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Sir Robert Russel
1390
Church of St John the Baptist, Strensham, Worcestershire, England

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Effigy of Robert Russel, son of Thomas Russel, lord of the manor, c1390, in armor
Surrounding the figure is a marginal inscription, part of its fillet lost, but apparently few or none of the words. What remains, in black letter in Latin, reads:
Hic iacet // Robertus Russel filius thome Russel // quonda dns // de Strengsham Cui' anime ppiciet' deus
Translated:
Here lies Robert Russel, son of Thomas Russell, sometime lord of Strengsham, on whose soul may God have mercy
The Russels of Worcestershire have long been associated with Strensham. We first hear of them in 1298-99, when the manor of Rushal was sold by Godfrey de Auno
to James Russel.5 His son Nicholas was a collector of aid for the county in 1322, and in 1337-38, he settled the manor on his heirs by his wife Agnes, by whom he had three sons and three daughters. When Nicholas died c1346, his second son Edmund was already dead, and John, the eldest son, who succeeded, died three years later in 1349 (There is a problem here, for the brass names the father as Thomas, though genealogical tables show no Thomas Russel. Could it be that Nicholas Russel was known as Thomas?). So it was that Robert, the subject of this brass, became lord of the manor.
Of Robert Russel's life, we know relatively little. He married Catherine, the daughter of John Vampage, by whom he had one son, John. In 1353, he was given exemption for life from being put on assizes, juries, etc., against his will. We know he was living as late as 1361, but no later than 1376, for in that year he was succeeded to the estate by his son, Sir John (q.v.).8 The evidence suggests, then, that he died c1375, though his brass is traditionally dated c1390.

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The church contains an unusual number of interesting monuments, mostly to members of the Russell family. The earliest are two brasses on the chancel floor, one of about 1390 to Robert son of Thomas Russell of Strensham, showing an armed figure in camail with his feet on a lion; the marginal inscription had shields at the angles, all now gone.
Russell of Strensham. Argent a cheveron between three crosslets fitchy sable

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Strensham Church-Worcestershire-Chancel floor (E end)-brass memorial to Sir Robert Russell (d.1390)-inscription references him as son of Lord of Manor

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Lower Strensham Worcestershire
1390 Brass effigy of Sir Robert Russell, d.1390 standing on a stone slab with inscription round the edge and shields once in each corner.
He was the 3rd son of Nicholas Russell & Agnes daughter of John Grindon & Blanch de Savoy . His grandfather James Russell had bought the manor in 1298/9 from Godfrey de Auno
He succeeded his eldest brother John in 1349 (his 2nd brother Edmund also having died childless)
He m Katherine 1340 daughter of John Vampage of Pershore & Catherine daughter of William de Wollashal
Children
1. John 1405 Master of the Horse to Richard ll
He probably died pre 1376 when his son John succeeded
- St John the Baptist, Lower Strensham, Worcestershire