trent at that time, one of the new emerging middle-classes.

Unusually, the tomb is jointly for Tickhill and his wife depicted holding hands, unique to memorials in the late 14th and 15th centuries with only 38 know examples.

Martin Nicholson, project manager with responsibility for the fabric of the church explains; ‘We have been concerned for some time at the deterioration of the tomb from moisture. A thorough examination by specialists Skillington Workshops recommended repositioning and conserving this remarkable tomb with sympathetic repairs where appropriate to avoid potential loss forever. It also allows us to engage with our local history group, village school and residents as the conservation work is in progress. We could not have conducted this project without a Heritage Fund grant so it’s very exciting to know we are restoring a tomb of such importance’.