Archbishop of Canterbury (1503-1532) – the Last Pre-Reformation Archbishop. click here for more on Warham.
This, the largest tomb monument in the cathedral, has been shoe-horned into space on the north Martyrdom wall violently juxtaposing the more modest tomb of his neighbour, Peckham. The tomb, with its recumbent effigy dressed in pontifical habit, was constructed shortly after Warham was appointed archbishop and installed in his chosen location, presumably shortly following his death. The tomb is constructed from Caen Stone. Although Caen had been retaken by the French in 1450 the stone was still available for export into the sixteenth century.
At some stage after the Dissolution the memorial was heavily whitewashed. Later damage by iconoclasts during the seventeenth century resulted in substantial repairs to the tomb being carried out in the 1790s. At this time the door to the small chantry chapel, managed by a single priest to pray for Warham’s soul, was blocked off, the table tomb was moved to a central position within the surrounding gothic architecture and iron railings installed (and later removed).
