An effigy in the church, thought to be Sir David de la Roche, a descendant of the Flemings.
St. Jerome’s Church in the village to this day, thought to be Sir David de la Roche.
Llangwm is a small rural parish and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales
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The two effigies, now known to date back to around 1300 for the woman and 1340 for the man, were saved from further damage by having damp-proof sheets slipped between them and their plinths.
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The De la Roche family added a family chapel in the mid 14th century, shortly after the devastation of the Black Death swept Britain. The chapel is now the north transept. The transept holds a pair of effigies. One depicts Lady Margaret De la Roche (1254 – 1315), and the second is her grandson Sir Robert de la Roche (1315 – 1348).
The De la Roche family line died out in the late 14th century and the lordship lapsed by the early 15th century.
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So what about the effigies in the church, a man and a woman thought to date back to the 14th century? The breakthrough came when an expert investigation put the woman at around 1300, and the man at the late 1340s. We knew that they were probably de la Roches because they were found in a side chapel of St Jerome’s dedicated to the family.
So, who of the de la Roches died in the late 1340s? The answer was Sir Robert de la Roche, thought to be Godebert’s great great grandson, who died in 1350. We think the female effigy, again using records of births and deaths, was his grandmother Margaret.
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Robert de la ROCHEPrint Family Tree
Born in 1316 - Llangwm, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Deceased in 1376 - England, aged 60 years old
Parents
David de la ROCHE, born about 1285 - Llangwm, Pembrokeshire, Wales, deceased in 1316 - Pembrokeshire, Wales aged about 31 years old
Married in 1315, Pembrokeshire, Wales, to
Joan ?, born in 1294 - Roch, Pembrokeshire, Wales, deceased in 1316 - Roch, Pembrokeshire, Wales aged 22 years old
Spouses, children
M John de la ROCHE 1342-1376