The Tewkesbury Tomb Read Online Free PDF Page A

clergyman stopping by a large monument at one side of the building.
    ‘I see,’ said Ravenscroft, placing one of his hands on the stone slab that formed the top of the tomb. ‘It must have taken some effort to have raised this stone and to have lifted it across. I wonder how they managed to lift it. Ah, see here, Crabb, do you observe those marks on the side of the tomb? That must be where someone drove a wedge between the top slab and the rest of the monument. Then, when the wedge had been driven in, the top was moved to one side, just a few inches so that the person who committed this deed could look into the interior.’
    ‘And just wide enough sir, for a body to be slid into the tomb,’ added Crabb.
    The two policemen looked at one another in bewilderment for some seconds.
    ‘Excuse me, sir, but why did they go to all that trouble, when the body could have just been left on the floor?’ asked Reynolds drawing nearer.
    ‘Perhaps the killer was hoping to hide the body in the tomb, and then replace the top, so that no one would ever have found the dead man,’ suggested Crabb.
    ‘But if that was the case, why did he then leave it open?Reynolds, will you oblige us and try and see if you can replace the top of this tomb in its original position?’ instructed Ravenscroft.
    ‘Right, sir.’
    Ravenscroft and Crabb stood back as Reynolds placed both his hands on the edge of the top stone and attempted to push it forward. ‘I’m sorry, sir, I can’t shift the thing!’ he exclaimed, growing increasingly red in the face.
    ‘Thank you, Reynolds. A valiant effort; you can ease off now. It is just as I thought. One man is not strong enough to move this stone on his own, whereas two might be more successful in the attempt.’
    ‘You mean there were two despoilers of God’s house?’ exclaimed Jesterson.
    ‘It would certainly have taken two men to have moved this stone, once the wedge had been driven into the gap. Let’s have a look inside,’ said Ravenscroft peering down into the interior of the monument.
    ‘What can you see, sir?’ asked Crabb.
    ‘It is quite a way down to the bottom, almost six feet in depth I would say. There just seems to be a collection of old bones lying on the bottom.’
    ‘Those “old bones”, Inspector, as you put it so eloquently, are the mortal, sacred remains of Sir Roger de la Pole,’ reprimanded Jesterson.
    ‘I am sorry, I did not mean to cause any offence. What can you tell me about Sir Roger?’ asked Ravenscroft quickly, as Crabb stepped up to gaze into the tomb.
    ‘Sir Roger de la Pole was one of the Knights Templar who accompanied King Richard I on his Crusade to the Holy Land. He was a local benefactor and owned lands in the nearby villages of Deerhurst and Uckinghall, as well as here in Tewkesbury. Hedied shortly after his return from one of the crusades, and in his will left money to the abbey for prayers to be said, in perpetuity, for his soul and for the building of this monument to his memory,’ replied the clergyman, warming to his subject.
    ‘Smells a bit fusty inside,’ remarked Crabb turning up his nose.
    ‘You say that Sir Roger was a Knight Templar. Can you elaborate further, Reverend?’ asked Ravenscroft, ignoring Crabb’s comment.
    ‘The Templars are an ancient order of knights originally formed in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims as they travelled to the holy land. They played an important role in the crusades in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.’
    ‘And what happened to them?’
    ‘Unfortunately the brotherhood was suppressed in the early fourteenth century on the orders of the Pope and the King of France.’
    ‘Why was that, sir?’ interjected Crabb.
    ‘It seems that the Templars had become very wealthy – they often acted as moneylenders – and that their prosperity caused a great deal of resentment.’
    ‘What happened to them?’ asked Ravenscroft.
    ‘Many of them were put to death; a few escaped and travelled to places like Rhodes and