Sir Thomas Lunsford Tombstone and Transcription

A link to a Find A Grave Memorial page is provided for access to a photograph of his tombstone/marker, as there are no public domain images available. If you have a photo of the tombstone/marker that you would like to share, please email the county coordinator (link below).

He was initially buried near Greenspring, the home of Sir William Berkeley. His tombstone was removed sometime later and placed in the churchyard of Bruton Parish Church at 201 Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185.

The oldest dated tombstone is that of Thomas Ludwell (No. 78), who died in 1678. There is evidence that even this marker was placed in the churchyard at a later date (Bruton Parish Churchyard and Church: A Guide to the Tombstones, Monuments, and Mural Tablets, 1976, Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia; Internet Archive text version). A large stone slab memorial with the following inscription lies near the Bruton Church door:

Under this Marble lieth the Body of THOMAS LUDWELL, Esqr. Secretary of VIRGINIA, who was born at Bruton in the County of SOMERSET in the Kingdom of ENGLAND, and departed this Life in the Year 1678 And near this place lye the Bodies of RICHARD KEMP, Esqr. his Predecessor in ye Secretarys Office, and Sr. THOMAS LUNSFORD Kt. in Memory of whom this Marble is placed by Order of PHILIP LUDWELL, Esqr., Nephew of the said THOMAS LUDWELL in the Year 1727.

Some sources claim that the remains of Thomas Ludwell were interred in the Bruton Parish churchyard, while the remains of Richard Kemp and Sir Thomas Lunsford may have been interred at Rich Neck Plantation in now-unmarked graves.