All Saints' Sawley Hatchment
If you had occasion to look into the old choir vestry in 2022, you may have noticed that the hatchment showing the George III coat of arms, which had been resting against the wall for some time, had disappeared! The painting was removed to Lincoln University where it has been be completely restored by the Conservators of Lincoln Conservation.
The hatchment in All Saints Church Sawley is the arms of King George III and dated 1767. A hatchment was a square or diamond painted board originally used to commemorate the death of a benefactor in the church where they were buried. After Henry VIII, kings had them placed in English churches to remind people that the monarch was the ‘Head and Governor’ of the Church of England.
The hatchment in All Saints was presented in 1767, early in the long reign of George III (1760–1820). It was originally hung prominently over the middle of the chancel arch, with the texts of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed on either side. A possible prompt for the presentation was that in this year, Parliament passed the Townshend Revenue Act, a measure to tax the American colonies, and one of the presenting causes of the American War of Independence which began in 1775. The hatchment was perhaps a way of urging people to unite in supporting king and country.
The hatchment is now hung on the west (bell tower) wall. It was expertly restored by Lincoln Conservation Limited with a generous grant from the local business, Exel Computer Systems and re-hung in February 2023.
