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unusual facts about Gundred, Countess of Surrey



Gundred, Countess of Surrey

In 1845, during excavations through the Priory grounds for the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway, the lead chests containing the remains of the Earl and his Countess were discovered and were deposited temporarily beneath Gundred's tombstone.

Gundred was almost certainly born in Flanders, and was a sister of Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester.

In the course of the centuries which followed, both tombstones disappeared from the priory but in 1774 William Burrell, Esq., an antiquary, discovered Gundred's in Isfield Church (seven miles from Lewes), over the remains of Edward Shirley, Esq., (d. 1550), and had it removed on October 2, 1775, to St. John's Church, Southover, where it was placed on display.

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (died 11 May 1138) was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred.


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